JBL L-100 as garage speakers

[hifi_dave]

The Threshold Stasis were great power-amps. The smallest model, the Stasis 3 IIRC, sounded a lot better than the larger models and could drive a rusty nail into a barn door.

The original Krell KSA100 and KSA50 sounded a bit too fat and warm for my tastes but the Levinson No.29 was a wonderful amp which sounded more tube like than any other SS amp of the time. The No.27 then 27-5 wasn't as open and tactile and the larger models nowhere near as good but were very powerful if you needed to dive Martin Logan CLS or Apogee. The later Levinson amps got steadily worse as the company 'improved' them...

[sluggish]

Is it just me, or does it often seem that it's often the smaller amps in a given product line that sound the best?

[hifi_dave]

They often do in my experience.

I'm not an engineer but I believe they often use very similar circuitry for the small and large amps but the more powerful one has a whole heap more o/p transistors and associated parts to provide the extra watts. Of course, the poor old signal has to wend it's weary way through all this extra circuitry. Consequently, the sound suffers.

[sluggish]

So, then, do amps/preamps continue to evolve, or did they peak somewhere in the purer, pre-home theater past?

[DSJR]

From my experience, I'd say that in power amps, newer and higher power transistors has enabled more power from less transistors. The distortion results and tendancy to crossover distortion has reduced dramatically as a result, along with the fussy lengthy warm-up process as the transistors struggle to thermally track each other.

As for preamps, quite competent circuits can be made on high grade op-amps now and the best valve ones don't need to be complex either (Glenn Croft anyone?). Older stuff was often limited by the quality of components.