Low Level Listening and Distortion

Interesting. That’s pretty much what I’m hearing. Do you think my theory about distortion could be the issue? Distortion may cause/trick our minds into thinking depth, three dimensionality, wide soundstage, etc. so the lack of distortion of these newer class D amps leads to the opposite? I will say the AGD amps I heard didn’t sound like this but we know aural memory is rubbish so I could be and probably am wrong. I’ll have to try and hear the AGD again.

Thanks for the response @atmasphere. They may vary in sound but their reputation is a fairly sterile, clean sound as opposed to a tube amp which has a reputation for distortion, no? Ralph, you were who I was thinking of when I started this thread.  I believe in the past you said you like to be able to listen to music at louder volumes and it not sound too loud.  If I'm mistaken, please let me know.  Is it possible an amp that distorts at lower levels would be preferred to one that distorts at higher volume levels for someone that listens at 60 or 65 dB mostly? And, inversely, someone who listens at louder levels would dislike the same amp because once it's turned up it sounds "too loud"? Maybe I'm completely off base as my electrical and amplifier design knowledge is pretty close to zero.

@bigtwin I enjoy music at low levels.  It's part of my weekend routine. Wake up early, go downstairs, throw on something I really want to hear and listen for a couple hours watching football/soccer on TV. I don't want to disturb anyone in the house so I have to keep it low. My Harbeth's are great at low level listening. My Devores seem to be more amp sensitive when it comes to under 70dB...hence part of the reason for my asking this question.  It makes sense to me logically that certain amps will sound thinner at low volumes, which is why loudness buttons used to exist (and still sort of do) but I've never heard an expert like Ralph's opinion on the subject of more pleasing distortion at low levels. Could an amp be made that specializes in sound up to 70 dB? I really have no idea.

I had an Ayre AX-5 using it as an amp with their KX-R (non-Twenty version) and Salk Encore speakers that excelled at low level listening like nothing I've heard before. I don't think distortion came into play at all but the "blackness" of the Ayre really helped. The Salk's are a more "modern" sound than the Devore's. Maybe that helps delineate the sound from the quiet passages better. Sort of an added sharpness to the bass that more traditional speakers don't necessarily do that allows for more quiet space between notes so to speak. 🤷‍♂️

@jjss49 Great post! "to me, good sound has a richness and texture and warmth to it, within which details can be heard". That says so much to me. Often times we can find richness, texture and warmth but at the expense of detail, or we find detail at the expense of richness, texture and warmth. Low levels make getting both out of your setup difficult. What makes a system great to me is walking the line between the two at all volumes.  I've heard systems that sound much better at low volumes than high and vice versa.  I guess that's why I started the thread. One could buy 2 amps and switch them out depending on listening level preferences at the time,  or find an amp that can do both...which is not easy to say the least. In my experience this is what better, and most of the time, more expensive, amps get you.