The Future of Audio Amplification

Most people have no idea how instruments and voices sounds in real. That is why there are so many different amps for sale. Over 99% of all poweramps sound a lot different than instruments and voices in real.

The insight and knowledge in music and realims in sound is even by most people who work in audio very limited. This makes it for many brands possible to sell their products.

The biggest problem in audio is that most audio products and for amps counts the same are not able to create a good level in diversity (layering) in sound. Almost all amps are also 2-dimensional.

I auditoned many class D amps. They are getting better. But there is not even one I would sell to one of my clients. In my world at this moment it is unacceptable. Maybe in the future it can change, who knows.

Most people who work in audio does not even know all the aspects/properties of sound. They judge by trial and error. What is just pure audiogambling. Based on the fact that trial and error lacks any kind of foundation on which you make your decisions.

In 2017 and in this year I spoke with many distributers and manufacturers and they all agreed that trail and error has no real foundation. You never can extract the full dna of each individual part in an audiosystem. This is a 100% fact. But this is needed to understand why the sound and stage is what you hear.

There is one amp what is now number one on my list. I always judge audio products on the DNA of each individual product. I judge audio by Tru-Fi. This means it needs to be able to reveal all the aspects/properties of sound. And it needs to do each individual aspect/property at the highest level possible.

I decided not to talk about brands anymore cause often people overhere feel so offended about it.

Many highend brands are now owned by investment companies. And they are only interested in one thing.......MONEY.

Several brands people mentioned in this thread are owned by investment companies as well these days. I have a lot of contact with the owner of the biggest technical support company in my country. He does the technical support of many highend brands.

He talks a lot about the cheaper parts they are using these days more often. I did listen to many highend amps in the last few years and almost each amp I found unacceptable. Based on the fact that they do not own all the different aspects/properties of sound.

These amps will never create a stunning endresult. The other problem is that most highend amps are also not precise enough. I have to admit that I am an extreme perfectionist. It needs to be superior and able to reveal all the aspects of sound at an ultimate level. In all other situations I am not interested.

In the last 10 years I only played with Pass Labs monos and poweramps. But there is a big chance I will buy a Gryphon Antileon Evo stereo poweramp in 2019.

https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/power-amplifiers/antileon-evo-stereo/

The price in Europe is 36K, I do not know what the price is in the US. This 84 kilo beast is like 3 different poweramps in one box.

- you can use it as 2 times 150 watts pure class A
- you can use it as 2 times 100 watts pure class A and the rest in class B.
- you can use it as 2 times 50 watts pure class A and the rest in class B.

This is very unique and I also love the dna of these amps. It can create one of the deepest and widest 3-dimensonal stages in the world. But it is also ultimate in layering in sound. This is the most important aspect of sound. Based on the fact that our emotion is being stimulated the most by this property of sound.

The resolution is one of the best as well. I prefer it over any tube poweramp because it is more precise regarding all the aspects/properties of sound. Their philosophy is the same as how we like it.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/706-gryphon-audio-designs-antileon-evo-ster...

I love the looks and how it is build.

Audio is all about shootout and comparing. And the best one will always be chosen. You need to find the best one in each single price range.

So far I never auditioned a class D who was the best in it’s price range. All the ones who are less than the best one have no meaning in our world.

When you do not understand sound and music you will never understand audio either . Over 99% van all human beings don’t understand that much about sound and music.

I had conversations with many people who work in audio (just like me over 20 years of time). They all had to admit that their insight and knowledge was very limited.

I asked them all many different questions they could all not answer. This made them realize that they own a very limited level in insight and knowledge regarding music and sound. This is needed to understand audio.

The fact that audio is done all over the world by trail and error. Proofs on facts that the awareness of human beings is very little developed. Based on the fact that trail and error has no real foundation. When I talked about this with many people who work in audio. They realized that they cannot extract the dna of each single part in an audio system.

So you never will understand what you are doing. And it is just audio by gambling. They all agreed that there was no way to understand why the sound and stage(these are only 2 aspects of sound) is what they can hear. This proofs on facts that there is no foundation. You always need a foundation to understand exactly what you are doing.

Knowledge and insight is something you need to develope yourself. But....most people in audio are all just like parrots. They use they words they read from articles. Or they say the things distributers or manufacturers told them.

I give you an example; We were at the first presentation of the B&W 800D3. The person who did the presentation said: B&W did change over 800 parts compared to the former series2.

So we asked him a simple question: can you tell us some of those changements? But he could not, and he realized that he was only telling us a story from a paper.

Whe you let people hear instruments and voices in real, it becomes clear that most audio products sounds a lot different. This proofs on facts that most manufactures know little about sound and music as well.

Because if they would have known a lot about sound and music their products would have sounded a lot different. So what is needed to create audio products who sound more realistic an natural?

Yesssss research and knowledge and spending time how music and instruments sounds in real.

Trail and error is doing audio at the level of a child.

So many people asked me what do I mean with this?

I will tell you. Children will face many situations that they have no idea how to handle. Because they do not know the new situation and what the best way is to handle? So they react and hope it will work out ok.

I asked many people who work in audio for a long time about how they make their choices.

I will give you an example.

In 2017 I was in an audioshop and the person started to work in audio also in 1998 like I did. He received a new loudspeakercable and he wanted to test it.

So I asked him: this system overhere you will use and the loudspeakercable I see you will change?

He said yes.

So I asked him: which properties of sound you will take out when you take this loudspeakercable out?

Each audio product owns it’s DNA. I learned to extract the full DNA of each single audio product in any system. Because I had a mindset in 1998. I was aware that when I want to understand why each single amp, loudspeaker, source all sounds so different. I need to know the full dna of each individual part.

He said; I have no idea.

So I asked him; which properties of sound you will add when you replace it by the cable you want to test?

He said; I have no idea.

So I asked him; When you audition your system or the system of a client do you know why the sound and stage (only 2 aspects/properties of sound) is what you hear?

He said: I have no idea.

So I said: then you will never understand what you are doing.

It made him realize that he makes choices pure without any kind of foundation. So I said; when you do not know what you are doing, you are just like a child who does not understand how to make the right decisions.

And he said; you are so right.

People need to learn to think further. Trial and error is the main reason why most audio systems all sound so limited. Based on the fact that they are all incomplete. This means that they lack different aspects/properties of sound.

Each individual property of sound can influence your emotion. That is why each audiosystem what can reveal all the details and aspects/properties of a recording will always be a much more emotional and intense experience than any incomplete trial and error created system. And again this can be proven by sound.

The emotion of the music you always will find on the recording. That is why a system is needed that can reveal all the details and different aspects/properties of sound.

I spend a lot of time in research how our emotion works regarding music.

When you compare different amps who play in Class A, AB, D or G they still are different regarding the aspects/properties of sound. And most still are not able to reveal all the different aspects/properties of sound.

When you look inside the most new amps of all different brands. The facts proof that manufacturers are using cheaper parts these days. When a market is decreasing you need to find a way to make your products still profitable.

So they start to use cheaper parts, and this is what we see now in almost all new amps. When we audition them most of them create a very limited level in diversity (layering) in sound.

This means you can sit in your chair and even after 4 months you still have never felt any kind of emotion of your music. For us as music lovers it is sad to see that how poor most products are these days.

The manufacturers have not the insight and knowledge to create better products so more people would become interested in new audio products. When we go to an audio show I am with my 46 years of age one of the more young people overthere.

It is 5 before 12 and we are aware that something has to change. Trial and error is also responsible for the fact that audio is a decreasing market. The facts proof that the quality people can get by trial and error is very limited.

dear  guidocorona,

the truth is hard. But is needed to change something what is limited.

Many people see audio as a hobby and even believe (the same way as you believed in Santa Claus when you were little) on assuptions that you only can choose your personal system.

But the facts proof that almost all human beings cannot choose their own system the right way. And even this can be explained based on facts.

Sound and also music contains of many different aspects/properties of sound. When you are listening to your system most people can only distinguish 1 till 3 different aspects/properties of sound at the same time

But....when you want to make the best choices you need to be able to extract 8 different aspects/properties of sound with 1/10 of a second. There are not many people who have this level in insight.

This is why the whole world is doing audio by trail and error. It is based on the limitation in insight of human beings why it is still done by trial and error.

Many people who see audio as a hobby are their whole life busy with changing there system. They listen to it and often they focus on just one aspect/property of sound at the same time.

I give an example. (I had the same conversation with hundreds of people who see audio as their hobby)

You miss control and layering in the lowest frequencies. Most people will often try different cables to hope to solve the limitation they hear in the low frequencies.

After time they find a cable what gives a much better controled low freq. So they are happy and buy the cable what ’solved’ the problems.

They did choose this by trial and error. Based on the fact they they all have no idea which properties they took out by replaceing the cable for another one. Like they also have no idea which properties they brought in by the new cable.

And now you will read what sounds very familiar to you all. Because I saw the same kind of reaction hundreds of times before. After a few weeks they found out that the high frequencies are a lot less open than it was before.

So it all starts over again. And they will change one part for another one. It will never solve all your problems. Based on the fact that their choices will always be made by trial and error. So there never will be a real foundation.

The biggest limitation in audio is that most products do not own all apects/properties of sound. This means that they will always create a limitation in each single audio system you use them for.

It does not make sense which combination you will make, they will always create a limitation.