2. amps-preamps
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Can we create a consensus list of the TONALITY of different amps/preamps/brands?

Greetings to any and all,

I am shopping for a new amp and preamp, but stuck abroad so unable to purchase anything right now. I have thus been reading lots and lots of reviews.
One thing that is very important to many of us is finding the right balance of Tonalities (warm versus cool, musical versus analytical, smooth versus detailed, etcetera).

Somewhere in all that research, I came upon a reviewer who started a comparative list of different brands, trying to get a handle of the general Tonality of various audio brands or individual products.  Since then I have been adding to that list, sometimes extrapolating from the adjectives used (e.g. clean, neutral, etched, sweet, etc.).

One thing I should admit right off the bat is that I have personally listened to very few of these products. (I am just the collector of comparative adjectives, just a compiler. In no way do I consider this present list to be definitive or perfectly correct.) Of course, all this is completely subjective.

So I wonder if there is a way we can created a consensus compilation of opinions of the general tonality of various audio products. I am obviously soliciting input and opinions. Please feel free to disagree or suggest changes or refinements. The model I started with was of a clock face: 12:00 midnight being perfectly neutral. Anything after 12:00 is more analytical or clinical; anything before 12:00 is smoother or warmer.
(Thanks for any responses or contributions.)

 

Here is that list:

Halcro: 1:30 (hyperdetailed solid-state)

Simaudio amplifiers: 1:00 (even more clinical, analytical)

Audio Research Ref10 pre: slightly less cool than Simaudio 850p; maybe 12:30

Esoteric integrated: 12:30 (slightly to the cold, clinical side)

Boulder 1160/1161/2060 amps: 12:00 dead neutral (adding or subtracting nothing, no added tonal saturation, "sterile")

Rotel Michi M8: 11:45 ("kiss of midband lush")

Simaudio pre: 11:45 ("closest sounding amp to the Luxman")

Luxman 900 series: 11:30 (very slightly warmish)

Plinius SA-103: 11:30 ("natural, neutral tonal balance")

Pass X150.5: 11:15

Accuphase: 11:00 (warmer than Luxman)

Pass X250.8: 11:00

Pass x 260.8: 10:45

Pass XA 60.8/200.8: 10:30 (warm or saturated side)

Pass XS Pre: 10:30

VAC i170 tube amp: 9:30 (warmish)

PrimaLuna EVO 400 tube amp: 9:00 (warmer still)

hoodjem
carlsbad2's avatar
carlsbad2
1,382 posts
 

No.  There will never be consensus.   If this thread grows legs, it will be people disagreeing with each other.

Personally I recommend against publishing a rating on equipment you have never heard but that is common here.  I'd say most of the comments posted and even recommendations are people discussing equipment they have never heard.

Jerry

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,705 posts
 

Impossible to say because of the way they interact with preamps, and ultimately, speakers.

hoodjem OP
19 posts
 

Alas! You could very well be right.
Just a hopeful idea--that I would not have to personally audition 25 amps and 15 preamps to find the right ones.

But rather I could utitlize the collective wisdom of the members on here to guide me to the preferred components.

Oh well.

vonhelmholtz
911 posts
 

@hoodjem 

Stop.. I understand what you are trying to do, but at the end of this thread you will be no better off. Perhaps a better question is what amp and preamp are you using and why? Hope that those posting also list their full system on their profile.

My answer to the above question is that my selection was limited by funds, laziness and a desire to retain some resale value. I like the hybrid tube/solid state approach to the McIntosh MA12000. Not by any means the best at anything.

pmm
220 posts
 

that I would not have to personally audition 25 amps and 15 preamps to find the right ones.

No need to overthink it or make this complicated. Just stay with the basics: buy your amp/preamp combo from same manufacturer (i.e. Vanalstine Audio, Rogue Audio, etc), and concentrate on your speaker selection. Eventually, if you want a change-up, try a tubed, or solid state DAC

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