Comparing a Yamaha s301bl to a rega elicit mk5 - a/b on some paradigm 800fs and they sound the exact same. Looking at the specs it makes sense - I don’t know why I’d ever use the full wattage of even the Yamaha without getting hearing damage and the THD being 0.019% vs 0.004% makes no functional difference. Are high end amps the new snake oil? What exactly are you getting for 10x the price here (besides the rega having less features and the rega brand name?)
This is true with most things in audio, but people that are $20k+ deep usually struggle to admit this truth.
I upgraded from my pair of IOTAVX pa3’s to a pair a VTV Purifi monoblocks and when I was A/Bing them, they were very very close to sounding the same. The only thing that stood out is the IOTAs had a lot more bass. There were little differences here and there in the rest of the frequency spectrum but you reeeealy had to listen for those tiny differences. Once I stopped A/Bing them and just listened to the Purifi’s, there are a few things that don’t seem so similar anymore. The Purifi’s sound like they have full control over my speakers top to bottom and even when pushing the speakers really hard. Nothing loses composure. The treble sounds more refined, bass is tighter, more detailed, and faster. I thought the same as you when I was A/Bing them. My advice is stop A/Bing and listen to one for a few weeks, then listen to the other one for a few weeks.
Your Yamaha claims “ToP-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) combines a symmetrical circuit layout along with anti-resonance construction for high-quality sound with minimal distortion”. So you own snake oil, buy your own account. Thd isn’t the only thing that determines sound quality, sorry. But if you like your amp, enjoy it. Don’t claim it’s as good as every other amp in the world.
A “better” amplifier is not snake oil. However, more expensive doesn’t mean better definitely. With that being said you should be able to see, feel, hear the difference between an extremely cheaply manufactured $350 amp and a $4000 one. I don’t have experience with the Rega in question, but if you don’t notice a difference, then I’d say that’s a detriment to that Rega, and not necessarily other amplifiers.
It’s the same way that buying a Lexus is “snake oil”over a Camry. It’s better engineering, better materials, better build quality. It doesn’t mean it’s faster. It maybe gets there more efficiently, smoother, maybe looks and feels better along the way, and maybe someone took more special care in designing it and building it for you.
If you can’t understand or experience that difference, then enjoy your $350 amp, but know that you are likely missing out on something more special if you’re open to it.
With that said, I’m not comparing the Yamaha to a Camry. It’s honestly further down the list comparatively, but you get my analogy I’m sure.
That settles it, amps don’t matter! I will report your findings to the world. :)
Lol
If you can’t hear the difference, don’t worry about it and count your blessings. That $300 Yamaha amp is all you’ll ever need.
Me, I’ll just continue to enjoy my PrimaLuna, Krell, and McIntosh amps.
Everybody happy!
Yes it is ! And the whole hi-fi industry is a mockery ! Plot-twist: it is not.
It’s the lack of a dedicated listening room! Mine is the den which has a giant sectional on one wall and full of toddler toys. Those really help with the resonances.
This.
The room make a lot of difference to the sound and how you experience it.
At home. The difference between the Argon Audio SA1 and the Cambridge Audio CXA81 are small.
In a dedicated listening room in a hifi store. The difference between the Cambridge Audio CXA81 and the Hegel H95 are much bigger and more noticeable.
I was gonna say that you probably get better LEDs with the more expensive amp but the Elicit mk5 is pretty ugly, not sure why anyone would buy that.
I’ve had the same experience but basically don’t talk about it because people say I’m an idiot.
Here’s an interesting read: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1987-01.pdf (Starting on page 80)
It suggests that there’s almost no audible difference between amps which I believe is mostly the truth. Not saying there’s no difference but more often than not the difference is either so small it doesn’t really make a difference or the difference is simply in the imagination of the listener.
It could be that they are both bad and unlistenable. That’s how I usually feel about modern amps.
Not gonna touch this one.
I have a Technics su-z5 qnd a Cambridge azur 650a and they sound completely different
I’d argue build quality in a lot of cases - but that’s majorly diminishing returns after a certain point. Once you hit that level of quality though it’s hair splitting to be sure