i would suspect that the ht4's w/a modestly priced amp would outperform the ht3's w/ an expensive amp
I don't want to be a bore, but this is one more example of the unspoken assumption that more expensive equals better! I'm not sure it's even intentional, I just think people reflexively think in these terms about audio (I'm sure I could catch myself doing the same thing at some point). Can we replace the terms 'modestly priced' and 'expensive' with 'average' and 'excellent'?
no, you are wrong, here. this is an example of the same price of "set a" will give you better performance, compared to the same price of "set b"; where "set a" is ht4 speaker/lower-priced amp; and "set-b" is ht3 speaker/higher-priced amp.
in one sense, yes, i am generically inferring that a modestly priced amp is not as good as an expensive amp. however, what i am also inferring is that you are fortunate enough to find the absolute best sounding modest priced amp w/the ht4 and the absolute best sounding more expensive amp w/the ht3.
but, i completely admit that my example rules out the possibility that it is possible that a particular modestly priced amp that is paired w/the ht4's could be better than
any amp at even eight times its price. you win!
so:
"average" amp + ht4 > "excellent" amp + ht3
however, i still cannot subscribe to the above, because, like you, i believe that you can get excellent amps that are
not that expensive...
of course, the average joe would think a $1k amp is
obscenely expensive when you can buy a complete h-t system for that!
doug s.