More subjective quality variation in cabs than amps?

[DuluthDank]

Anecdotal observation 1: I tend to feel like once I find a cab that I really like the sound of, that cab would make 90 percent of the amps on the market today sound good to great. If I found an amp I really like, the number of cabs I'd think did it justice would be much smaller.

Anecdotal observation 2: When ultralight gear took off around 2008, many of that first run of class D amps still hold up extremely well today. Think the Genz Benz Shuttles and Streamliners, the Gallien Krueger MB series, and the list goes on. But the best sounding Neo cabs today would soundly beat out the original run of neo cabs from that era, at least to my ears.

In other words, is finding the ideal cab more important than the ideal amp? Is there more subjective quality variation in cabs than amps, to the average player? Can you even realize you found the ideal amp until you've first found the ideal cab?

Just some musings on a slow work day on the clock. Don't mind me.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Audio engineers, audiophiles, audio nerds … basically anyone heavily involved in sound reproduction as either a profession or a serious hobby …will all tell you that transducers make a significantly greater impact on the sound of a system than any electronics. That’s just the nature of the beast.

 

[agedhorse]

Sometimes, sometimes not. It depends.

 

[gtirard]

Anecdotal observation 1: I tend to feel like once I find a cab that I really like the sound of, that cab would make 90 percent of the amps on the market today sound good to great. If I found an amp I really like, the number of cabs I'd think did it justice would be much smaller.

Anecdotal observation 2: When ultralight gear took off around 2008, many of that first run of class D amps still hold up extremely well today. Think the Genz Benz Shuttles and Streamliners, the Gallien Krueger MB series, and the list goes on. But the best sounding Neo cabs today would soundly beat out the original run of neo cabs from that era, at least to my ears.

In other words, is finding the ideal cab more important than the ideal amp? Is there more subjective quality variation in cabs than amps, to the average player? Can you even realize you found the ideal amp until you've first found the ideal cab?

Just some musings on a slow work day on the clock. Don't mind me.

Don't know about observation 2, but agree with the rest, as it corresponds with my personal experience: I've found my ideal cab, and I've got 3 heads that I equally love for different reasons. I think any average head sounds better in a great cab than a great head in an average cab.

 

[DuluthDank]

Don't know about observation 2, but agree with the rest, as it corresponds with my personal experience: I've found my ideal cab, and I've got 3 heads that I equally love for different reasons. I think any average head sounds better in a great cab than a great head in an average cab.

yeah, it's possible my overall sample size was a bit small for that second point, athough I've heard that sentiment other places.