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Anyone here remember the Hafler XL-280 amps?
these amps were proven (in laboratory tests) to be the closest approximation to a wire with gain- ie there was little or no phase difference or colouring of the sound between the imput and output.
He (David Hafler) introduced the straight wire differential test, and showed that even the most expensive amps introduced some kind of sonic impurities, whereas his amp produced basically only an amplified version of the original.
Although it showed the most accurate reproduction of sound ( critics compared them to units costing 10 times as much), most critics preferred sound that was typically coloured or softened.
Although some of this could be attributed to the placebo effect (how could a $600 amp sound better than a $6000 amp), it also suggested that most people preffered their music toneally adjusted in some manor.
I recently purchased one of these amps used - best darn $150 I spent on audio equipment.
these amps were proven (in laboratory tests) to be the closest approximation to a wire with gain- ie there was little or no phase difference or colouring of the sound between the imput and output.
He (David Hafler) introduced the straight wire differential test, and showed that even the most expensive amps introduced some kind of sonic impurities, whereas his amp produced basically only an amplified version of the original.
Although it showed the most accurate reproduction of sound ( critics compared them to units costing 10 times as much), most critics preferred sound that was typically coloured or softened.
Although some of this could be attributed to the placebo effect (how could a $600 amp sound better than a $6000 amp), it also suggested that most people preffered their music toneally adjusted in some manor.
I recently purchased one of these amps used - best darn $150 I spent on audio equipment.
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