Digital amp comparison event.

arthurs · « **Reply #60 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 12:59 am »

I heard a couple of amps yesterday that I would want to spend some more time with and do some comparisons to my current SS amps....

HumanMedia · « **Reply #61 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 01:12 am »

Hey did any owners bring along their Nuforce amps to compare?

arthurs · « **Reply #62 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 01:48 am »

Nope, no NuForce....

Danny Richie · « **Reply #63 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 02:02 am »

Whew, that was fun.

I want to also start by thanking everyone that sent amps. This couldn't have been possible without all of them.

Secondly, I want to thank all of those that came. You guys give validity to the whole thing and I think that the process that we used seamed to work pretty well, thanks to all of you. You guys were very patient and suck with it vary well. I was glad to have had such a group of experienced audiophiles and a few industry professionals. The listening group was just the right size too.

I have pics and info on all the amps that were sent. I will put up a page on our server with all the info about the amps, specs, prices, etc.

Then I'll add a page for each amp regarding comments the comparisons and stuff that you guys wrote about each amp. How it all went down etc.

I have 53 pages of score cards and comments to go through...

I am not looking forward to it but will try to get it down as quickly as possible.

Thanks all.

Quote

Hey did any owners bring along their Nuforce amps to compare?

Nope, they lucked out.

Marbles · « **Reply #64 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 02:12 am »

Quote from: Danny

Quote

Hey did any owners bring along their Nuforce amps to compare?

Nope, they lucked out. ...

That's so cruel

arthurs · « **Reply #65 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 02:15 am »

Danny - "You guys were very patient and suck with it vary well"....

Okay Danny, there are too many good jokes here....and in his defense he's gotta be beaten down from jumping in and out from behind the board and being just an excellent roadie yesterday....everyone write your own jokes for this one.....

Danny Richie · « **Reply #66 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 02:29 am »

Quote

That's so cruel

I guess it did. But that's what they wanted and since no one brought any, that's what they got. Getting what you wanted sounds lucky to me.

Dr. Krull · « **Reply #67 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 02:52 am »

Quote from: Danny

Quote
That's so cruel

I guess it did. But that's what they wanted and since no one brought any, that's what they got. Getting what you wanted sounds lucky to me.

Rumor has it you had a set of them sitting idle at your shop. I'm certain that there was absolutely no way you had a chance to hear them compared to the others.

-Krull

gongos · « **Reply #68 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 03:31 am »

Is everyone under contract not to comment on specific amps until the Moon, Earth, and Venus align on an odd numbered day during an odd numbered year?

arthurs · « **Reply #69 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 03:36 am »

No, I think we're all trying to respect Danny and the work he did to pull this together by not fragmenting the data and letting him lay it out in a way that give you the full picture of the event results...not an opinion here or there but all the opinions together in full context if you will....

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #70 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 03:57 am »

Quote from: RuSsMaN

Hey, don't take what I said in the wrong way. If we all liked the same thing, life would be pretty boring. I applaud all the manufacturers that sent product in, they stepped up to plate and put their amps on the line.

I for one, won't ever sugar coat anything. If something didn't sound good, it just didn't sound good. Actually, I would think that if there was negative feedback (no pun intended) posted, that a manufacturer would PREFER to hear such, so they can continue to improve and develop thier offerings, no?

That would be if the negative comments didn't drive them out of business first.

I think most people making comments on forums don't realize how significant these types of things can be to a product line. I see sales for a given item spike and go into lulls all based upon a single comment on some obscure forum.

Now just imagine... you have something as public as this and there was a good blind comparisons with mulitiple products with groups of people. If you consistantly show up on the bottom in this comparison it pretty much kills the product and maybe 10s of thousands of dollars you have in development of a product. Also take into account that this comparison is in the public domain from this day forward. Even if you learn from your mistakes and correct the problems to improve the product you will never get out from under a huge negative event like this.

Now... just imagine you put your job on the line, the way you make a living and support your family. For you it is nothing more than an amplifier and a hobby. For the companies involved it represents a lot more. That is why many won't participate and I don't really hold that against them. Especially if all they already have market share and they have nothing to gain.

Just adding my perspective as a audio business owner.

art · « **Reply #71 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 04:48 pm »

Quote

I see sales for a given item spike and go into lulls all based upon a single comment on some obscure forum.

That is how it works. Pretty much the same for a review in one of the big mags. Except 90 days of buzz, and then something else comes along and back to obscurity.

The other thing along these lines, it all happens at once. One remark somewhere, and everyone wants one NOW. If you don't have any ready, they will have forgotten about you a week later when you do.

Yep, a risky proposition. Sit one out, and that is just about as bad as coming in last.

Pat

jonwb · « **Reply #72 on:** 4 Mar 2006, 02:38 am »

I give the participants a lot of credit for showing some restraint.

I trust Danny lead a fair comparison of the various amps. I can only imagine how tricky it is trying to do this as objectively as possible.

One thing I'm confident in... they used good speakers

kenk · « **Reply #73 on:** 4 Mar 2006, 06:08 pm »

Quote from: Danny

Quote
That's so cruel

I guess it did. But that's what they wanted and since no one brought any, that's what they got. Getting what you wanted sounds lucky to me.

Maybe it is better this way if the result is not what they wanted then someonel will say:

a) The amp is not upgraded to the latest firmware
b) The amp was defective
c) Gotta be something wrong with the reviewers ears

d) This is not the first time we reveal weakness in someone's system and got the blame.

Ken

ekovalsky · « **Reply #74 on:** 4 Mar 2006, 06:22 pm »

After a week and many pages of threads...

Danny Richie · « **Reply #75 on:** 4 Mar 2006, 11:31 pm »

Some Beef.

http://www.gr-research.com/amps/amps.htm

audiojerry · « **Reply #76 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 02:02 am »

I appreciate and respect that Danny is being very thorough in his approach. He is carefully setting the stage with an informative prelude that describes the amps and his personal viewpoints.

I am hoping that his affiliation with Dodd does not color the information. Dodd may have truely wonderful products, but I hope that he publishes the views of everyone who attended.

This event has the potential of providing a valuable service to AC members.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #77 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 02:19 am »

Hi Jerry,

My only personal view points regard the physical stuff. Binding post, RCA's, look of the chassis, ease of use... This was stuff that only I got familiar with. I was the only one changing out gear, and I did live with each of the amps for a while. All but one anyway, and It was the one that Gary Dodd brought in the day of the event.

The subjective stuff (listening) is information only from those that attended and what they blindly liked or didn't like. I had nothing to do with it. I plan to post ALL of the comments written by those that attended. Some was good and some was not so good. I am just the neutral messenger and host.

ekovalsky · « **Reply #78 on:** 5 Mar 2006, 02:30 am »

Nice job Danny. I look forward to read the forthcoming subjective impressions.

One comment about the Lyngdorf / TacT amp... the binding posts suck! The plastic shields are a major pain to remove and big spades won't fit. Plus they are hard to properly tighten, and the plastic washers are very easy to break or crack. Swapping them for WBT posts (which fit perfectly without any modifications to the posts or chassis) is highly recommended for ease of use and improved sound quality

Danny Richie · « **Reply #79 on:** 9 Mar 2006, 08:21 pm »

Just a quick note that all the info is now up. All comparisons, results, etc. are all up.

Just follow the links...

http://www.gr-research.com/amps/amps.htm

Now for all the guys that were there and would like to comment or upload pictures I am going to start a new thread in Audio Central. Please drop in and add your 2 cents or more.