300B SET Amp driving Wilson Sabrinas
Interesting experience to share.
In my home system I have a pair of Wilson Sabrina speakers normally driven by a Modwright KWA 150SE (Special Edition). On a lark, I replaced the Modwright with an Elekit 8600S 300B amp (Lundahl output transformers and Mundorf Supreme output capacitors) I had in another system.
The surprise, not only did the Elekit drive the Sabrinas very well (improved clarity and tonality), but at the same volume with the same input level as the Modwright! Using a passive preamp, when I set the volume knob on the preamp to the same point for both the Modwright and the Elekit it results in essentially the same volume from the speakers.
Admittedly I listen at moderate levels (SPL rarely exceeds 70dBA), but the sensitivity of the Sabrinas is only 88 dB. Who would have thought!!
mijostyn ignoring your sexist comment for the moment since when does loud = good? I have that Elekit amp and can say for certain there is a magic in that tube I have very very rarely heard with big muscle SS amps. Its a trade off, will you get all that Sabrina has to offer? No but you can get something that else you wont with SS. |
@mootsdude If you used that amp with a speaker of 10dB greater sensitivity, you'd find that amp more spacious and more detailed, also smoother sounding all for the same reason: its making less distortion. The Coincident, being designed to be easy to drive, points you in that direction. OTOH, you might also be surprised how well a lower power PP amp would do on your Snells. Decades ago Dynaco used to make a small power amp called the ST35 which made 17 Watt/channel using a pair of EL84s per channel. If one of those is refurbished properly it gives you pause when compared to a good SET. |
@atmasphere Prior to the Snells I had Tekton Lores and Klipsch Fortes, both driven by the Korneff amp. Considering both are rated at 98db and 8 ohms, I was shocked when the Snells sounded better, even before I added a sub. I never imagined an amp of such low wattage could drive 90db bookshelf speakers with such authority. If this is distortion I’m hearing, it’s never sounded so good. I’ve had a number of professional musicians listen to my system and they are VERY impressed by how it sounds. I can’t wait for the Coincidents to arrive! |
I’m wondering if the Korneff amp delivers exceptionally high current and can handle lower impedances better than most other SET amps. I corresponded with Jeff Korneff many years ago and he indicated his amps are overbuilt with the highest quality transformers and power supplies. Makes me think not all SET amps are created equally…or all watts for that matter. |
Makes me think not all SET amps are created equally…or all watts for that matter. @mootsdude They aren't! It makes a big difference how the power tube is loaded. Some try to get more power, but really if you want the amp to handle more difficult loads, its better to sacrifice a bit of power so that when the speaker impedance dips down, there is in fact a bit of current available. But Watts are Watts and a sound level pressure meter always shows wut up in that regard. When it sounds loud but the meter is saying its not all that loud, that tells you distortion is making it seem loud. |
