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Honest Amp Reviews: Impossible?

So, I’ve noticed a flood of class D junk hitting the market over the last several years. They come from many different brand names from people you’ve never heard of before like "VTV", to popular Internet-in-the-know brands like PS Audio to famous names like Marantz. One thing they ALL have in common: the complete inability to find honest reviews online for these products.

For example, let’s take for instance the Stellar series from PS Audio. Class D junk with the usual attempt to improve euphonics with some kind of input stage. They call this scheme class AD, I guess to differentiate all the other brands that do something similar. However, you’ll never see a review site point this out; they’ll comment briefly on the design and then dutifully call it class AD afterwards as if it isn’t just a class D amp like many others.

Next, the reviewer will invariably lie about the sound. This lying usually takes the form of lying by omission. They’ll gush about how beefy and controlled it is, how neutral it is, how wide and natural the soundstage is, etc. What they WON’T mention is how lifeless, flat, boring and ultimately fatiguing they ALL are. The buyer who doesn’t know any better has to find that out for themselves while he slowly grows to distrust anything a reviewer has to say about anything. So, the only way to actually get value out of a review is to see if a certain amp has the positive attributes you are looking for while trying to painstakingly research any problems it might have because the reviewer won’t mention them.

In addition to the lies of omission, there’s the usual con of giving certain gear to certain reviewers who will appreciate / like the piece. That Stellar will NEVER be put up against a Dan D’agostino or a Pass for example. This could be valuable to the buyer to see how a lesser amp stacks up against a high end one, but it’s not, apparently, useful to the reviewers. Why? Why is telling the whole truth about amps -- all gear really -- taboo?
madavid0

Showing 1 response by lhasaguy

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lhasaguy
344 posts
 
One of the fundamental conditions of being an “audiophile” is having strong opinions regarding sound and its reproduction.  Each individual has preferences as to what sounds good to them as well as being influenced by many external inputs with regard to sound quality.

Class D versus Class A or A/B also has price point observations as well as individual bias.  That does not even begin to address tube versus solid state amplification discussions.  Not to mention various DAC versus vinyl arguments.

I would suggest that totally neutral amplifier reviews can be found.  Class D aside, our own CamaroSS has had a four year running review of amplifiers and other gear that is beholding to no manufacturer or typology.  
I would argue that Class D has its own niche in amplification that some may prefer and some may not.  Both sides have points to make, but at the end of the day they are different.  Class D aficionados need their own neutral tester who loves to swap out gear and share their observations with like minded people.  Someone not paid by anyone.  The only possible downside might be the resale value for used gear, but that can be overcome for everything but the newest gear by starting with lightly used equipment.

Fighting over what is “better” is a fools errand and no one will have a strong opinion changed, it is just not productive.  It would be like me disparaging high end “box” speakers because I am a dedicated Maggie owner.  Not to mention my preference for a tube preamp versus solid state.  Then there is my choice of McIntosh electronics that please my ear, while others have strong opinions that differ.  



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