2. amps-preamps
  3. 168579-1998

LTA Ultralinear vs SET amps

Linear Tube Audio has compared its amps to SET amps, saying they have all the benefits while also adding thumping dynamics, which is exactly what I am looking for. Yet combing through all the reviews and testimonials, I have trouble finding anybody who has specifically compared their amps directly to an SET, be it a 300B, a 2A3, or an 845, 45, etc. Is there anybody who has done exactly this and give some impressions? I currently have 300B monoblocks and love everything about them -- the big, magical, lifelike soundstage, the air, the detail, etc.. -- except for the slightly anemic dynamics and lack of that toe-tapping factor to really suck me into the music. Is there somebody who can enlighten me as to whether the Ultralinear Integrated might be just what the doctor ordered with my 99dB speakers, or not?
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lancelock
1,093 posts
 
I agree with the lean assessment of the UL before the recent mods. My ZOTL40 is a different amp now and nothing lean about it. I believe they’re doing the same mods on the UL. This latest iteration must be heard.
speakermaster
738 posts
 
The right ultralinear amp will, try a sonic frontiers amp, they will light up your 99db at a watt speakers like a christmas tree. You will not believe what your sensitive speakers have to offer until you hear a sonic frontiers amp with vintage nos tubes in it.
dwytopx
10 posts
 
You might try Whammerdyne...
rickallen81
65 posts
 
I’m listening to my LTA Ultralinear right now. Compared to my previous tube amps, not SET admittedly, the LTA has much more clarity, stronger and more articulate bass, and only the slightest touch less midrange magic which is a fair trade to get the other dynamics. 
I would expect the trade would be similar to a SET but man, it really combines the best of both worlds for my ears. 
dynamiclinearity
258 posts
 
I had a friend who wrote an article called 'Color Me Perfect' meaning every amp has faults and you pick the one that has the combination of pluses and minuses that please you the most. That means that the most important factor in choosing audio gear is to learn to know yourself, a hard process. 

But single ended amps have certain characteristics. Due to high output impedance they have soft, bumped up bass and also often bumped up midrange. Due to low power output they are easy to run into overload unless you pick very efficient speakers. And due to non linearity they have high second harmonic distortion, a very rich but musically enticing sound.

All single ended amps are inherently non linear due to the circuit topology of single ended meaning there is no cure for it. They produce a non symmetrical output. They don't amplify the negative half of an input as much as the positive half. If you put a test sine wave in them the negative half of the test wave will not go down as far as the positive half will go up.

By the wave David Berning is a genius and his amplifier designs are special. A friend of mine who designed all sorts of unique tube amps over the years called me up when he saw what David did with his latest circuit and told me it was the first really new circuit concept in decades.
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