[Vulcan00]

I have a question about SS amps and the ability to hear differences in interconnect cables.

What characteristics of a Solid State amp make it sensitive to interconnect cable changes which can be detected in its sound.
Consider first:
1. Your source is good quality Cd player such as a top line opp.
2. Your speakers are top quality, reference, neutral, extremely accurate
3 Preamp or other electronics made by same manufacture, proper matched for neutral, accurate sound reproduction

I wish to stay with solid state and avoid any manufacture comparison. My quest is to learn what properties or design are sensitive to interconnects. Please leave other cables speaker wires, power out of conversation and hold those variables constant.

This is not a question on whether cables make a difference.

Thanks

[Big Red Machine]

I don't think the amp has much to do with it.  For me the preamp is what allows cable deltas to be heard.  I have tubed pre and ss amps and I can hear the delta between copper and silver all day in both ic's and sc's. maybe a less capable ss amp would prevent that.  You raise a good question.

[Vulcan00]

Thanks for you thoughts Big red!

I agree the preamp edges out the amp in cable influence. What I was wondering about is there characteristics of an amp design that that make it more sensitive to interconnect cable changes. For example; feedback, circuit design etc.  I have a solid state amp, sounds great, but I swear, I can't hear the differences between a monoprice, Blue Jeans, or two other custom cables.

This bugs me, it may be the difference are so small, that the time it takes to change cables I have lost ability to retain the sound difference? Or it may be my equipment suxs.

One thing I do believe that the ability to make judgments in sound between audio systems is to a major degree a learning process. What I mean by that statement is sure one can listen feel that system sounds great or too harsh in high frequency or lacks bass response is generally easy task .However to do critical listening and make judgments of soundstage, dynamic range, imaging, tone is a much more difficult. I believe that accurate critical listening observations is a learned process.

[wingz]

I am with Big Red here - the question should not be "how do interconnects affect the performance of my power amp", but "how do interconnects affect the signal that my preamp presents to the power amp".
You are right that critical listening requires great effort, but unless "differences" can be quantified in terms of measurements, it is hard to make meaningful progress.  This was demonstrated to me years ago
when I heard an interconnect made from cheap computer cable sound better than a range of top-end interconnects used for comparison - simply because it had been impedance matched to the preamp's output and presented the signal accurately to the power amp.