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Old 02-20-2012, 02:37 AM   #13 (permalink)
Dr_Rez
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I cant describe what Im trying to say well so Ill quote this guy:

"Basically, folks are impressed with high horsepower numbers. A car that has 300 hp MUST be faster than one having 250 hp, right? Not really, and not in the real world. Horsepower comes into play when you are talking about top-end speeds. However, torque shows its might when you are cruising on the freeway and then need to pass someone. A car with higher torque figures will accelerate quicker from 60-80 than one that has higher horsepower. Hence the saying, "People buy horsepower, but they drive torque." You are constantly passing folks in everyday driving, how often do you make a top-end run?

How does this apply to audio amplifiers? Again, this is a simplification of a fairly complex idea. People buy "watts per channel", but they listen to "amperage". In most cases, a 100 watt/channel amp that has 30 amps current delivery will not sound as good as an 80 watts/channel amp that has 50 amps of current delivery. This is one of the two main reasons* why most folks feel that tube amps sound better than sand amps (solid state). Generally, the amp with the higher amperage rating will sound "better" than one that has a lower amperage rating.

High-current amps exert more control over the movement of the speaker's drivers, especially the woofers. This is why you will read reviewers' comments that state that the higher amperage amplifier had more "guts" or sounded "ballsier" than its lower current competitor. And, in the real world, I have found this to be true. I used to have an NAD 3150 and an NAD 2150 integrated amps that were bridged to run in mono, one amp for each channel. In this configuration, they were kicking out about 170 watts/channel. Keep in mind that this amp is rated at 50 watts/channel when running non-bridged. And these amps had high-current capability and they sounded VERY good for the money I paid.

So, long story short, look for amps that have high-current capability - they will generally sound better than amps that deliver less amperage. Good examples of high-current amps are Harman/Kardon, Hafler, Butler, Bryston, and NAD.

I have always sought out amps that had high-current capability and it seems that the speakers I prefer like to be fed with high-current amps. All other things being equal, always go with the high-current amp.


*The other main reason is that tube amps output their distortion with even order harmonics, SS amps produce odd order harmonic distortion. Apparently, even order harmonic distortion is more "pleasing" to the ear than is odd order harmonic distortion."
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