Listening & Measurement Workshops
Room 1627

Few audiophiles have ever been able to participate in a real-time, level-matched comparison of two power amplifiers driving the same speaker system in the identical acoustic environment. Amplifiers will be auditioned in real-time listening comparisons using a line-level matching scheme that does not degrade audio quality or introduce impedance-dependent colorations (e.g., as opposed to the use of L-pads that kill the damping factor). This is an interactive presentation, as component comparisons are a hot topic on most of the Internet boards. Some people will come away from this presentation amazed at how hard it is to hear variances in obviously different components, while others will relish the ease with which they can perceive subtle audible differences. The highlight of this presentation will be a listening comparison of a 35 wpc vacuum tube amplifier against a solid state amplifier rated at more than 200 wpc.