Does hifi of same models sound different?

Native_bon

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The reason am bringing you this topic is due to the fact that in the videophile world picture quality varies from set to set of the same model. Could this not be the same with Hifi products & may be the reason for different review points when a product is reviewed. I know other factors could come into play with difference in opinions but something tells me this may also be the case with hifi products.
 

CnoEvil

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Almost nobody gets to compare 2 examples of the same model, in the same system and in the same room.

Different opinions come about due to differing taste/system matching/rooms.

I suspect that the same models will all sound very similar to each other, provided they are properly warmed up and of a similar age.
 

MajorFubar

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When you think about it there are bound to be variances. Though with everything built from surface-mounted chips these days I think the variances will be smaller than they were when it was all transistors capacitors and resistors. Most components were known to have tolerance levels, ie a batch of the same components couldn't be guaranteed to all perform identically but let's say ±2% either side of optimum, and so that's why circuit boards had trim-pots all over the place.
 

Native_bon

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I think differences may be more prominent in speakers due to a lot of vibration going on. Has any extensive test been done on Hifi of the same models in terms of SQ. It will be nice to know if consistency is common place or not.
 

matt49

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MajorFubar said:
When you think about it there are bound to be variances. Though with everything built from surface-mounted chips these days I think the variances will be smaller than they were when it was all transistors capacitors and resistors. Most components were known to have tolerance levels, ie a batch of the same components couldn't be guaranteed to all perform identically but let's say ±2% either side of optimum, and so that's why circuit boards had trim-pots all over the place.

Yes. John Westlake of MDAC fame believes that some MDACs sound better than others, and he attributes the difference to inconsistent quality control at the Chinese factory.
 

MajorFubar

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matt49 said:
MajorFubar said:
When you think about it there are bound to be variances. Though with everything built from surface-mounted chips these days I think the variances will be smaller than they were when it was all transistors capacitors and resistors. Most components were known to have tolerance levels, ie a batch of the same components couldn't be guaranteed to all perform identically but let's say ±2% either side of optimum, and so that's why circuit boards had trim-pots all over the place.

Yes. John Westlake of MDAC fame believes that some MDACs sound better than others, and he attributes the difference to inconsistent quality control at the Chinese factory.

Indeed. Just thinking about what I posted earlier, I suppose it can work both ways. With everything being chip-based these days, there's no opportunity to correct some deviation from optimum with a trim-pot like there once was.
 

Superaintit

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Native_bon said:
The reason am bringing you this topic is due to the fact that in the videophile world picture quality varies from set to set of the same model. Could this not be the same with Hifi products & may be the reason for different review points when a product is reviewed. I know other factors could come into play with difference in opinions but something tells me this may also be the case with hifi products.

If saw in a video that B&O test every speaker and deliver them as a pair.
IIRC there is a switch at the back of the beolab 9 that corrects the offset to be as close as possible to the reference beo 9.
 
MajorFubar said:
matt49 said:
MajorFubar said:
When you think about it there are bound to be variances. Though with everything built from surface-mounted chips these days I think the variances will be smaller than they were when it was all transistors capacitors and resistors. Most components were known to have tolerance levels, ie a batch of the same components couldn't be guaranteed to all perform identically but let's say ±2% either side of optimum, and so that's why circuit boards had trim-pots all over the place.

Yes. John Westlake of MDAC fame believes that some MDACs sound better than others, and he attributes the difference to inconsistent quality control at the Chinese factory.

Indeed. Just thinking about what I posted earlier, I suppose it can work both ways. With everything being chip-based these days, there's no opportunity to correct some deviation from optimum with a trim-pot like there once was.

What's optimum. It's going to differ depending on who is listening. I would doubt anyone with less than perfect hearing or analytical equipment is going to notice any difference between an amp or anything, unless it was built on a Friday. :)
 

Thompsonuxb

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Interesting thread.

I'm a big fan of the Audio Review site. Opinions vary greatly on products. And I wonder if it's down to personnel taste or the actual products.

I myself thought the AudioLab 8200a amp was woeful when I had it on home demo a while back - but others rate it highly.

So QC must make the difference with some brands.
 

matthewpiano

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With modern production techniques it shouldn't be possible, as long as quality control is stringent and specifications do stay the same. However, I'm quite sure suppliers/specs of some parts do sometimes get changed on the quiet mid-way through production runs either because of changing cost implications or supply issues.
 

DaanS

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My Monitor Audio BX2 loudspeakers didn't sound exactely the same when I was testing them (switching channels, driving them solo on all channels etc). This was while I was running them in though and the amp wasn't in the best of shapes either. But, a difference could be heard so I set them up such that the overall sound was best for my room. I have a new amp now which makes a world of difference and I'v stopped wondering about it.
The differences in vinyl quality is what has my attention now. Now that I'v completed my system and all the weak links have been replaced these differences become really apparent. A lot more depth is unearthed now and some records just fall flat in comparison to others. Kind of annoying really, but I highly enjoy rediscovering my records that do have more depth to them than I was used to :)
 

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