Speakers and the right Amplification

[RUR]

Originally Posted by mdabb

I wish I could bi-amp the center channel and even the surrounds with my Onkyo TX-SR875. I think the other speakers are jealous now and wouldn't mind trying something out to help improve the sound for them. The sound is not bad or anything but as usual just trying to make improvements.

Pass XA160.5 monoblocks?

Back on topic.... Although I read a lot of claims that ABX tests show that properly-designed, same-spec amps not driven to clipping should all sound identical, the same folks generally state that these amps may not sound the same when connected to a given speaker. (I'm still trying to wrap my head around that seeming contradiction)

Part of this may be the lack of specs used for any given amp. Beyond power (and who knows how equitable those measurements are from company to company?), THD, and very few others, what unknown and unpublished performance measures are there which influence what we ultimately hear?

I suspect that another part of this revolves around known (but often unmeasured) amp characteristics such as its ability to deliver current and to perform at the ridiculously low impedences required by some speakers. I've french-fried more than one supposedly high-quality amp while trying to drive early model ML's.

And let's not forget tube (valve) amps... By design, they must sound different. Hell, the same amp will sound different simply by exchanging tubes from different manufacturers. Different bad or different good? It's all in the ear of the beholder.