Punchy sound amp or speakers?

[gasolin]

Punchiness what makes that?

Of course you could buy more power, more watt and speakers that can handle more power and has higher sensitivity.

If you only had to buy one thing speakers or amp (more watt) for a more punchy sound, what would you buy?

 

[Al ears]

Punchiness what makes that?

Of course you could buy more power, more watt and speakers that can handle more power and has higher sensitivity.

If you only had to buy one thing speakers or amp (more watt) for a more punchy sound, what would you buy?

Speakers. They are the end of the line and it doesn't matter if you upgrade amp if your speakers don't offer the clout you're after.

 

[CnoEvil]

IMO The Amp also plays an important role...the same pair of speakers can punch harder, when matched with a better amp.

 

[insider9]

Size and quality of drive units first and foremost. In fact size over quality, if looking from perspective of a price.

Quality of amplification, not power. Generally quality of power supply to be exact. One of the indicators is when amp can double its power when impendance is halved. But any amp would be limited by inadequate speakers.

Then there's voicing. Leaner bass sounds punchier. Aggressive mids sound snappier.

And don't forget source it also matters.

 

[plastic penguin]

IME a punchy sound comes from the amp. When I had the Leema Pulse it was matched with the RS6s, which could sound a wee bit flabby, but the Pulse certainly gave them a different low end dynamic. It wasn't subtle either - it was quite pronounced.

 

[gasolin]

Im not thinking of big and loud speakers or going from a small amp to something 2x200 watt 8 ohm

More the quality of the amp, speakers.

I tried my nad 3020i a week or 2 ago and despite being lower on wattage it sounded louder (with no distortion) than my nad C316BEE V2 and it has a much more open midrange, clearer top, it just has a much more lively,intrusive,slightly more metallic top, it sounds good at low to medium voulme but not at high volume (i noticed it for shure when i compared it to the new C316BEE v2 that has a more neutral sound and less pronounced top that makes the new c 316 bee better at high volume).

 

[woodbino]

Speakers are what will make the biggest difference to the sound in your setup.

I know many here will completely disagree with me, buit the difference electrical components make to the sound of your system are very very minimal - there is very little difference between amps, cd players etc...

...but speakers, the thing that converts that electrical energy into motion - that will make a real and audible difference.

I favour buying decent relable source units + amp, and then blowing all your money on speakers. A good £200 amp that is operating well and generates enough power for your desired listening volume and not clip or distort the sound is all you need. Then blow the rest on some gorgeous well engineered speakers.

 

[gasolin]

There is a big difference in SQ between my 2 nad amps

 

[gasolin]

Can you give some example of amp/speakers that have a punchy sound (small size and price) ?

 

[lindsayt]

My (very slightly) most dynamic sounding amp is my 2 watt Korneff clone 45 SET. But the difference in dynamics between this and all my other amps is so small that it's not something worth worrying about.

There are significant, very easy to notice differences in dynamics between speakers. Some speakers sound shut-in. Some speakers sound polite. Which is OK on Gregorian chanting. Terrible for Joe Cocker.

I used to think that differences in dynamics were mostly in the midrange, until I heard full sized corner horns which made me realise that bass drums should project out into the room with every drumbeat. In a spikey, attention grabbing, room piercing way.

And every small speaker I've heard has been lacking in genuine, full frequency dynamics / openness / room-commanding authority.

Amongst modern small speakers the KEF LS50's are one of the least worst ones I've heard.

Klipsch Heresy's are good for midrange dynamics, poor for bass dynamics, not helped by the too lean bass.

 

[davedotco]

Can you give some example of amp/speakers that have a punchy sound (small size and price) ?

if this is a serious request, I would suggest a pair of decent actives.

"Small size and price" means different things to different people, the new Adam T7 is not the smallest but with a 7inch bass driver it is pretty punchy and only about £350pr.

For about £100 more, the Equator Audio D5 is tiny, not quite the punch of the T7 but a very refined sound. At the smallest size and price the JBL LSR305 are an awful lot better than you might expect for less than £200, if you shop around.