What contributes most to a change in how an amplifier sounds?

@knotscott

You certainly know your way around the inner workings of the mystery boxes in an audio system and how cool to have you as a neighbor. So much knowledge between your ears.

Seems like the power supply and transformers, no surprise, dominate how an amplifier sounds. I’ve always wondered why amplifiers don’t have a second Power chassis but this clearly would be impractical. Capacitors certainly influence the rebustness of amplifier dynamics and I would guess these wear down overtime.

I, like you, pursued biamping, and I use a MC 901 pair from McIntosh. a more safe approach for me by ensuring added amplifiers Will get along and avoids additional interconnects. I upgraded all the small tubes with NOS telefunken but have continued with the same power tubes I'm not sure how much these will influence sound but quite a price tag to replace them all.  

You have a nice size room and a lovely space. My amplifier does quite well in a 20 x 16 room but is deserving of a much larger space.

@alexberger 

You need to have a play date with.  @knotscott 

I saw your YouTube channel wondered how it might be you could do a narrative of the types of work you do with your system.  Inspiring to see people with all this knowledge and putting it to good use.  Very very technical stuff.

@atmasphere

@helomech

I love it when you guys talk harmonics. I think you guys should get together for a play date.

I think the harmonics area is underserved when people evaluate amplifiers. I like tube amplifiers because they seem to emphasize upper and lower harmonic areas that are underserved by the solid state amps.

I wish I better understood output impedance. But these days most components get along fine. Would love to hear examples where they don’t get along fine and maybe I should learn more about impedance.

So the second graph is better with respect to the line that’s more wavy. Which means it’s more responsive with a more accurate delivery of Dynamics as the music demands. A lower level of Dynamics, flatter line, is expected when impedance is lower?

I inserted ‘real life speaker load’ into Google search and got this fascinating AI explanation. I was intrigued by this term that I read above. The AI info is less than helpful and doesn't really answer things very well.  

AI Overview

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A real-life speaker load is more complex than a resistive load, which is what amplifiers are usually measured against. Here are some things to consider about speaker loads:

• Impedance

  A speaker’s impedance varies depending on the frequency it’s playing. The stated impedance is usually measured at 400 Hz, but a speaker’s impedance can vary widely across the frequency range. For example, a speaker’s impedance can be up to five times its rated impedance at its resonant peak.

• Acoustic load

  The acoustic load a speaker experiences depends on how it’s coupled to the surrounding structures and cabinet. For example, a speaker placed in a horn will have a higher acoustic impedance than a speaker in free space.

• Power handling

  Using an amplifier that’s too small and driving it to distortion levels can damage a speaker.

• Matching speakers to amplifier

  It’s important to match the power output of your amplifier to your speakers. If your speakers are underpowered, the sound will be thin and hollow. If your speakers are overpowered, they could distort and become damaged over time.

• Calculating speaker load

  When speakers are connected in series, you can add the nominal impedance of each speaker together to calculate the total impedance.

@atmasphere 

It all sounds amazing.  It's so complicated.  Very elegant prose.  SAT verbal score was kinda low so forgive me I don't understand this too well. Some scary things related to a D amplifier.  Wish I would've pursued an advanced degree maybe this would've helped.

amidst all of these really good comments there were no comments from people who actually build amplifiers that I could see. It would seem to me an amplifier designer is putting together an amplifier he would need to choose between lots of parts to create something that was good. I would love to hear what these parts are contained within an amplifier that impact sound which is really what it’s all about.

What is it about the transformer?? What is it about the wiring? What is it about the chassis? What is it about the chips? What is it about the capacitors? What is it about the power of the amplifier? etc

@atmasphere 

Pretty damn awesome response. Very helpful.

Would love to see a picture of your system I bet it's fascinating and maybe there's a lot of commentary about your system here somewhere