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Do AMPs actually vary in sound signature or is that snake oil? (alien.top)

submitted 1 year ago by General-Wrap-7858@alien.top to c/headphones@hi-fi.community

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I've seen people state both that they so not influence the tuning as long as they deliver the same power and others stating that they can make headphones "sound warmer" or "brighter". I don't see how that would happen though and a lot of audiophiles just hear things that I feel aren't there, like some noise difference between the Apple DAC Dongle and a 500 EUR DAC using an off the rack chip.

Take this comment from ASR:

Amps are more likely to make an audible difference than most DACs, but that certainly doesn't mean there are audible differences between most amps

I'm talking purely about AMPs here, not a DAC combination.

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[–] MyNameIsRay@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've A/B tested hundreds of amps. Not just headphones, everything from pro audio rack amps, to 12v car amps, to home A/V receivers.

When it comes to modern solid-state/digital amps driven below the power level where they distort, there's generally no perceptible difference.

Some low end units might have a bit more noise, but everything above that has noise so low you really can't tell a difference. The only real variation is how much power you can get before distortion occurs, and the dynamics that come with that headroom.

Tube amps are totally separate from this. Between the harmonics and overall higher distortion across the power range, they clearly sound different.

[–] BasuGasuBakuhatsu@alien.top 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How about the difference between DACs that use R2R oversampling versus no oversampling? Is this marketing speak or is there a perceivable difference?

[–] MyNameIsRay@alien.top 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not something I've specifically done A/B testing on, but in my experience testing various DACs, I can't tell any difference between them (except for the very bottom end).

Even $200 DACs have negligible THD, S/N well over 100db, crosstalk well under -100db, and 24/192 bitrates. Sure, there's differences in measurement, but the audible difference isn't something I can hear.

Of course, that assumes level matching, because output voltage/impedance can vary wildly. Even a minor difference can make it sound more "full" or "bright", when really, it's just a bit louder.

[–] alepap@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I can't tell any difference between them (except for the very bottom end)

What would you describe as bottom end?