Possibly the most influential electronic component in your system. Amplifiers do not sound the same. Just as varying brands of instruments sound different, amplifiers are no different. They have an acoustic signature. The better the amplifier, the smaller the signature, the less sound of their own they impose on the music. You'll be surprised just how much better your recordings are with a high quality amplifier. The nuances, the timing, the emotion. In short, the music.

If you are motivated to have high resolution sound, amplifiers play an important part. They are the driving force for the speakers, which is a highly reactive electric motor. How well an amplifier handles that load depends on several criteria. Focus less on power ratings and more on the overall design of the amplifier. Look for the essentials: large power supplies, large capacitors, discrete output devices and low overall feedback design circuitry. High wattage and low distortion figures are not a reliable indicator of sound quality in amplifiers. Good sound is no mystery. It begins with well engineered circuit topology implementing quality internal components crafted to reproduce sounds with unfailing accuracy.