2. amps-preamps
  3. 1384973189

SET amps ?

Hi all, I have been a budget system builder since the mid 70's.I still have my first system ( Marantz 1060/Pioneer PL 12D ,JBL l36.I stopped in the mid 80"s for kids.I have Adcoms,NADs several Marantz's you know the deal.Anyway I picked up a pair of Tekton 4.1's and have them powered by an NAD 314.The question is , is now the time to try a SET tube amp ? I have been looking at several in the $750.00 to $1500.00 range. I do have a nice small listening room for the 4.1's . The Dared MP 2A3c looks interesting at the price.Any feed back would be helpful.How long do the tubes tend to last ? Thanks...
jazzman463

Showing 3 responses by clio09

clio09
3,363 posts
 
I have spent quite a bit of time in the last couple of years listening to SET and OTL amps with my reasonably efficient speakers. I enjoy both equally as much. So much so I am now part of a group that manufactures SET amps and just recently became a dealer for OTL amps.

That being said one of my "pet" amps is a push-pull design using EL-84 tubes. The Music Reference RM-10. I would highly recommend this to the OP if he is inclined to move away from SET. Used it would fall within the budget.
clio09
3,363 posts
 
When a "?" is used to me that is an interrogative. So IMO the OP is asking a question as to whether or not this is the time to try a SET amp. My answer is simply "maybe," but don't rule out a push-pull.
clio09
3,363 posts
 
You might be surprised at how far 8 watts of SET power can take you. The DeCapo's are very good and an easy load to drive. Depending on your room size and how loud you like to listen, 8 watts could easily work. A lot will depend on the quality of the output transformers and it's impedance. However, as a case in point our 300B SET (12 watts) was used with Fritzspeaker Carbon 7 monitors at 87dB and 6 ohms in a 13 x 18 room and we could not clip the amp. We were getting SPLs over 90dB quite easily. If anything the room itself prevented us from really cranking it up.
More to discover