B&K ref50 vs Anthem AVM20 (1 Viewer)

[Yogi]

I can't believe y'all are arguing about *published* specs. I wouldn't put much credence into either figure unless tested by an independent 3rd party under the exact same conditions.

I am not arguing about published specs. All I am saying is beyond a certain SNR it really doesn't matter how quiet the background in any given component is because the background of your listening room is louder than that. I am saying that the published specs are not to be relied and a better comparison is to listen it in your own setup.

Ok Rajiv, if you think the comparison between Proceed and Rotel is unfair how about comparing a Rotel amp with a B&K amp. Do you think the Rotel is 27db (125db-98db) quieter than the B&K? I think the B&K amps retrieve low level details like no other amp in their price category. So again I think you are putting too much emphasis on SNR when you say the AVM sounds better than the Ref 30 by virtue of SNR. The AVM could infact sound better than the Ref 30 but its hard for me to believe that SNR and channel separation are the reasons for that, like you say in your post.

 

[rajiv]

Yogi,

You make a valid point between Rotel and B&K amp S/N ratios. I know from listening to mid-range B&K amps that they are generally better than Rotel. However, keep in mind that amp performance is dependant, but not entirely, on power supplies, transistor stages and capacitance. A better analogy for amps would have been comparing a Bryston 4BST with a Proceed HPA-2. I believe Bryston has a better S/N than Proceed, but its power supply is not as good. In the end, I opted for the Proceed. For processors the amp parameters don’t come into play. As I said, S/N ratio and channel separation are key parameters in processor selection, but they ARE NOT THE ONLY FACTORS to consider when evaluating processors.

Published specs are helpful only when the product has been listened to.

 

[Yogi]

Published specs are helpful only when the product has been listened to.

Actually I think published specs shouldn't matter (except the real ones like max power, dynamic headroom etc that cant be verified in a listening session) once the products have been listened to. So once you have listened to the products you should choose based on your liking of the sound of a component and you shouldn't have to go back to published specs at all.

MHO.

 

[Chip E]

I've been listening for about 3 1/2 weeks now to my Ref50 & Ref200.5
My face looks like this ~~> What a great combo... I'm thrilled with the performance.

 

[rajiv]

Chip,
Well congratulations. More than likely B&K "voiced" (that is tweaked perfromance) of the Ref. 50 and Ref. 200.5 when operating together.
So far, I've been very happy with the Proceed AVP2 and Proceed HPA+BPA amps. I swear I can distinguish sections of music down to 5-8dB SPL.
Rajiv...

 

[Yogi]

mmmmm.... Proceed. One of my favourite gears. I wish I had that kind of money to afford the Proceed combo:frowning:.