Some speakers and amplifiers do indeed match poorly, either the amplifier isn't powerful enough or the output impedance is higher than it should be, causing a speaker with a wild impedance curve (cantankerous!
) to end up with its frequency response following its impedance curve to whatever degree. The errors introduced can definitely be audible in some cases, and of course they can be measured. This is what gets left out of the debate when we objectivists are said to claim that all amplifiers sound the same across the board, which to my knowledge has never been said. All that is said is that given two amplifiers with high input impedance, low output impedance, flat response, and below-audibility noise and distortion, that both amplifiers will be indistinguishable in a double-blind test at matched levels (within 0.1 dB) provided neither amplifier is allowed to clip. A cantankerous (twice in one post! wheee!) speaker can cause a weak amp to clip surprisingly early, and a difference will be noted (and can even be measured easily!
) A speaker that presents a purely resistive load (like a lot of Magneplanars) will sound identical on any flat amp that can drive it at a given level, which Stereo Review discovered in their infamous DBT in the late 80's where a panel failed to distinguish between Julius Futterman OTL monoblocks and an affordable Pioneer chip-amp reciever (a model that used a 2-channel Sanyo STK-series power amplifier module), driving MGIII's if I recall correctly. (I had a pair of SMG's that I loved, and still mourn the demise of, which was destroyed in a completely stupid home-studio accident. Moral: be DARN SURE the ADAT tracks are disarmed before cranking the control room monitor pot when you're tracking acoustic guitar in the same room you mix in.)
