OTL amps with Wilson Watt/Puppy 6s

David Berning ZH-270, stable into 2 ohms (maybe a little less), does not use up alot of power and has way more bass than most of the other OTL's you have mentioned, also utilizes quite possibly the most advanced power supply within the audio realm. It also INCREASES output power as impedence curve dips, not the opposite like the other OTL amplifiers. You may also adjust feedback on the fly, auto biasing, has A/B input switches for use direct with a source if thats what you wish, boasts a 20 year life span on tubes and uses way, way less idle power and less power at full ouput than the other power mongers out there. You may also utilize the channel strapping option with (2) ZH-270's which will provide you with 105W @ 8 ohms. My single 270 is happy as ever running full-range Soundlab Pristine ll's with no problems. What other amplifier that weighs 9 pounds puts out enough power to drive full-range SL's?? Notta, none.

Best of luck,
Chris

Most OTL's need a speaker that operates within higher impedence curves in general to function normally with overall stablilty. There is only one OTL amplifier in exsistance that does not use brute force design requireing massive power consumption to achieve a moderately high amount of output power which steadily increases as the impedence curve dips. This is the current David Berning designed push-pull OTL power amplifier (ZH-270). Only the highly advanced design of this amplifer makes the following possible - To achieve all the positive sonic attributes of an OTL design without ANY of the usual restrictions, pitfalls and drawbacks. Sure, one cannot expect an amplifer which outputs 84W at the onset of clipping @ 8 ohms to drive anything, but what amplifier of 80 Watts could?? Add the tube life, reliability, funtionality, versitility and the sum is an incredible product that belies other OTL's costing many times as much.

I think I'm done rambling, let me look into the amps stability and power ouput into impedences of >2ohms and get back with you guys.

Best Regards,

Chris

The Berning amps are OTL amplifers, read the technical data on the David Berning website. They are a highly advanced OTL design, I believe that is why this may confuse you. Just because this design does not correlate with other designs based roughly upon original Futterman principals and/or designs certainly does not mean this is not an OTL amplifer. Read the technical data on the website or e-mail me for more specifics which are clearly laid out within the pages of the instruction manual. This is clearly not anything like the old school of thought on conventional OTL's which for the most part incorperate "brute force" technology. There is nothing wrong with the sound or design of many of the favored OTL companies/products and that is not the point that I am attempting to make. It is my point to illustrate that the current David Berning designs represent a state of the art assault on traditional OTL design drawbacks and represent a giant leap forward in OTL design technology. Who would gripe if every OTL amplifer possessed the ability to mate with much larger varieties of loudspeakers as a result of impedence swing tolerances and at the same time retain the wonderful sonic characteristics of an OTL???

www.davidberning.com

Hi Will,

Thanks for your note, I think your curiousity about the Berning products is absolutely valid in regards to how it compares sonically to other OTL amplifers on the market. Aside from the information I have read in various articles and columns I have not yet had the opportunity to listen to another OTL amplifer. Very soon however, a friend of mine and myself are going to Chicago to listen to the Atmasphere MA 1 Mk11's on a pair of Soundlab U1's and we are taking along 2 Bernings with the channels strapped for comparison. I think this should prove interesting and make for an excellent comparison of two different designers out to achieve what they believe is possibly the best sound attainable from audio amplification today. It should be a very intrigueing adventure :)

Chris

I agree with you completely Will about sticking with the OTL sound once you have heard one with the right gear. I have never felt so strongly about any other amplifier I've owned or heard thus far as I feel about the ZH270. I'll bet the Joule's with the Merlins would be great indeed, I would like to hear that combo sometime.
I will report about our experiences in Chicago with the OTL's as soon as we return. It should be an audio day to remember, this is certain :)

Chris

We used 2 Berning 270's on Soundlab Pristine ll's several weeks ago and it was spectacular! More drive, more dynamics, more energy, just an amazing event. One ZH270 is very, very good with the Soundlabs, two is out of this world, they absolutely soar with vibrance, energy and encompass the room with sound. I've had amplifiers that weighed over 6 times as much as a single ZH270 not sound as large and in charge, I never knew anything like this was possible from such physically small amplifer. It is my opinion that the technology found in this piece is matched by no other OTL tube amplifer at this time. Anybody who's curious about some of the other unique features, just ask Tubegroover (Will), he has a manual and I'm sure he has read it by now :) However, he may have a hard time typing and reading with all the bass coming from his listening room :)

Chris

Maybe, as long as you don't listen above 60db :) I think those big Hales might suck the juice right out of the Transcendent T8 monos, their names match well though, catchy :) Lets see, they dish out 80W @ 8ohm, 50W @ 4ohm, probably don't tolerate impedences below 4 ohms at all. I really feel a different OTL amplifier would be in order if you really want to go that route. A certain OTL amplifier comes to mind, you might want to peak at some of the above threads about a special OTL that CAN tolerate and drive more difficult loads with ease. Hint : 270 :)