Audio / Video Introduction
This has changed how all audio and video devices are made. Nothing is the way it was. We have completely eliminated hiss, pops, clicks, hum, and any motor noises from audio and video devices. If your amplifier cost $200 or $20,000, they are both receiving and decoding the same digital 1’s and 0’s with no noise or artifacts to distort the picture or sound.
The filtering in cheap and expensive amplifiers no longer needs to lower the frequency response to cut the noise from hiss or hum. Even a very low cost amplifier can allow the full frequency range to be amplified without noise.
Chances are if you put a $500 amplifier and a $5,000 amplifier back to back through the same speakers, you most likely will not be able to tell the difference. Both amps will produce the same noiseless clean crispy highs and deep pounding bass. Both amps will produce the same wide dynamic range with no distortion.
I have already proven this to be true more than once. I have a Pioneer 7.1 surround amplifier that cost $299, and my brother bought a Pioneer Elite 9.1 surround amplifier that cost over $3,000. Both amps had mainly the same features from on-screen menus to decoding the same Dolby and DTS formats. The only difference being his Elite amp had 200 watts per channel, and my $300 amp had 110 watts per channel. But in a typical home setting, that much wattage would never be used anyway. Even at high volumes, you never use more than 30 to 45 watts of the amplifiers power.
We compared both amps using the same BluRay disc player and the same speakers. We tried all types of media from CD’s to MP3 from a memory stick. We tried DVD’s and BluRays with deep pounding bass and crispy highs. We listened to loud music and quiet music. Loud video special effects, and very quiet scenes. We had 2 other people there to witness the comparison. Nobody could tell which amp was better than the other.
One of the guys there said he could do better with his $8,000 MacIntosh stereo amplifier and preamp system. I became very curious at this point, so I decided to take the challenge. We did the same type of set up with a BluRay player and the same different types of playback media. It was my $300 Pioneer against his $8,000 MacIntosh High end amp. Guess what happened? The results were the same. Nobody could hear the difference between them.
The Bottom Line
Today if you pay big money for home entertainment, you are only paying extra for the brand name. And the reason they charge so much is because some rich guy is willing to pay that much so he can boost his ego and show off to his friends and neighbors. It’s like going to a gourmet coffee shop and paying $10 for a cup of coffee that you could make at home for .45 cents.
If you have a lot of money to waste and you want to prove that to everyone, then by all means, buy the real expensive brand name. I am sure you will impress someone. I used to dream of having the best “MacIntosh” stereo equipment that only big money could buy. Now I am more than pleased with my “Average” Pioneer brand stereo.
You do not have pay the outrageous prices to own a good high quality home stereo or Home Theater System. In the old days of analog electronics, you got what you paid for. If you wanted better sound, you had to pay more for it.
But the digital technology we have today has changed all of that. Full range noise free audio is still full range noise free audio no matter what amplifier is pushing it. Most good 5.1 digital surround sound amps today cost around the same as the good old analog 2 channel stereos did 40 years ago, but the quality today is a whole lot better.
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