Pani, I powerful single ended tube amp design could work out fine but you will need to find the one that gives you the sound you’re looking for. Some can be very musical and full sounding while others can be very neutral. Me and my friend both own different 45-50 watt single ended 805 tube type mono block amplifiers. Mine sounds very full, large and musical. His, very neutral and accurate. Mr and my friend have been into audio for 35 years. I own about 12 amps and he has probably about the same. We been through tons of stuff. I agree that a properly designed PP tube amplifier can sound absolutely fantastic. I have 3 amplifiers setup in my living room now in 3 different systems. A pair of VTL EL34 mono amps 178 watts triode modified. The single ended amp, a 805 tube working with a 300b tube to get 45 watts power. And last amplifier is a CJ 100 watt PP EL34 amplifier. I can honestly say, neither one of these amplifiers is better than the other. They are just different in what they do and how they present the music. I also own a Canary 300b amplifier that is wired with silver and do not hear anything negative about its sound. In fact, it sounds absolutely fabulous. My point is, I own a lot of stuff. Me and my buddy have owned ton of gear and still do. I thought as you did about single ended designs, and yes, they can be excellent but so can other tube designs.
40+ watts SET, cost is not a problem
Friends,
Hope everyone is well here. I am visiting after a long time. I have a query on behalf of a close buddy of mine. He is using a pair of TAD CR1x loudspeakers. Gorgeous speakers for sure. The source is an EMT 927 TT & JPA66 preamp. For the amplification things are getting tricky. He has tried the TAD M700s reference power amp and while it sounds very controlled, it doesn't have the openness and dimensionality of tone that a good tube/SET amp provides. We are considering trying a good SET for this system. Given that TAD needs some power blossom well and expand on effortlessly, at least 40 watts of SET power would be needed. The quick choices are Kondo Kagura & Wavac HE833 Mk2. But I need more suggestions on these and other comparative products.
1. Has anyone heard the Kondo and Wavac gears to suggest a comparison? I am just a bit worried on the amount of Silver used in Kondo. I have normally found that silver takes away something from the flow and harmonics. Tell me more about it.
2. What other options can be considered in this realm? No SS please. Looking for SET options primarily.
Room size is moderate 17 x 13 feet. Music preferred are classic rock, jazz, pop and some classical