SET amps ?

You might be surprised at how far 8 watts of SET power can take you



SET amps are ~~anemic,,wimpy, sterile, colorless, no dynamics, ~~ just a  pile of p**p.
Push pull is the king of tubes. 
Speakers for SETs are the same, just bland, lack luster.
High dynamic, high fidelity speakers are low efficiency. 
Bottom line, straight up,  

Jazz,
1)The Raysonic is a parallel SET 18 watts per channel and use three el34 per channel and was favorably reviewed by 6 Moons.

2)The Coincident is 8 watt SET using the el34 (very simple).

3)The Dared uses a 2A3 tube which is a pure DHT (I'm favorably bias toward DHTs).

I'm confident that the Coincident has very good transformers/parts and has a stellar company reputation-track record.
I know little about Dared but if they utilize good transformers it could be a fine choice with its DHT output tube.
I wish you a happy thanksgiving as well.
Charles,

Yes that does look nice fit as well as the Dared MP 2a3c.Also I will consider used,and I am looking at a Raysonic SE 30 mk 2 that is for sale now ? So much to consider.In my older age I buy without hearing,back in the day we did not do that.Thanks man and have a great Thanksgiving.

Jazzman463,
With your smaller room and criteria you listed I think the Coincident Dynamo SET would be a very good solution and it fits your price range.

First guys ,the response is overwelling.I do have several systems working now...
1. Magapan MG II A's ,powered by an Adcom 555,ARC SP 9 MK 3
2. DCM time windows/Marantz # 18
3. Spica TC 50's , Peachtree Nova
4. DCM time windows,/ Emotiva UPA-200 , USP-1
5. Tekton 4.1, NAD 314 // Marantz 1060 // Marantz 1070 rotation...

So this would be just for jazz and chamber music in a small romm.Looking ( before my ears give out )for the SET "sound".I have many different sources from turn tables to CD players to I-Pods.

Tubegroover,
The prototype 845 Berning sounds potentially special when you consider the merits of the builder. There are folks on audiogon with more knowledge about 845 SET amplifiers than me. One in particular is 213 cobra (Phil) he has extensive experience with both SET and OTL and could provide a well informed perspective. Germanboxers is another who has much personal experience with these two amplifier types. Both of them as far as I know listen to a wide range of music and find no limitations with their 845 SETs.I'm more familiar with the 300b SETs and I have no music genre restrictions. Nothing falls apart, becomes congealed, confused or sloppy-muddy.

But to be fair not all SETs are equal and 'some' will behave as you describe and much is speaker dependant as has been pointed out several times here. If the Berning represents the ideal sound you seek then no SET will match that. Conversely the Berning isn't going to sound like the better implemented SETs, so it becomes what a re you looking for?
Charles,

Well I would definitely agree that a higher impedance load particularly for a tube amp will always be advantageous. I am aware that some folks use low powered SET amplifiers with the DeCapos but I'm not convinced that it will suit my needs for my listening tastes but sure would like to try a good one that might work, which is why I asked you your thoughts. Often times people that gravitate towards these amplifiers tend to listen to smaller scale music, at least this SEEMS to be the case to me.

Charles I would like to further comment on the example I gave you above concerning the 845 integrated. This amplifier uses 2 845s per channel for a total of 4 and puts out 35 watts. I'm not too sure about the class of operation and feedback used but what I noted about it and virtually all SETs I've heard relative to the better PP and OTLs is a tendency to get a bit thick and confused during complex, dynamic music. I wouldn't begin to suggest that this is the case for all these designs but it really is my impression over the years from that first time 20 years ago when I heard a small Cary integrated with the 211 tube driving Swann speakers to everything since. Yes I suppose I am a bit prejudiced against SETs in general but only based on my personal experience. I don't necessarily believe they ALL sound like this since I haven't begun to hear everything out there. I seriously doubt I've heard the best of this breed.

I have recently become aware of a prototype 845 based design by David Berning that is pure Class A, zero feedback and 50 watts using his zotl technology. I don't know if and when it will be marketed but this seems to me a design that could meld the best attributes of both SET and OTL amplifiers. My guess is that it still wouldn't be rich enough for some tastes which seemed to be the case with his Seigfried.

Larryi,
I believe that the Horning is successful using the Lowther as a wide band
midrange driver rather than stretching it to the very upper frequencies as a
"full range" driver (they also wisely removed the whizzer cone).
Larry I truly believe that high impedance speaker loads are absolutely
advantageous for SET amps and lower power tube amps in general.

It often seems as though my amplifier is just coasting driving my 14 ohm
speakers. I definitely can relate to your example of the Rogers 3/5A
characteristics with low powered tube amplifiers.
Charles,

I have been quite impressed with the Horning systems set up by High Water at several shows. They were driven by top of the line Tron amps and Thoress amplification. This is a very dynamic, and immediate sounding system but Horning manages to tame the midrange peakiness I would have otherwise expected from the Lowther-based midrange driver. But, I would guess that that kind of midrange speed and detail makes this a VERY picky system when it comes to amplification.

I agree with Charles1dad that ease of driving is particularly important. I think it is much more important to matching with tube gear than efficiency. I heard low-powered amps on a pair of original 15 ohm Rogers 3/5A speakers sound wonderful in a quite large listening room. Those are something like 83 db/w efficient, but at 15 ohms nominal impedance, very easy to drive. A lot of fairly efficient speakers, like Wilson speakers, seem to be particularly challenging to lower powered tube gear because they have a load characteristic that is not suited to such amps.

Goldeneraguy,
Thanks for the invitation to hear your system. At RMAF 2011 I heard the Tron electronics driving a horn speaker in the High Water Audio room and it was one the very best rooms I heard there.

Tubegroover,
Clio09 makes a good point, it really depends on your speaker's ease of drive (not just the sensitivity rating) room, music genre and listening levels.
His result with a 10 watt amp is similar to mine with an 8 watt amp.
I listen to predominantly jazz and big band and sound envelops my room (14×25×8 feet). When I do play classical, usually small-moderate scale it is really compelling and engrossing . Large scale orchestral music is quite good with my 94 db 14 ohm speakers. I won't claim that this is the ultimate set up for large scale orchestra but my point is it does provide a satisfying musical experience. The presentation is very resolved, delineated and lively emotionally.

I'd say the Coincident, Wavelength 300b (several versions available) and Clio09's amp would be worth a listen. Tubegroover, a 845 SET amp may be ideal if your music is mostly larger scale classical fare and high sound volume.
Charles, .

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.

Thank you Charles for providing a few examples. I must say they all look nice particularly the 50 watt Absolare which is quite stunning looking. At 37K a pair I would expect its performance to match its looks and that price. The Allnic at 19.5K looks more promising to us more "pedestrian" audiophiles. I was thinking on the line of something more modestly priced like the Coincident Frankenstein which also looks quite nice. I see you have this amp but at 8 watts it would seemingly require a quite efficient speaker to make full range, large scale music come alive as I have come to expect. I doubt the DeCapos I am currently using at 92db would be efficient enough for use of an 8 watt amp for my needs and room size. Less can certainly be more as long as it's enough.

Charles ,
If you find yourself out here on Long Island you are most welcome for a listen.
Beware, you might fall in love with my Tron Syren and that would hurt the pocketbook
I think the Syren is the cornerstone of my ststem
Enjoy
Ed

Goldeneraguy,
I belive the vast majority posting here acknowledge the concept of room interactions and entire system effect. Your Horning is one of a few speakers I'd really be curious to hear (also Phy driver based speakers) with the Frankenstein amplifier. I think you'd enjoy speaking with Israel Blume.
Charles,

Hi Charles1dad,As good as I thought my was,it took a giant step forward when I replaced my Kuzma Reference with the TW GT turntable and 10.5 tonearm
I am waiting for the arrival of some upgrades for the turntable which should bring it to even higher level.
I often wonder what the Hornings would sound like with your
Franks.I'm headed to Atlantic City and if Lady Luck is kind to me I may be calling Isreal Blume.
I hope all the posters realize that it's not just the speaker amp combo.Its the entire system that must work together in a room that will allow the majesty of music to shine.
Enjoy your wonderful system

Hi Brownsfan,
I asked about those tubes on your system thread earlier today LOL.
Israel is quite proud of the transformer quality in these very affordable Dynamo amps (which are usually the weak point of inexpensive SETs).

Charles, Agree on the Coincident. I'm pretty sure we won't see Israel selling any bad sounding gear. I guess the same could be said for Dennis. Nice to see SOTA guys working a little magic on more affordable stuff. BTW, the 101D's arrived a couple of days ago. First impressions--not a night and day difference between the Psvanes and the Shugs.

Brownsfan,
I believe that the Coincident Dynamo would be an exceptional match with your new speakers. This amplifier certainly has a strong family pedigree. Best of sucess with this bedroom system.
Charles,

Guys, I don't know what happened to the OP but I am enjoying this thread. I am beginning to put together a bedroom system, and my idea is to go with something totally different than my Magnepan/Cary SS main rig. High efficiency monitors driven by a modestly priced SET or push pull is what I had been thinking. The Coincident Dynamo has been under consideration, but I'm also intrigued by Dennis Had's Inspire amps. I have a couple of Ref 3A DeCapo's on the way. Anyone heard anything on the Inspires?

Bombywalla,
Yes the OP has apparently moved on. However I've enjoyed the contributions from you, Larryi, Tubegroover and all the others who've contributed interesting posts.
Goldeneraguy, I imagine your Dehavilland 845 SET and Horning speaker combo sounds fabulous!
Charles,

I'm absolutely enthralled with my 2 watt Decware SE84 SET amp. After having been through a few solid state amps, some considerably more expensive, and another single ended pentode design, it's the SET that ticks my boxes.

The resolution, imaging and musicality of this one are just heads and tails above everything else I've had in my system.

At just under $900.00 I think it's worth a try if you've got speakers that are efficient. It's a 2A3 design with point to point wiring and high quality custom transformers. The primary compromise in design is the aesthetics, not the parts. The SE84 amp will not win any beauty contests though, that's for sure.

While big orchestral or heavy metal music won't sound good on my system, I suspect it's more due to my speakers than the amp. I really believe that with the right speakers, this amp could do just fine with complex music.

I agree that Jazzman463 has left the building!! ;-)
But it is clear now from the discussion that Charles1dad, Tubegroover & Larryi have been having that with Jazzman463 having only $750-1500 available that he should not bother looking into SETs. The quality in the power supply & the transformers is simply not going to be there to deliver the goods. Better options might be Atma-sphere 30W/ch or a P-P like the RM10. thanks.

I have no problem with any kind of music selection as far as SET amps are concerned. If they are paired with suitable speakers, they can deliver clarity, detail, weight, and do everything quite well. But, they are considerably harder to match with speakers, given their low output and quite high output impedance than a pushpull amp, and probably harder than an OTL given how low the output of most SETs (an issue for me because I prefer the 45 and 2a3 tube over 300b or 211 or 845). But, I also agree that most of the lower priced models do not deliver the goods--it really does take high quality output transformers to get decent SET sound and that does not come cheap. I've heard a few of the supposed giant killers and the sound of these tend to be quite bad--anemic, dead and too light weight-- in the setups I heard (perhaps the amps would have sounded better with easier loads).

OTLs are no different from other amps--each implementation/tube type sounds different. Atmasphere and Joule OTLs, for example, sound very different and which is "better" is a matter of taste.

When someone is determined and able to try something new and different, there is no time better the present.

Dared seems like good value. I think of TEkton in general, monitors in particular, as pretty set friendly, but not I am not familiar with those Tektons specifically.

I would expect very nice results with a Dared/Tekton pairing for very modest cost.

Tubegroover,
SETs I've heard that sound very natural and honest without embellishment
are the following. Absolare, Coincident, Wavelength, Dehavilland and
Allnic. By reputation Audion amplifiers , Fi Audio and some Yamamto amps
meets this standard and I'm sure there are more. To be fair within the niche
of SET there's much variety of sound and presentation. Simply swapping
either output, driver, input tubes or changing capacitors can produce very
noticeable differences. I've heard Viva sound fantastic with certain
speakers.
Of course my idea of natural and realistic could be interpreted as too rich
and warmly colored to you and conversely my too lean and thin is
may be your "just right".

I get exceptional resolution, articulation, separation and clarity with my SET
so I don't suffer the short comings you've mentioned. You may not find a
SET that satisfies your ears as much as your OTL does. So many factors
shape our preferences. Berning could simply be the ideal choice for you
and anything else will fall short of your needs. We both are very happy with
our different types of amplifiers.
Charles,

Thank you Charles for your input. I do suppose that you are right, I just prefer OTLs overall for what they generally provide and I hear in live music. I don't personally find OTLs lean sounding but compared to virtually all the SETs I've listened to I can certainly see where some would. I have an audio buddy that owns an Italian Integrated 845 based SET, huge transformers and a beast at 135 lbs. I've heard it plenty of times and really like it for vocals, it can really draw you into the performance. The last time we listened my impressions were as you describe so well above. Interestingly to ME that "color saturation" that really serves voice so well did not carry over to instruments. The timbre was too much of a good thing which is a consistent impression. Piano sounded unnaturally rich to me and ironically I found it missing much of the subtle ambient harmonic overtones and decay in the recording venue that is so clearly resolved with my Berning. There must be a balance somewhere and I was just curious to know if there is an SET out there reasonably priced that might "win me over" with across the board performance. I just haven't heard one to date less the Lamm but would love to.

Tubegroover,
It could just be the case that OTLs suit your desires better and I could
understand that easily. My exposure has been Atma-Sphere and Berning,
they both do 'many' things well and their reputation and loyalty have been
earned. This will obviously be a personal perspective but the better quality
versions of SETs I've heard (primarily 300b and 845) win out with superior
tone,timbre-harmonic overtones and profound tactile pressence. They
sound closer to what I consistently heard at live events, full body, color,
weight and vibrancy. For me the OTLs present a leaner, scaled down
interpretation that some will say is more accurate, not to me. When that
natural tonal body and color saturation is missing, so is the life, soul and
emotional connection. I must have this realistic fullness otherwise the
effective result is merely hifi. I also find SETs to be utterly transparent
and maintaining musical purity. It goes without saying that there are those
who'd disagree with my impression and that makes sense and would be
expected. Is it 2nd order harmonics I'm responding to? Could be but it
sounds closer to live
instruments and voice and that's all I want , as much organic realism as is
possible. There are multiple choices in amplifiers and each type will have
its advocates. The key to sonic happiness is knowing what is most
satisfying and involving for you and going for it.
Charles,

Hi Tubegroover,
Agee,It comes down to preferences as my experiences differ from yours and all considered it's SET rather than the OTLs I've heard. Certainty many listeners will find genuine satisfaction with either, that's for sure. The sheer realism quality of SET is the most compelling/convincing I've heard so far.

It does seem the OP has disappeared.
Charles,

In any case Charles, I am looking for an SET that has the transparency and full bandwidth performance ALONG with the magical midrange that I hear with a good OTL type design which I have found, when used with the right speaker, can be most special and more importantly, realistic. Not everyone would agree with my assessment it seems but many sure do. I have many more personal listening experiences with OTL type designs, Ive heard numerous and owned a few but I'm no absolutist about anything audio, it often just boils down to synergy as well as taste, what works best in a given application. I am wondering if my experience with SETs in general, I have heard a few expensive ones besides the above mentioned Lamm, also lacking what I have come to expect from an amplifier. We all have our tastes, biases and objectives, no? This is not a challenge to you as so much as to me and my prejudices based on MY experiences and tastes. I REALLY would like to be aware of and listen to a great SET that would take back my general preconceptions that is not other worldly in price.

Guys ,I'm late to the game and every post has it's merits.
I'm in the SET camp.I find they transfer the purest signal to my hybrid horns.
However the OP asked about amps in the 750-1500 dollar range and I doubt that a good SET or OTL could be found in that price range.
Also I think the OP may have left the building.

Enjoy your music

Hi Tubegroover,
Your overall assessment of SET amplifiers is spot on, there is a hierarchy that exists. Although SETs have very simple circuits and generally fewer parts, what usually seperates them is the output transformer and power supply quality and they aren't cheap. A budget SET will have some inevitable limitations. The OP mentions a small listening room and has an easy to drive speaker. For 1500.00 particularly if he considers an used amp I think there are some SET options that are worthwhile. I'll provide some viable choices later today (Have go to the airport now). Tubegroover there are for certain good PP amps in this range that would serve the OP well.
Charles,

Art Audio Jota HC with KR 300BXLS gives 24WPC and will drive any Tannoy 15" DC very nicely.

Hi Charles

Yes I am sure you are talking about those that are well designed as was Salectric, at least that can perform at a satisfactory performance level that they can be used on a wide variety of music. The output transformer and power supply design would certainly come into play as it does with all designs but more so with an SET to realize realistic performance across the frequency spectrum. I have yet to hear a budget SET, admittedly the breed I'm most familiar with, perform adequately full bandwidth, at least from my perspective. This isn't to say they don't exist but I doubt at the budget the OP is looking at. This is why I chimed in on this thread. I personally feel that a PP or say a used Atmas-phere 30 watt stereo OTL may be a better alternative unless he listens primarily to small scale, music where a budget SET would be satisfactory and perform quite well, that magical midrange. I have heard a few expensive, well designed SETs that were superb across the board, the Lamm being a great example with the Russian 6C33 tube, not typical for sure and very expensive.

Since their reemergence as a more mainstream audiophile alternative for high efficiency speakers 20 years or so ago, there have been numerous offerings at various pricepoints so I'm sure there are some that offer excellent performance for all types of music. Out of general curiosity I too would be interested in hearing your input as to what one might have to spend to achieve what I have described above and a few examples.

Take a look at Bottlehead. They are kits, but offer a lot more value for the money. If you can get past the "kit" aspect you will be rewarded with a great amp sounding much better than the price. Of course, getting it professionally built might push them out of your budget as well.

When discussing a SET amp I'm speaking of those that are well designed, built and implemented, this along with a well chosen speaker will allow enjoyment of all genres of music.SET is capable of far more than only small scale and vocal (though it does these very well). Lesser amplifiers of any topology(not just SET) will lack this ability. In the stated price range I'd agree there are more choices among PP amplifiers. Good quality SETs don't come cheap but can be found for reasonable cost. Any amplifier type has 'some' degree of intrinsic compromise along the performance spectrum.

To me it depends on musical taste as well as speaker efficiency as to whether or not an SET will suit your individual needs. I find these amps have their limitations for ALL types of music but fare extremely well with small scale and vocal music. The budget SETs I've personally listened to would be less preferrable than a PP tube amp that would probably achieve greater musical satisfaction over a broader range of music. No one can answer this for you. You have to listen yourself. Like Ralph, I prefer OTLs and secondly a good PP amp for the wide range of music I listen to, but that is me. I would expect a good SET with wide bandwidth performance, convincing bass and dynamic impact would cost considerably more than your budget would allow.

I agree with Bombaywalla, step back, determine what you are trying to achieve within your budget and try to listen to as many options as you can.

11-22-13: Mt10425
Bombay-as an owner/user of the C&C Abbys, mated with a sub and driven by an EL-34 based p/p amp, I can listen to AC/DC at volumes just short of 'I can't hear the person sitting next to me'.

I'm sure that I believe you.
I was merely asking if the entire system using a SET (not P/P as you are) would deliver for the OP. Something he needs to find out for himself.....

Hi Sal,
Your listing of the multiple variables involved are true and no one could
argue against that point. But here's the deal, the OP posted this thread
stating a curiosity and interest in SET amplifiers . He's seeking feedback
before making a decision. Presumably he has little or no experience with
SET amps. He has to begin his quest somewhere, so I'd think there's some
appreciation for a dialog about these types of amplifiers and people's
experience with them. Isn't that reasonable? I did the same thing over4
years ago when I developed an interest in the unkown(to me) niche of SET
amplifiers and experienced members here were extremely helpful. I'm
attempting to do the same for Jazz463. Could he be happy with non SET
amps? Of course he could. I just happen to find the SET to be very special
when executed well.
Charles,

Thanks Larry for sharing about the massive OTL amp from Greece. Very interesting!

Whenever I read one of these SET vs. PP threads, I am always left shaking my head. There is just so much more to the sound of an amp than this one aspect. Most of the time people are comparing very different types of amplifiers and they then ascribe the differences to the SET/PP aspect alone. It matters quite a bit what type of tube is involved. Among the directly heated tubes, the 211, 300B, 2A3, 45 and 46 all sound quite different. Then there's the matter of input and driver tubes and circuitry, all of which can sound quite different. The output transformer is very important. Then there's the power supply---solid state vs. tube rectifiers, type of supply filtering, regulated or not, do the directly heated tubes have AC or DC filament supplies? And we are not even scratching the surface of component differences---every capacitor, every resistor, every wire has some effect on the sound. Plus all of these issues apply to both the SE and PP amps.

The bottom line is that amps sound different for many reasons, only one of which is whether they are SE or PP.

In my case, I have 3 pairs of monoblocks, two PP and one SE, and I rotate them in my system every couple weeks depending on my mood. They all sound excellent but in different ways. None is categorically superior to the others.

Thanks very much Larryi, I can appreciate your admiration for these obviously one of a kind masterpiece amplifiers. This amplifier must weigh the proverbial ton! Now I understand the prohibitive cost.
Charles,

Charles1dad,

The OTL amp I mentioned is an amp built in the late 1970's by someone in Greece. It was never a "commercial" product. I have been told that the builder made about 10-12 amps, two of which were brought to the USA by the Greek ambassador in the 1990s. I cannot recall what kind of tubes are utilized, but, I understand that the tubes are old television sweep tubes. I also understand this amp utilizes the Futterman OTL design. The amp puts out about 30 watts.

Each of the monoblocs is massive--each contains a huge toroidal power transformer and four smaller toroidal transformers. I understand that in each monobloc there is essentially four separate power amps, including four separate power supplies, hence the four transformers. The previous owner had it for the past ten years and pretty much kept the amp on and in standby all the time; the output tubes were never changed in that time and very little adjustment to bias has been required (attesting to how gently the tubes have been run in the amp). I know the owner of the other pair of these OTL amps that is in this country. That other amp is actually a different version and has 4 boxes instead of two.

What is particularly striking about these OTLs is how they make even small and lower-cost speakers sound surprisingly "BIG" and ballsy and alive. OTLs, in general, are good at doing this (you could call it a parlour trick); this OTL is particularly good at this game.

Hi Larryi,
Knowing that you own an Audio Note Kageki, that OTL must be quite expensive if it causes you to pause. Is this OTL amplifier a bespoke-purely custom component?
Charles,

"The question is , is now the time to try a SET tube amp ?"

Yes, now is a great time. I would recommend a 300b amp, not because that's
what I like (which I do) but for reasons based on what I think would
"marry" better with your 4.1's. Although if a particularly good deal
comes up on a 2a3 based amp, I'd say go for it.

"How long do the tubes tend to last ? "

Depends how hard the designer runs them. In general, they should last for at
least a couple of years.

Like I said, I could be off base with my suggestion.
I too anticipate that I will someday become an SET guy. I like what I have now, which are as far from SET you can get circuit wise in a tube amp ( A Jadis DA-60 and Consonance Cyber 800 mono blocks and some others amps)

Bombay-as an owner/user of the C&C Abbys, mated with a sub and driven by an EL-34 based p/p amp, I can listen to AC/DC at volumes just short of 'I can't hear the person sitting next to me'.

I don't think any particular topology is inherently superior. A lot depends on implementation and system compatibility. I own two good pushpull amps (a pushpull 45 amp and a 349 amp) and a 2a3 SET (actually a parallel SET). I like both the 349 and the 2a3 SET a lot, perhaps the pushpull 349 more than the other, but, then again, the linestage I currently use is specifically matched to the 349 amp.

In a heartbeat, I would trade either or both of these "favorite" amps for a particular OTL amp that I have had the pleasure to hear. Unfortunately, these particularly amps take up WAY too much space and are extremely expensive, which is why I passed on a recent change to own them.

The SET amp is particularly good at presenting all of the fine detail, nuance, and complex interplay of instruments without being harsh or brittle sounding (a problem with many supposedly "detailed" gear). The 349 pushpull amp is not quite as open on top and does not quite have the same delicate touch as the SET amp, but it delivers a more propulsive bass line and has a fantastically realistic midrange. The OTL I heard is so immediate, punchy and alive that it is startling, yet it is smooth and not the least bit harsh sounding.

Conversely, I've heard plenty of, to me, crappy sounding SETs, pushpull amps (not heard a really crappy OTL, though many have turned out to be somewhat high maintenance).

11-21-13: Clio09
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.

+1

I have read many more personal accounts of people that went to SET and stayed, than of those that went away from SET. I can't imagine leaving mine.

Bombaywalla,
You raise good points and I agree there are multiple roads to audio satisfaction. The OP specifically mentioned SET, a price range for these amps and even listed a particular SET amplifier he's considering(Dared MP 2A3c). So it appears he has given some degree of thought into this. SET have some limitations as do "every" other type of amplifier.
Jazzman463 what do you think?
Charles,