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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

 

pani
pani OP
1,214 posts
 

So you want an SET amp? These typically have output impedances over 1 ohm and higher. Due to interaction with speaker impedance the result is a non-flat frequency response (Ohm's Law). The typical SET amp acts as a tone control as it tracks the speaker's impedance curve - something that is not desirable!

What an SET amp does right far outweighs its limitations provided it has enough power for the load. If we make it an SET vs SS/Push-pull discussion, we will lose the discussion for which I started this thread. Lets do it after we have enough responses/suggestions for the OP 

 

fthompson251's avatar
fthompson251
292 posts
 

 

larryi
3,718 posts
 

If you are really insisting on SET, and want the best of that sound, to me it is low-powered SET, and anything close to 40 wpc is out of the question.  I have only heard a few 833 and 1610 and other high-powered SETs, and never in a system I am familiar with, and I did not think the sound was special.  If the speaker is not well suited to SET use, why would you want to either shoehorn in a less than ideal amp, or take the opposite approach--shoehorn in an inappropriate speaker into a SET-based system.

The best sort of higher-powered SET amps I heard were Audio Note Gaku-On monobloc amps (parallel 211 SET) that sounded great with a wide range of speakers, including somewhat difficult speakers like Harbeth 40.3s.  But, those amps cost as much as a house.

I personally don't subscribe to the notion that SET amps deliver the very best sound if one can live within their restricted power output.  I do like the sound of some of them (I own an Audio Note Kageki parallel 2a3 SET amp), but it is not even my favorite among my own amps; that honor goes to a 349 pentode amp.  The best ever amps I've heard were a custom built OTL amp and the very ancient Western Electric 59A amp (252 pentode amp).

jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71
813 posts
 

There is a Golden Tube Audio SE40 amp available now on eBay for $1000. It uses three 6L6GC beam tetrodes in parallel per channel It is single-ended, no phase splitter. I own one. Tube replacement is far less costly than 300B's, 211's, 845's ... You might want to check it out.

timo62
279 posts
 

@larryi ,

You mentioned:

“The best sort of higher-powered SET amps I heard were Audio Note Gaku-On monobloc amps (parallel 211 SET) that sounded great with a wide range of speakers, including somewhat difficult speakers like Harbeth 40.3s.  But, those amps cost as much as a house.”

Would the Audio Note Jinro 211 Set amp maybe be a possibility also , for less money?

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