On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 18:16:19 +0100
Kurt Hamster wrote:

So why does every amplifier on the planet do more than just make the
sound louder?

None of mine do - at least within the AF band...

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 14:41:01 +0100
"Keith G" wrote:


Incidentally, IF you think Im after the 'best' amp please tell me
why I am bothering to restore my Quad405, rather than buying a newer
better amp ?


Well, I guess the answer to that has to be - No idea, what do you
regard would be a 'better' amp?

OK, I have to say I don't really see the point your are making. You
seem to be well aware that 'best' or 'better' doesn't necessarily mean
'new' or 'expensive' or even necessarily the most linear?? (Am I
right? - I wouldn't want to presume.... ;-)

Please do take time before replying - your last post was actually
reasonable for the most part.

In reply to your questions:

I missed quote marks around better above. I regard a poor quality amp as
one which is not linear, and a high quality amp as one which is
supremely linear.

I certainly can appreciate the qualities in the sound of a badly
designed amp, and can often find them pleasant, however I would prefer
that the amp *I* use did not colour the signal in this way - I would
prefer the colouration to be either in the recording (ie. 'as the mix
engineer intended') or provided *optionally* by me, by the use of eq /
tone control / DSP.

Basically I want total control over the sound, which means my equipment
must be capable of (as close as reasonably possible) totally linear
reproduction (Im aware my speakers will be the weakest part of the
system in any case).

So, why bother with the Quad405? well, with the mods Im adding (some
405mkII mods, some component changes to eliminate some decoupling made
un-necessary by more modern transistors a-la 606, and a drop in gain by
a factor of two, along with a higher quality metal film resistor on the
input signal path) the amp ought to be sonically transparent, at least
beyond my ability to tell the difference without ABXing in ideal
conditions (ie. not my house). Since the amp is effectively perfect
sonically, to my ears, I select it on the grounds that I think its (electronic)
design is clever. I also happen to think they look rather cool.

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 19:07:34 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:

Now tell us a bit more about this big scary bird (Sarah, IIRC?), I'm kinda
interested - in a very 'casual/non-sexual' sort of way, you understand....
:-)

She's a strapping Yorkshire lass - you don't want to mess with her!

Or perhaps you do.............. :-)
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 18:13:57 +0100, Kurt Hamster
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:05:43 +0000 (UTC), Stewart Pinkerton used
to say...

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 16:07:52 +0100, Kurt Hamster
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 14:06:24 +0000 (UTC), Stewart Pinkerton used
to say...

It's called quality control. Stick to being a trucker...........

Huh? Trucker? Get a grip Pinky, you can't even keep track of who you are
talking to.

If it's painted white and has a red cross on it, it's still a
truck.......

I've never driven anything white with a red cross on it.

I think you need to change your supplier, I think he's given you some
****e ****!

Could be. I kooda swore you said you drove amboolances at one point.

But then, one has never been able to rely on anything you posted.....
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 21:01:52 +0200, Sander deWaal
wrote:

Kurt Hamster said:

It's called quality control. Stick to being a trucker...........

Huh? Trucker? Get a grip Pinky, you can't even keep track of who you are
talking to.

If it's painted white and has a red cross on it, it's still a
truck.......

I've never driven anything white with a red cross on it.

Don't give Pinky such a hard time.
If a box has volume knobs, it has to be an amplifier and they all
sound the same.

Only if they're well-designed, unlike things like the Ah! Tjoeb.....

I think you need to change your supplier, I think he's given you some
****e ****!

Other people see pink elephants, Pinky sees big white vans with red
crosses on them.

They're useful things, if you drive like I do! :-)
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 18:16:19 +0100, Kurt Hamster
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:08:20 +0000 (UTC), Stewart Pinkerton used
to say...

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 15:57:25 +0100, Kurt Hamster
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 13:54:07 +0000 (UTC), Stewart Pinkerton used
to say...

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 13:25:55 +0100, Kurt Hamster
wrote:

Surely that depends on your definition of "bad" doesn't it?

It's a simple definition - if what comes out of an amplifier is not a
larger but otherwise identical version of what went in, then it's a
bad amplfier. Not a difficult concept - it's called high fidelity.

And if it was designed that way?

Then the designer designed a bad amplfier. It happens - mostly at very
inflated prices.

No, he designed an amplifier to do a specific job. When will you get
over your arrogance that presupposes that if you think it's bad then
that's what it is?

Nothing to do with me, it's basic definition of what an amplifier
should do - *just* amplify.

To me 'bad' is if it doesn't do the job it is intended for.

A Rover City does the job it was intended for - it's still a bad car!

How can it be bad if it does the job?

It does it very badly - kinda like a 2A3 amplifier............

Strange how they're called "amplifiers" and not a "non-transformer of
sound.

Or am I wrong in believing 'amplifier' just means to "make louder"?

Correct - *just* to make louder, not to EQ. For that function, we have
EQ - duh....

So why does every amplifier on the planet do more than just make the
sound louder?

Not audibly, it doesn't...............
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton wrote:

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 21:01:52 +0200, Sander deWaal
wrote:
Other people see pink elephants, Pinky sees big white vans with red
crosses on them.


They're useful things, if you drive like I do! :-)

Or if you drive a squashed beetle. :-)

Stewart Pinkerton said:

If a box has volume knobs, it has to be an amplifier and they all
sound the same.

Only if they're well-designed, unlike things like the Ah! Tjoeb.....

Do they make amplifiers now as well?
I didn't like the first generation (99) CD players.
The next gen was way better IMHO, despite the use of tubes.
the last place I'd want to see a tube is after a DAC.

I think you need to change your supplier, I think he's given you some
****e ****!

Other people see pink elephants, Pinky sees big white vans with red
crosses on them.

They're useful things, if you drive like I do! :-)

That Audi of yours has ABS, EBD, ESP, CIA, KGB, CNN, RGB......
What more safety do you need? ;-)

--
Sander deWaal
"SOA of a KT88? Sufficient."

Keith G wrote:
"Tat Chan" wrote in message
...



Sorry, had to get a Star Wars reference in there ... I got my DVD trilogy
on the weekend and can feel a marathon session coming up!



Oooh! Natalie Portman's bottle - very nice too! (She's turned out nice since
Leon!! :-)


I was refering to the original trilogy (Episodes IV to VI).

I refuse to acknowledge the steaming piles of turd that were called
"Episode I" and "Episode II".

Truely, Lucas has lost the plot.


(oh yes, Portman ... not bad, not bad)

Keith G wrote:

"Tat Chan" wrote in message
...


Japanese Story? The one with Toni Collette in it?


Can't see what all the fuss is about with this film - it was highly
recommended to me by a Scot who's fast turning into a bit of a bull****ter*
(for a number of different reasons) and I crapped out half way through. -
Started it a bit late (even for me) and, apart from some stunning shots of
scenery on a massive scale, it's all fairly humdrum so far. (Not a patch on
Muriels Wedding, from what I can see of it!)

Muriel's Wedding has been repeated on TV too many times, unfortunately.
I haven't seen Japanese Story out on DVD here (but then again, I wasn't
really looking).


(Does a good job of portraying a stupid bint driving too fast over uncertain
ground in a 4X4 with the FW hubs out, though!!! :-)



bint?