Recommended SET amp and speakers to 20k
I’d get this: https://www.daedalusaudio.com/bundle-muse-lta if you must spend the full Monty and have a larger room I’d swap in the larger Apollo speakers. Check it out! |
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There are too many possibilities and variations to list. I would suggest starting by choosing a pair of speakers. Preferably by actual extended opportunity to listen or demo. If that's impossible (damned coronavirus!) then by specs/design/size/WAF. Ex. horns or not horns? Single drivers or xover connected? Full range or limited range? Floorstanders or stand mount? Once you have a pair (or two or three) of speakers shortlisted then you can look for suitable amps and I'm sure that all the good folks here will be prepared to offer you lots of advise. One word of caution: listing a price point is very helpful but can also bite you in the a$$. Asking for recommendations "...to 20k" is going to ensure that you will receive (on average) seven recommendations at or about 20k, one for 40k, one for 3k and one for a SS system. So what's my point? You can easily spend 20k on a set system but you can also spend a lot less or a lot more. The target should be to buy for sound, not for price. I think that you were simply setting an upper limit but I assume that you are open to spending less for a great system? |
I have a customer who has Zu Druids and an Art Audio Carissa. He is super happy with the combo. Full disclosure, I have no affiliation with Zu but am the importer and re-seller for Art Audio. Here is a link to the Zus https://www.zuaudio.com/loudspeakers/druid-r3jpx Here is a link to the Art Audio Carissa https://artaudio.us/products/carissa-se-845-copper-reference-stereo-power-amplifier With preamp, this would be over your budget. However, I have a stereo Carissa coming in on trade which I am going to be selling for $4500. He is upgrading to our Harmony Silver Integra. I am just about to relaunch our VPS preamp which is a dual-mono preamp that will be available for $4000. The VPS is such new news I haven't even created the product for sale yet. It would come in a bit below your $20K budget at $18,500. There are a million other options. I happen to know this would be a very good combo. You could probably use the extra $1500 to get a sub to go with the Druids. |
I agree with previous posts that suggest the possibilities are nearly endless. Some would view the world of SET amps as a small niche, in an overall context of High End Audio that/s probably true. However within that special niche it is really something as to the number of SET choices available and many of them good! Just within the 300b SET group there are multiple choices that span a broad price range. You still have 2A3, 845, 211,PX25 choices aplenty. Then you move on to speakers and there are again numerous choices. Granted that most of these speakers are from small/cottage type of brands but of very good quality. And again covering a wide price spectrum. Here is one (of many possibilities) example. Coincident Frankenstein MK III 300b SET mono blocks (I own the older MK II version) ) paired with the superb Cube Audio Nenuphar with single 10 inch driver. Or the same simplifier paired with the lower cost (but highly regarded) Coherent Audio coaxial 2 way with choice of 10, 12 or 15 inch woofer (depends on room size). Either of these speakers could be driven easily with a 3 watt 2A3 SET if desired. I could go on and on with other combos. Bottom line is there are many,many options available. 845 SETs open up other possibilities. Charles |
I second the Charney Audio recommendation by larryi. Beautiful horns built on the tractrix theory that engage the listener. http://charneyaudio.com |
There are a lot of good suggestions, in my opinion, listed above. I liked the Spatial Audio speaker too, and the 10" Cube Audio Nenuphar, and if you like your sound to be extremely dynamic (who doesn't) and don't mind a bit of a hard edge and brittleness, Zu speakers are in the game. If you are looking for a warm, musical speaker that remains lively and engaging, Audio Note speakers should be auditioned. They can work with low-powered SET amps (Audio Note sells such amps), even though they are not super efficient. I own a speaker system where the midrange driver/horn alone is worth at least $25k, and yet, I might some day trade it in on a Charney Audio system that costs something like $17,000; it is that good. |
You'll get as many recommendations as you will responses. You aren't asking about a sound bar for your new TV. For that kind of $$ you need to get out and kick some tires to truly find out what you like. For all the good your question will do in this forum, you might as well close your eyes and point to a page on the Sphile recommended components issue. Might as well start there. Oz |
Ozzy, I find forum threads to be a good starting point. You get replies from people who have owned or heard products that someone is not aware of. I don't expect anyone to go blindly follow multitudes of suggestions (how could they?). But one can begin to assemble information and gather data and then begin a search with some sense of direction. If the OP does not have much exposure to SET amplifiers you have to ask questions and start somewhere. This would be followed by going out and trying to hear as much as is reasonably possible. There's so much available you will never be able to hear everything. You just do the best you can manage. Charles |
Charles, It has been a long time since I heard Odeon speakers. At the time, I did not like the tonal qualities (coloration), but, I am now more used to, and can live with such tonal qualities. Overall, I did like the speaker, but, not enough to buy one. I cannot say whether I would like the system these days, given my ever evolving taste in systems. I own a system that uses a horn midrange, but, it does not have much of the "megaphone" or nasal quality of many other horn drivers. |
Getting hifi bandwidth out of an SET is challenging when the full power is over about 8 watts or so. Usually the bass is sacrificed so that the output transformer can make it to 20KHz. Often that works, since the speakers that have the sort of efficiency you need sacrifice bass response for efficiency so you wouldn't hear the bass rolloff in the amp anyway. However before pulling the trigger, you might want to audition a triode push-pull amplifier of the same power. You may find that the decreased distortion and increased bandwidth to be helpful on the resolution side, and the simple fact that a push-pull amp has less distortion means that you have a greater percentage of usable power. SETs really should not be pushed past about 20% of full power, as distortion at power levels above that in the transients of the music cause them to sound very 'dynamic'. Maybe this is me, but I prefer to hear the dynamic quality of the music, rather than distortion masquerading as 'dynamics'. |
Dragon Inspire QMB-25 mono amps (made by Dennis Had) cost around 4 grand a pair new, and add whatever model of high efficiency Klipsch Heritage speakers you prefer as lately a few have been redisigned...Heresy IV, Forte III, and Cornwall IV (102db efficiency for that one). I use a little single ended allegedly wide band 12wpc Had amp with Heresy IIIs and it’s all the amp I need...except for the two powered REL subs. No audible distortion ever and it’s clean clear and powerful. |
Luxman MQ-300 (on audiogon, 15k-ish) + Devore O/96 (available for around 7k on usaudiomart, grab it before it goes). Should come to around 20k. Probably will be the best SET/speaker combo in the planet. Cannot get better than this. Have heard both of them, and some of the best SETs around when I was looking for a 300b amp, Luxman MQ-300 is out of this world. |
essrand and wolf_garcia are both adamant (even passionate) in regard to their respective amplifier and speakers recommendation. I don't doubt either of them. It would really be fun and insightful to compare these two pairings head to head. The Dennis Had SEP amplifier and a Klipsch speaker combo is probably less than half the cost of the Luxman MQ 300 and Devore Orangutans 96 . Would be quite interesting to see what margin of performance gap exist between (assuming there is one).them. Charles |
essrand, I understood your post. When you come across a truly superb audio component it does leave an indelible impression. I was coming from a relative value/performance perspective. How close could the less expensive amp/speaker combo come (sound quality) to the Luxman MQ-300/Devore pairing. Charles |
