While I play with different amp / preamp configs I am noticing something that I find interesting and although I guess i realized this my lack of experience with amp / preamp setup never fleshed it out. I'm guessing damping is a function of a power amp and tone is more function of the preamp although understanding a poweramp can and will have a coloration of it's own imparting "tone" on the sound. Some of you read about my la-*test*-('") Adcom acquisition and my instant dislike for the Adcoms Pre sound and sterilization of the "tone". After experimenting for a while and realizing I prefer a looser / warmer pre such as a Pioneer delivers (generalization) and then finally settling on a Sony pre with the Adcom poweramp I have come to realize something. Please correct me if I;m wrong but it seems the pre sets the overall tone of the system where the poweramp controls the damping and control of the bass regions to some degree. What i mean by this is that my Sony pre imparts a Pioneer type tone, warm, musical and laid back. But contrary to the Pioneer integrated i use the bottom end seems tighter and more controlled with the Adcom amp than with the Pioneer. Does this make sense? Is this "Sound Thinking"? :>) Basically the Sony pre/Adcom system has an overall tone similar to my SX-1010 but has tighter control over the bottom end making it less sloppy. This is opening up a new tone shaping avenue for me and I am realizing playing with front end gear can be just as rewarding and fun as playing with speakers which is of coarse very scary in my case as i have shown to have no control over my speaker acquisitions.

I have kind of bottomed out on getting speakers. Sure there are a few i would still grab but i have really not bought speakers in quite a while and even left a free pair of JBL's at the Adcoms guys house. So my next venture is to sell of the massive piles of speakers I do not use and start playing with front end gear. I have about 6 or so speaker systems that cover a wide range and i will not be letting go soon. These will be fun to try with different front end gear. I look forward to getting my Fisher tube amp repaired (thanks JP) and seeing where that leads me as well.

I did not think i had an addictive personality except for motorcycles which is more of a life long love (a whole other story) but I'm finding different aspects of this audio world very involving, as we all do.

the next chapter begins...

Oh dear. Are you going to have a closet of preamplifiers to match your storage rooms of speakers?

Theoretically, a preamplifier should be nothing more than a "wire with gain", but theory and practice often go their separate ways. I'll agree that after speakers, pres seem to be the way to tailor the sound to one's preferences with the rest playing a lesser role so long as the components are competently designed.

Regarding amplifier damping, give this article a read.

- JP

Thanks for the link.

Theoretically an amp should also just boost the volume but we know that's not true as well. Everything adds color to the sound and imparts something good or bad on the final result.

The difference between the Adcom and the Pioneer/Sony sound is as different as the sounds of two difference speaker sets.

the Adcom is like a JBL L100 to the Sony/Pioneers KLH sound in preamp to speaker terms.

Tht's one of the reasons i still have my Musical Fidelity Preamp. I only use the passive outputs - only gain - connected to the power inputs of my Nad amp.

Way back when... on my mission to make an an amplifier(s) buying decision, I listened to then famous Adcom 555 amps. The speakers were Kef 105.1's through a Linn Preamp. I recall finding the Adcom, one dimensional and cold sounding. they had no"balls". After some time, we switched over to the Hafler DH-500's( which the dealer was bad mouthing all the time) . The sound stage went from wall to wall andabout 6 miles deep!
In fact the Haflers gave they the dealer fits when he swapped in a Mark Levison stereo amp rated at 200wpc. The Hafler sounded nearly as good for about $5k less!

Need less to say, you know what I drove with!

My point is that Adcom IMHO is overated and very few after market Tech shops bother doing any serious updates or mods to them. You will find a bunch of outfits modding a DH-500 or DH-200 which sound fab when better components are used.

Your reference that Adcom sounds like JBL(?) and Sony/Pioneer sound like KLH is strange. I would have placed the Pioneer in the Adcom side of the equation as also being on the thin - one dimensional side... The KLH would have been very "new England" accurate, power hungry, pinpoint imaging, narrow staging very one NOTE Bass.

Where the JBL should be warmish... big mids, fat bottom, rolled off highs... Good staging and depth will play loud with more power before it distorts.

I would never place the Sony in the warm arena either.. more toward the middle. I suggest you get a very accurate SS front end pre-- like a Counterpoint, Bryston, Conrad Johnson, PS Audio then, proceed on your quest to build a better mousetrap!

Well i guess we hear things totally different because i find JBL L100's and HPM 100's forward, semi harsh and overbearing where i find vintage KLH's smoother, rolled off and very easy to listen to for countless hours. This is what i was basing the pre / speaker relationships on.