2. amps-preamps
  3. 159920-976

What is missing here?

In this months Absolute Sound magazine there is a nice review of an amp that many of us would probably consider based not only on the review but on the topology utilized with the amp. The amp in question is the new Air Tight ATM 300R. This amp utilizes the 300B tube and according to Dick Olsher " The Air tight ATM300-R wowed me with countless hours of listening pleasure. It consistently brought to life the full sonic promise of the 300B". Sounds amazing right??


Except, nowhere ( except in the specs section) does it mention that this amp is limited to 9Watts/Ch!! And at that it is putting out about 10% distortion! So not only is the amp severely limited to which speakers one can match it to, but those speakers had better be ULTRA high efficiency. While most experienced a’philes will expect the extremely severe limitations of this kind of max output, how many casual listeners who read this article will realize the extreme limitations that this amp comes with? Certainly none of that is mentioned in the review, which brings up the question...why not??? How many even somewhat seasoned a’philes have made the mistake of matching a flea powered amp with a less than favorable speaker load? Let’s hear about it....
128x128daveyf
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,545 posts
 
Agreed. Reviews used to be shootouts between competing components. Now they are just glorified write ups of products already deemed praiseworthy by the publishers and serve no useful purpose other than light entertainment. 
aewarren
583 posts
 
Interestingly enough, I read that TAS review today. I ALWAYS read the component’s specs, although I knew it was a low powered SET amp. I also looked at the list of the reviewer’s associated equipment to see what speakers were used for the review - Basszilla Platinum Edition MKII DIY (WHO?) and Fleetwood DeVille. Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with either of these but knew that with an amp putting out the LISTED 9W pc, they would have to have high sensitivity. Sorry, but anyone spending $17,000 on an amp without knowing if it would work in his own application deserves any outcome he gets.
jnorris2005
185 posts
 
" @millercarbon  The specs section is not really where most readers are going to look that closely, at least IMO. The information on the output is not highlighted in any way in the spec section. Like I stated, the extremely low output is not mentioned anywhere in the body of the review."

I actually go there first because they state the price among the specs.  This way I know if I'm wasting my time reading the rest of the review.
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
@noromance 

the purpose that those write ups serve is to reap advertising dollars, or more accurately, the write ups are the reward to advertisers

just look at the recommended components list -- there is 100% correlation to advertising LOL
daj
87 posts
 
Seems like the essential issue the OP is questioning is the responsibility of the reviewer. He's insisting the reviewer should educate the 'casual listener' on not just this amp, but how amplifier output and distortion generally relate to speaker sensitivity. Can't say I agree with the premise, and I'd assume the reviewer would not either.

And, I'm not sure "How many even somewhat seasoned a’philes have made the mistake of matching a flea powered amp with a less than favorable speaker load?" Seems like making a true mistake would be indication of pretty light seasoning, as this probably implies ignorance of Hifi basics, standard research prior to purchase, in home trial with knowledge of return policy, etc.
More to discover