System Synergy

I always thought separates (power amp & pre) were the way to go and went through agony trying to get a good match, although integrateds always appealed to me as well if one could live with a passive linestage because the issue of matching pre and power amp would be gone. Also integrateds have the advantages of hard wiring over IC's. My current amp is an HK990 which has an active line stage and an adjustable gain feature which is intended match the outputs of various sources but which can be used to match pre and power amp without any apparent degradation in sound quality. It is an answer to one aspect of system synergy although I don't know of any other integrateds that feature this. The integrated would have to have an active line stage in order to achieve the adjustable gain.

Another major factor would be matching amp to speakers so that the amp would have enough damping ability to control the drivers but not so much that it overdamps causing a thin qquality with loss of bass. Paul Speltz addresses this issue with his autoformers. You can read research conducted on this issue on his website.

Marakanetz has the "long term solution". Do I not buy the $3000 Paradigm towers I've been salivating over because they might not sound good in the room? No--to use a double negative. The room is more or less acousticly friendly to sound which comes from all speakers. I know that wood, carpet, glass, concrete, bookcases, drapes all contribute to the acoustics, and I probably know how to improve the acoustics. The only question I ask in regard to the room is whether or not it is too large or too small for the speakers. Component matching is the great challenge in system building and the fun. Maybe amp A is better than amp B. But if I can match amp B with speakers that it is not underdamping or overdamping but damping just right, I can get it to sound better than amp A which is underdamping the speakers. The room cannot correct an amp-speaker mismatch and that is also why Paul Speltz's autoformers would be a fun toy to play with. If you buy companion separates or an integrated, part of the matching has probably already been done by the designer, but you still have the source and the speakers to match. I'm an audiophile stuck with a liberal arts background so I'm not very articulate on the technical aspects although many members could articulate the details of matching components. But the technical answers are the long term solution. I think personal preferences follow. I don't think one says, "wow. I really prefer the sound of an underdamped speaker to one that is perfectly damped".

Anything worthwhile in audio gets technical. If you don't have the background, you need to try to grow into it.