Recommend Speakers For Yamamoto

Rocky,

While I don't know of any places to listen to the Yam/Zu combo, there are places in the Bay Area to listen to SETs and high efficiency speakers.

There are several dealers in the area that have SET amps.

try Pitch Perfect Audio in SF, Taurus Tube audio in Newark, and Witch Doctor Audio in Oakland.

You should be able to get a feel for the SET sound.

Also, the Bay Area Audiophile Society is having some kind of Zu demo in October.

I'm with Microjack on this one. I was under the impression that you already owned the Yamamoto amp and were looking for speakers to match. Since that is not the case, personally I would recommend a different approach.

I've heard several 45 based amps and they can sound very good with the right speaker. However, you are greatly limited in the speakers you can use because of the very low output power of the 45 tube.

Specifically about the Yamamoto, I'm not too thrilled with the way it is made. Take a look at this one which just sold on AudiogoN:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstube&1159237527

Screwing the legs into a thin wood panel, near the edge, is an accident waiting to happen. A small bump on the end of the leg, or if the box gets dropped in shipping, is going to cause the unit to become physically damaged like the one shown in the photo.

Personally I would look for an amp with somewhat more power. There are some great 2A3 SET amps out there. For instance, take a look at some of the ones from Larry Moore at Ultra Fi Times. They are extremely well built and sound great! Also, the designer and builder is the same person.

Enjoy,

TIC

I am with all your valuable suggestions. Sorry for not making myself clear in the beginning. I will make some arrangement to hear some of the SET amp setup before jumping the boat. I am a person that don't change system often especially when is come to Amp and Preamp. That is why when I selected my main system is the best out there IMO. So if even it cost a little more than my planned budget I would rather save and wait a little longer. As for the source that is a different story a few months ago I added the Squeeze Box because of the convience than keep changing CDs :)

Again thank you,
Rocky

The comments here are very interesting. I read Darkmoebius comments and agree with their thrust and general guidlines- it seriously helps to know at the very least what similiar products sound like and how well your choices will help you achieve your goal. I would say that sometimes we all have to roll the dice a little in our decision making and if we all follow an always rational, measured apporach to component selection and are not listening with our passion engaged we might be in big trouble with the final result. I ordered the Yamamoto unheard (not received it yet) because I felt it presented a pretty rare opportunity for great sound (there are a lot of mediocre amps out there) and could live with myself if after trying different approaches I felt it did not measure up. I have a good solid-state system already (Naim Nait 5i/Cd 5x/ProAc Tablette or JM Lab Chorus 705s) and wanted a amp with a different take and perhaps some different strengths and weaknesses. I have owned several tube amps including single-ended triode in the past and heard many more so I know a little bit about what to expect. For me, the choice may have been as much about "discovering" the sound as "achieving" certain sonic attributes. Who knows, it may just be fun.
By the way, I ordered Omega speakers for this amp and after a week of breaking them in I can say I really like them.

Ghanson,

I totally agree with your sentiment that we have to sometimes take chances on component purchases. But, hopefully those "chances" are made an exducated or experienced reference.

In Rocky's case, he has never heard a SET amp or high effficiency speakers at all. So, jumping in with the Yamamoto 45 SET is more likely to yield a bad experience then good. There are many, many, limitations to amps with that low wattage(as well as benefits). But, you have to know what you are doing to get a satisfying synergy performance in a system.

And, let's face it, SET's are not for everyone musically. There are people who simply do not like the sound at all no matter which manufacturers products they hear. Rocky should at least find out if he's in this camp or not before dropping $4,000-7,000(used vs. new) on the Yamamoto and Zu's.

He needs to at least hear a few of the most popular SET's - 45, 300B, 2A3, EL34, 845, etc. to get a sense of which sound he prefers. There's such a big difference between each.

Then, he heeds to hear a good fullrange/single drive, true compression horns, and even some SET-friendly two or 3 way regular dynamic speakers.

Luckily, he's in a good city for hearing high-eff systems. There are plenty of owners in the Bay Area.