300B vs. KT88 SET?

You can read the Art Dudley piece I mentioned online here

Marco

I can think of no amps that will allow you to interchange those tube types. They have entirely different qualities, and amps that utilize each type will have their own strengths and weaknesses subject to your own personal preferences. I have 300B SET amps in my work system, and now am using my KT88 based amps at home (contrary to what you will see in my Virtual System). For Jazz and vocals I can think of no better way to listen, to my ears, than SET. Classical is a pretty broad category. If your classical tastes lean towards more dynamic and layered orchestral music, as Ctran60 points out, KT88 based amps may offer you a fuller, more forceful presentation. 300B SET is all about air, atmosphere, refinement, soundstage, holography. Sacrafice is often in the low end, and KT88 amps will almost certainly maintain an edge there. The best way to find out which you prefer is to try to listen to good examples of both. They are so different that the experience should leave you with an unmistakable impression of each I would guess. I enjoy each one for their strengths. For most acoustic music, vocals, jazz, small ensembles, I'll take SET every time. For orchestral music, or if you like any rock or perhaps bigger jazz bands, the KT88's would bring out the most there IMHO.

Hope that helps. Most important - Yes, they are very different and distinctive - listen and use your own judgement and take what you read here with a grain of salt. I think it is a good place to get some guideance and broad generalizations, but you're the only one who knows what you really prefer.

Marco

Zoya and Ykk - just to reiterate, SET and push/pull are two different animals. They sound very different so Ykk (do you have a zipper fetish:-) do try to take a listen to a 300B SET before giving up your current amp. I'd disagree with any statement that implied one was necessarily "better" than the other. They are different......the "better" part is entirely up to the listener. 300B SET lends a sense of holographic presence that I've never heard before (good SET amps share this quality I think). KT88 sacrafices some of that 'presence' and airiness for a more authorative, dynamic slam (though not your typical SS kind of slam....a kinder, gentler slam if you will). There are plenty of folks who you could find that would speak highly of each, and perhaps put down the other. My advice would be to ignore such input and make your own judgement, preferably in your room with your system. In the case of 300B SET vs KT88 Push/Pull you can probably get a very good sense of the differences in any thoughtuflly set up system with each in place. Keep in mind too that in going to the lower powered SET amps you will really need to have very efficient speakers to make them sing. I wouldn't consider any speakers below 90db, and that would be my rock bottom for a smaller room. Better still 94db and up. KT88 push/pull arrangements come in all kinds of power depending on the design and how many KT88's are used in it. Therefore they are less demanding of speaker efficiency, though speaker matching is always important.

Ykk, certainly having both types of amps would be ideal if you listen to a diverse and wide range of music of which a good amount is suited to each of the two types of amplification. If I had to live with just one, for me it would be SET. But my musical tastes are more strongly in those areas that SET really shines. If I had to point to one that is most versatile, I'd likely point to the KT88 Push/Pull. Just one humble opinion though.

Marco

Hey Bemopti123 - thanks for the compliment. I actually moved that system to my workspace where I listen to it now. Mostly for WAF per my system description. A more modest, KT88 based sytem is currently in my home where that one was. The LaScalas now have much more space to breath! Hey, how do you like your Voight-Pipes? I've been thinking of trying a pair of those at some point. Terry Cain lives only a few hours from me and I keep threatening to go out and visit him in the stick and listen to his speakers. I have a feeling they may hook me! Good input on the differences too (thread subject). Zoya - 98db is just fine for SET in most rooms, though I've never heard your speakers so cannot comment beyond that general observation. 300B tubes are direct heated and are therefore prone to some low level noise when at idle. With my LaScala's (104 db) you can hear it, though I never found it annoying. Less so with speakers af less efficency. KT88's are not direct heated tubes, at least I'm pretty sure they're not (someone correct me here if I'm wrong), so that idle noise does not exist there (if it does it is not likely the KT88 tubes). As far as the 300B's once they are playing music, I find the background to be quite black. This is with my system in my room, to my ears. The idle noise has never been an issue when music is playing, even at low level....at least for me it has not.

Marco

If you find yourself in Seattle Paul, just send me an email and you can come by and hear either rig. Always happy to stand around and kick tires, er, wires, and share music. Tom also suggested I try voight pipes. You can find my email link on my website. Thank you for the offer which I'd happily take you up on were I closer. I'm actually from NYC and got eight years off for good behavior in Vermont, where my folks still live. I don't think I'll ever move from Seattle though. Been loving it out here for over ten years now.

Marco

Bemopti123- Yes, you've put together some nice systems there. A good friend just went from a longtime devotion to Theta DAC's to a BelCanto DAC 2 and he's been really delighted with the improvements. Also, I've been very curious to hear the 47Lab stuff, as well as the Voight Pipes. I get to NYC about once a year....are you there or nearby? Yes, I've been taking pictures since I was six and haven't stopped. Yes, it is my profession. I've never done anything else, though, since you asked, I reacently delved into some graphic design combined with illustration. There is a very poorly placed full-page ad I designed running in the March 04 Stereophile that is commemorative of the 100th birthday of Paul W. Klipsch. It will be running in the April-May TAS and Absolute Vision as well as the March AudioExpress. I was pretty happy with the design, but it looses a lot in Stereophile placed against the busy page it is. Hopefully the other rags will place it better. It looks great in AudioExpress, which ironically is followed two pages later with a tribute to Peter Walker (Quad) who just passed away. PWK passed away two years ago at 98.

Zoya - My expertise is mostly in "making" pictures as opposed to "taking" pictures. I have tremendous respect for those in both specialties, but I may not be the one to ask to comment on your photography since it is so different from what I do. I did look at your site, and will consider sending you my comments if you are still interested. Probably this is not the place to share those comments though.

As far as comments thus far regarding 300B SET - I think you have some pretty good input and many valid comments and observations. As I said, the only comment that I'd take strong exception too is any that would imply one type of amplification is necessarily "better" than another. Art Dudley wrote what I thought was an excellent piece in the December 03 issue of Stereophile on SET as well as arguments pro and con, and folks silly need to make the other camp wrong. It makes for some excellent reading and may lend for yet another perspective. I do enjoy his writing. Check it out if you get a chance. I'm not sure if they run that colum in their online issue.

Marco