My opinions re. SET and pp triode


My old stuff: Data3/ Enkainthus dac/First Sound 2/ CJ8xs/ Montana EPS.(92 sen)/ all Sy.Re.active x dig and analog ics/ AM Stealth/Custom power for the front end/ 7k in power cords (yes)
I just bought a Sophia 845 The one with the 205 tube ect.($7500ret.) --(bought used)
The dif as I hear it is; with the set you loose most of the lower slam and 10% of the highs. BUT; the mid magic is to die for. Never heard Nora sound like this.--- But one keeps looking for cds that are in the 'zone' of the set amp. I love this so much. Rock ain't its forte. When you come across a bad cd,female voice or not;its bad. Anybody did the switch? If you're coming from a 6550 amp the differences are huge. Ed, where R U?-Tell us what U think.
avguygeorge

Showing 2 responses by twl

The bass and treble rolloff is related to the output transformers, and are not specific to the triodes. My Berning SET ZOTL has no bass or treble problems,it's pure "midrange magic" from top to bottom. It has no output transformers. However, my speakers roll off at about 40Hz, so there is a lack of real deep bass in my system. But, it is surprising how I never miss any of the stuff under 40Hz, and quite often there is nothing on the recording that goes that deep anyway.

Also, for maximum coherency with SET amplifiers, single-driver louspeaker systems are preferred, due to the elimination of the crossovers and the true single point-source of sound for each channel.
I agree that really good transformers are very important, and that is why I made the comment I did earlier. I don't use any output transformers, but it is true that the sound can be extremely good when you use excellent output transformers, as mentioned by others above. Don't skimp on the output transformers when you buy your SET amp, even if they seem very expensive. It is a key part that needs to be very good.