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Shouldn't amp reviews employ multiple speakers?

In the December issue of Stereophile, both of the amp reviews (VTL S-400 & MF kW750) were conducted with a single set of speakers (Thiel CS6 w/ the VTL, Wilson MAXX2 w/ the MF). This seems like bad practice. Shouldn't an amp review try to assess how well an amplifier handles a variety of different speakers?

I've been out of audiophilia for a while, so maybe there's a theory behind single-speaker testing of amplifiers. But I always thought the amplifier-speaker interface was crucial. An amp might sound great with one set of speakers, but terrible with another (presumably due to some difference in impedence, frequency response, or other design characteristics).

Am I missing something, or is anyone else bothered by amp reviews that only use one set of speakers?
jpbach

Showing 1 response by aball

aball
2,018 posts
 
Yep, but it isn't practical to have several pairs of speakers with the same room acoustics - esecially when dealing with 200+ lb speakers.

But then you can go farther and dispute the fact that an amp review should be tried with several preamps, several sources, several cables, several rooms, and several reviewers. So then, do they really need to try out more than one pair of speakers? haha

My simple answer is that I read magazine reviews for entertainment. If I really want to know how something sounds, I buy it and try it in my own system. That's the best kind of answer for me.
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