Is SET amplification where we should all end up? I keep reading posts where people tell of their journeys from plenty power to micro power, and how amazing SET amplification is 45 set 211 set 845 set otl, and usually, ....with the right speaker. I have yet to read of anyone who has gone the other direction from SET, to High watt beast class A amps or others. If your speakers can be driven by minimal wattage, is this the most realistic, natural sound we can achieve? versus say, 86db sensitive speakers and a 1000w amp? Is the end result solely based on speaker pairing? circuit? tubes?
I am in the process of changing my direction in my search for realistic sound, just because, and wondering if this really is the best direction to be going. From what I have been reading I think it may be.
I will never leave SET, live performers in room, ability to change flavors, micro dynamics just amazing, sufficient macro dynamics with correct speakers, transparency that just amazes. Whats not to like!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bravo SETs are the marraige of King to Queen. But look at whats most often talked about here. Big PP amps and low sens speakers. I plan to get a budget chinese 845. The Defy with new Mundorf high end caps, Takman resistors will most likely`~ collect dust. Poor Mr Jadis.... so sad,......ARC in Minnesota as well.... The sign of the times,,,
For close to three decades I ran Naim solid state gear. Loved it. I was satisfied.
Then I had a chance to buy a pair of Quad ESL 63s and an Innersound Electrostatic amp. It sounded better than my Naim 135s on the Quads.
Then I picked up a pair of JBL 4430 monitors.
When I retired I bought a Supratek tube preamp. Replaced the Innersound with a Quad 909. Dipped my toes in the SET water with a 300B amp, which I use on the JBLs.
Now I switch between the two systems. They both sound awesome. They both have compromises. But they both have synergies and areas where their performance excels. Neither is perfect.
The destination should be contentment, not perfection. Everything matters and there's always something better out there.
OK just tested the SET and havea YT uploading, will post when finished... Look even 6 watts is too much power for these 92db WBers. I should add, the desiner has pure COLBALT output transforers, which are the best, but pack a super wallpo of punch.
I can not even imagine driving AER/Voxativ's 94db-100db speakers with this 250 tube pure colbalt trans amplifier. I mean at 8 oclock, the SPL would be over whleming.
Seems to me, ideally, the best SETs are flear watts, 1 watt, - 5 watts. And not sure if pure colbalt trans, which are very expenisve are necessary. Why the added power of colbalt trans??? Not needed. My 92db WBers are maxed out at 10 oclock on the vol pot. I'm wondering if the high tech super Class A JEFT opamps in the DAC are adding too foraward a gain in the source..??? paid $100 each for those guys, but perhaps these high tech guys are amplifiying the source too much..?? I'll go back to jadi's stock ops and see what gives. I doubt if much ..if at all.
This test proves we do not need PP amplification. Low powered SETs have more, wayyyy more than enough power to drive any higher sens speakers, with massive SPL.
There is so much dis-information, mis-understandings surrounding SET amps. SETs have just as much if not more bass SLAM as any PP amp. Can not see any reason why PP amps have received so much attention these past decades. SET amplification is the most practical and most musical amplification.
RIP PP amplification You served us well.... GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!
Maybe a Cayin low powered EL34 linear/Triode mode amp maight be acceptable along with SETs. Amp I had, but sold off, due to the reasoning *has not enough power* under the delusion, more power = better amplification. More power = less superior amplification. Sold it off cheap.
PP amps = fidelity SET amps = high fidelity. Close but No Cigar
OK 6 watt SET 250 tube with PURE COLBALT output tansformers. Tiny but packa super punch and very expensive trans.' Wayyy more than enough power, Close to the Defy's slam. Defy and EL 34 amps, both max on SPL at say 930 on the linestage vol pot. SET 6 watt, 10:30 maxed out. You might say thats only a 1 hour dif.. But its better than nothing. I really want the freedom on vol control, which I don't have with PP amplification.. I should say, SET and PP power are very close and musical image is close. I have to recant some of my superlatives on SETs are superior to PP amplification.. I bet these 6 watt colbalt trans amps can drive even the big Sound lab, big magnepan, bif martin Logan's with flair and finesse. But of course not a happy match.
WE really need to clean up, clear up the many misunderstandings, mis info surrounding SET amplification.
I feel these SET amps are the superior amplication and see no need for PP designed amps.. Also, Not sure if pure colbalt trans are needed, as its actually too much power from the output transformers. But not sure, its possible low quality trans lack the slam the colbalts deliver. SET amps require 20 minutes to warm up for max output. As I just learned......
I mean at 8 oclock, the SPL would be over whleming.
SETs generate up to 10%THD at full power. If you have a lower powered SET on a speaker of insufficient efficiency, the result will be a lot of distortion, which the ear translates as 'loudness'.
But if you use a sound pressure level meter, you see the truth of the situation.
SETs have just as much if not more bass SLAM as any PP amp.
This is demonstrably false. SETs have a lot of trouble making bass because of limitations in the output transformer. If you really want to get the bass right, to prevent phase shift (since you have no feedback in most SETs) you have to have full power bandwidth to 1/10th of the lowest frequency to be reproduced (20Hz). That means you need bandwidth to 2Hz and SETs simply can't do that.
For that matter **most** PP amps can't either, but they get a lot closer. There are class A triode tube amps that do have full power to 2Hz FWIW.
I have yet to find a better amp than my Wavac EC300b. Anyone who has listened to a good high efficiency speaker driven by a good SET, lest they are Harvey Wallbanger won’t go back to anything else. That said, I‘d love to listen to the AGD Audion class-d amps. There might be a revolution in the making…
It was being driven by I forget what preamp so hard to judge inner detail but what we heard was terrific and with 37 SET watts the thing was a beast! Really looking forward to getting it back in here for Chuctoberfest, hopefully with a much better preamp to be able to better judge just how good it really is. But I was excited to hear and my first SET experience was no let down, that is for sure.
I mean at 8 oclock, the SPL would be over whleming.
SETs generate up to 10%THD at full power. If you have a lower powered SET on a speaker of insufficient efficiency, the result will be a lot of distortion, which the ear translates as 'loudness'.
But if you use a sound pressure level meter, you see the truth of the situation.
SETs have just as much if not more bass SLAM as any PP amp.
This is demonstrably false. SETs have a lot of trouble making bass because of limitations in the output transformer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will admit I am spaeking in generaliztions
The 92db WBers were screaming at above say 11 oclock on some recordings. maybe ina larger room , might have better results. But as i selectively only listen low/mid vol, never ever high,,SET's at say 10 oclock on the linestage pot is top SPL for my near field listening enviornment.
The SET made just as much solid bass as the KT88 and EL34.
Perhaps on a low eff/lower sens big box speaker,, yeah , PP are the preferable.
But lets not underestimate what a SET is capabale of Especially when we have solid COLBALT out put trans in the mix, These powerful trans, are not cheap, I should add. Tech says something like $1G each.. which if true, makes these SETs one very special amp. But again it was too much power than I need/want. More /better control on linestage vol pot vs the PP amps, but just by a tad margin. Its the only SET I;'ve heard, and my opinion is this based on this SET. PP and SET's are very close in sound, Its not like SETs are sooo much better. I don't believe this at all. But givena choice, I'd rather have my music flowing through, a very cool looking 845 tube vs a basic kt88/el34 POWER tube. You get more finesse, something superior froma SET tube. Miniscule nuance, but certainly the better choice. If we blind test low vol, it would be a lucky guess if a PP vs SET is on the speaker.
Overall SET's take the Cigar. My tech who designs and retails both, enjoys both designs. I'm a either/or kind of guy, as you can tell. Only 1 can take the prize home. Again, we are talking nuances, but also I like the fact SETs seems to have less curent, power push, and so I gain more control on linestage vol pot.
Again to point out, perahps the Voxativ/AER 's allow even more power w/o breakup in higher SPL's.
I don't need high SPL, so the DavidLouis works perfectly fine at say 80db SPL.
To me thats loud.
SETs may not have all the power of say a Jadis JA200 mono blocks,, but they are not wimpy on slam either, SET fans are less interested in power , more(by a slim margin= nuances) about finesse, details, dynamics, SETs vs PP, sound is not that far apart on most higher sens speakers.
Its now possible to make class D amps that are just as smooth as the best tube amps (whatever you have in mind what that might be) and even more detailed (owing to lower distortion).
I'm willing to entertain the thought class D amps could replicate SET sound qualities at some point. Based on comparison reviews I've seen, not there yet. I admit the AGD amps had me intrigued. Class D would have the advantage of cooler running and not suffering tube wear.
I thought the Defy would heat my small rm too much down here in new orleans,, but really has not been an issue. Actually its a dry heat, and may burn up some of the humidity in the room, mixed with a small ac in the wash room window 1 short hall away...., its been all ok.... Gotta have a 845 glowing at night, more spectacular than the Defy's 12 KT88's...
A really nice sounding class d amp is the SPEC but I found it to get a bit boring over time. I enjoy a certain amount of variety. Have you heard the SPEC Ralph? When is yours coming out and what’s the price point?
The LSA Voyager 350 GaN amp is smoother than any SS Ive owned, the lone, very distant, exception being my Kinergetics KBA 75 which was 75 wpc pure class A..And a mere $3000, with trades allowed. Sounds much cleaner overriding the soft rubber footers and removing the top
When is yours coming out and what’s the price point?
@bjesien We're doing limited production right now. They are $5200/pair.
I've not heard the SPEC amp. But I have heard class D amps that are boring; I know what you're talking about. There's as much variance with class D amps as there is with tube amps.
@Atmosphere - boring is kind of crude for my description so I'll tell you what my 10 year old at the time said- We were listening to Metallica comparing the Luxman 590AXII to the SPEC (intro integrated but like $6K) with Devore Nines.
He thought through the Luxman, the band had authority and energy- real drive! He said through the SPEC they sounded like they were dressed in their Sunday best sitting neatly around a dinner table.
The amp had fine detail and was dead quiet but when you listen to metal the system should convey the kind of energy that makes you want to throw a chair through the window or at least be able to get you excited. It was awesome with electronica on the other hand.
We always seem to hear this when guys talk about an amp or speaker being good for this or that genre. For me there has to be some magic in the midrange without being too hyped that it gets fatiguing or makes my ears ring at 85 db.
So this is a mono set? I assume you recommend your tube pre, or is that coming soon too? You seem to be the closest we have to a genius on this site, I hope you knock it out of the park!
So this is a mono set? I assume you recommend your tube pre, or is that coming soon too?
@bjesien We've been making preamps since 1989- the MP-1 was the first balanced line preamp made for home audio.
Intrigued. Could you please point me in the direction of any credible scientific documentation which arrives at this conclusion?
@pesky_wabbit This fact that the ear/brain system uses higher ordered harmonics (5th and up) to sense sound pressure is well known and you can prove it to yourself with simple test equipment. All you need is a speaker, an amplifier, a VU meter and a sine/square generator. Set the generator to sine. Run the signal into the amp and then to the speaker. Use the VU meter to show the level. Set the level to 0VU. Then cover up the meter and turn down the volume. Set the generator to squarewave output. Keep the meter covered; run the volume up until its as loud as it was before. Uncover the meter and you'll immediately see what's going on- typically the meter will be showing -20dB or less. Square waves have lots of higher ordered harmonics and sine waves have none.
On page 31 of the Radiotron Designer's Handbook (3rd edition, from the 1930s) we see that it was understood back then that the higher orders were more audible and so should not be created in large amounts for the critical (or casual) listener. Here's a link to a pdf of that tome: https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Handbooks/Radiotron-Designer%27s-Handbook-3rd-Edition.pd...You might want to read the chapters on audio power amplifier design; its quite interesting to see how well were understood the principles we use today. Keep in mind that the Radiotron was meant as a guide and is not greatly in-depth.
General Electric did a study on this in the 1960s which I read in college but I've yet to find that study on line.
Suggest you look at my thread: “Is there a SS amp that can satisfy a SET guy?”: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/is-there-a-solid-state-amp-that-can-satisfy-a-set-guy?highlig... Mostly, the answer is no. With 1 or 2 exceptions. Bakoon and AGD I now live with my destination amps-AGD Audion mono blocks. By far, the best amps I have experienced in 50 years. They have the magic of great SETs with the detail and impact of great SS. Yes, SETs can be magical, beautiful and musical. But the metaphor from the above thread that I held on to is: “SETs are like a sonic screwdriver loosening the sound.”. The detail and scope of the AGD SQ speaks to the “magic” of a great Class D GaN amp. Shockingly real. After years of SETs, I do not miss them at all.
Well one would have to have heard each and every class A, AB, D, GAN, Tube push/pull, OTL, Chip and Hybrid amp produced to say only one or two amps. Right?! Hear them all in the same exact system. Right?! We must be careful making sweeping statements that are always based on such little experience relative to all that is out there.
@atmasphere thanks, I’m lucky enough to have an old dog eared copy of RDH3. You are right, they knew an awful lot back then.
It’s surprising how often I have read that modern designers have discovered that upon further analysis, some ‘antiquated’ circuits have turned out to be far more sophisticated than appeared at first glance. Audio Note made significant improvements to their linestage shunt regulator through this process. Schade feedback was forgotten for decades.
The destination should be contentment, not perfection.
Well said Markus
kind of energy that makes you want to throw a chair through the window or at least be able to get you excited
@bjesien remind me not ever to be on a listening session with you please
Well one would have to have heard each and every class A, AB, D, GAN, Tube push/pull, OTL, Chip and Hybrid amp produced to say only one or two amps. Right?! Hear them all in the same exact system. Right?! We must be careful making sweeping statements that are always based on such little experience relative to all that is out there
. @grannyring that's some good common sense, something scarce here on audiogon
I was about to post the other day but have been busy, I have listened a few SET, SS, PSET, OTL amps. And although some of these amps excel with almost every system there is always an Achilles heel you might say to the best in class amp.
Especially when we have solid COLBALT out put trans in the mix, These powerful trans, are not cheap, I should add.
:) or you could dispense with the output transformer altogether.
My speakers are 97.5dB, 16 ohms and flat to 20Hz. I've yet to hear an SET on that system that can make proper bass. I've got LPs I produced so I know how they are supposed to sound- I was there when they were recorded.
The thing is, SETs can be better than some PP amps but generalizations like saying they are 'better than all' usually don't work out. At the very least its like 'the fastest gun in the West', taken down eventually by the guy that was actually faster.
AREN‘t you tooting your horn just a little too much? OTLs are great but only address a very small portion of speakers with high efficiency and high impedance. That may or may not be everybody‘s fare and your implied claim of superiority seems therefor to run precisely into the Western gun issues you profer.
LOL @antigrunge I have yet to see a post from Ralph's claiming he makes the best amps or any superiority claims. If you can find it post it here
For the record I owned a pair of MA-1's that Ralph makes and these work with a very wide range of speakers, as a matter of fact better than some solid state and SET amps, the horses for courses comment IMO doesn't apply to his amps
The only ever small compromise I found was with low impedance speakers with an impedance dip under 60 Hz 2 ohm or so, here an SS would handle better at the expense of mudiness and distortion at all the other frequencies
SET are known for their glorious midrange depth and sound staging but a bit soft at the extreme highs and lows ,the Bass is not as fast or has as much slam as quality solid state Bass which has much more current I have owned both , your speakers need to be very efficient , and a good powered sub is a good plus to have .
AREN‘t you tooting your horn just a little too much? OTLs are great but
only address a very small portion of speakers with high efficiency and
high impedance. That may or may not be everybody‘s fare and your implied
claim of superiority seems therefor to run precisely into the Western
gun issues you profer.
I've been careful to not speaker about our amps specifically. But for the record, although over the years it seems as if a lower powered OTL is somehow the holy grail for many, IME such a thing is really difficult to do and impractical. Its quite true that OTLs don't like low impedances but you don't always need a high efficiency speaker to work with them because many OTLs made over the last 60 years made over 100 watts. Back in the early 1960s a set of Quads and Futterman amps were the match made in heaven and SETs simply didn't make enough power for that speaker.
When I first started out 46 years ago I had a lot of audiophile ideas about how things worked- what made a difference in the sound of a circuit and so forth. Over time a lot of those ideas (many of which came from audiophile friends of mine) died an ugly death. It turns out that if you have a command of the appropriate math you can predict how an amplifier will sound and that won't be a matter of taste since all humans use the same hearing/perceptual rules. Whether people want to hear about it is a different matter of course but you 'canna change the laws of physics!' as Scotty once put it.
SET the best? Is SET amplification where we should all end up? I keep reading posts where people tell of their journeys from plenty power to micro power, and how amazing SET amplification is 45 set 211 set 845 set otl, and usually, ....with the right speaker. I have yet to read of anyone who has gone the other direction from SET, to High watt beast class A amps or others. If your speakers can be driven by minimal wattage, is this the most realistic, natural sound we can achieve? versus say, 86db sensitive speakers and a 1000w amp? Is the end result solely based on speaker pairing? circuit? tubes? I am in the process of changing my direction in my search for realistic sound, just because, and wondering if this really is the best direction to be going. From what I have been reading I think it may be. What do we get with SET? What do we give up? What’s you favorite color? hanaleimike ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Answer: Yes,
Let me share My tech builds a UX250 tube SET amp, I borrowed it due to my Jadis Defy needing tubes, and that will be some months. I borrowed it some months back and was not so impressed,,, He reloaned it again, and this time one channel stoped playing ’He saw the 2 issues, 1 which was a cap was not soldered at one end. Now running full mode,. WOWWW Factor high. NOw I finally **get** what is all this SET Magic.
. However, the speaker makes the difference. as we all know, speakers are everything I have the DLVX8 about to make a dual FR addinga DLVX6. So like all light jazz, classical chamber the music floats across the room, the speakers completely disappear. Its just unreal, so effortless. SET + High end FR is what jazz fans draems are made of. I have not tried out full orch swing blues , like Gatemouth Mouth Brown/Gateswings.
With light jazz, chamber classical , the musical image is just pure magic. SET + FR = Musical Magical wonderland. Jazz fans take note.
Your xover speakers,, ain’t cutting it. You have no idea what you are missing out with your PP/xover setup.
philjolet’s avatar philjolet2,302 posts 11-01-2009 7:49am I like SET but you will never resolve this with a post here on Agon because too many disagree. You can not get people to agree on SS or tube as the best let alone SET tubes which can have limited bass control (compared to SS especially) and only drive a handful of speakers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes the ancient discussion of SS vs Tube has not been settled. SET takes the tube experience to a whole new level,,.I should say, and forgot,, my tech built his UX250 with pure colbalt out trans, and that also may have added to the magic of SET. Colbalt trans are like $1000+ each and are not in current production.
And yes with SET you can not use xover type speakers.
My 300B amp measures flat well below 30hz. 30hz is the lowest range of piano
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hummm My tech mentions the 300B was made for tele industry and the low hz and top hz's are cut off.
Its made for human voice.
Also note, most high end FR do not go below 40hz, but the good news is, there is only 1% OR LESS of the music below 40hz.
Cellos lowest notes are 65hz.
If you want more sparkle on the highs with a FR just add a high end high sens tweeter.
SET + FR + Tweeter = Music made in heaven.
I have not heard any other SET other than my techs UX250.
My hopes are to add a 845 amp late next year.
I do not hear limpy wimpy bass in the SET, again it has pure colbalt out trans, so that may give more slam vs Z6 and Z11 steel tran
I can listen to piano on my iPod earphones which definitely don’t go as low as 27.5Hz, but I can still "hear" bass notes on the piano ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes Although my FR specs say 40hz. lets say bass guitar riff, bass drums are hitting fq’s below that mark, Still you are hearing bass/kettle drums, maybe not as deep as say a 10 inch woofer, = You just don’t miss out on bass.
FR play bass just like Wilson’s Monolithic towers with dual 10 inch woofers,,just not as deep.
As I’ve said before, all types of tube amps can sound great, or less than great, depending on specific implementation and personal taste. My favorite amp is a custom-built 35-watt OTL, my second favorite is a pushpull 252 tube amp, and the third favorite is a parallel SET design. All of these can handle reasonably efficient speakers that are easy loads; there is no reason to exclude multi-way speakers from consideration. Of my own amps (two pushpull, one SET), my pushpull 349-tube amp is my favorite—it is around a 5.5 watt amp, and it powers a three-way horn-based system.
alexberger472 posts 05-26-2020 1:30pm IMHO, SET are most transparent, best in texture and tone, most organic and musical. They need sensitive speakers. But in any case, the sensitive speakers are MUST for any good, musical system. SET sound quality depends a lot from parts quality: tubes, transformers, capacitors, resistors,... So a good SET can’t be cheap to built. SET are best for acoustic music: classical, jazz, vocals. If you listen electronic music, POP, rock - there are better options than SET amps. I will never go back to transistor amplifiers and low/mid sensitivity speakers. Regards, Alex.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Very well written post here I will say its only been in the past 10 yrs that FR speakers has come into new high fidelity development. Fostex seems to be still struggling getting rid of its characteristic **The Shout*,. Maybe they have in a few recent models,,I don’t know. AER, Voxatix, Cube and my DavidLouis are Fr to consider pairing up with a SET. The magic of a SET is only limited by ,,well obviously as Alex mentions, quality parts of the amp’s build,,,but also limited by the quality of the speaker, whether horn or FR. The finer voice of the speaker = more magic opens up with the SET. Once you heard the magic of a SET via a high end FR , PP amps lose some of their emminence.
Caveat in order here, light jazz/classical chamber SETs shine. For big orch swing jazz/heavy blues, big orchestra, then PP is the amplifier for the task. And yes a PP amplifer(under 100 watts) will work just fine with a FR speaker,, provided the db sens is not higher than 95db.
THe DLVX8 is 95db. DLVX6 @ 93. Best sens for a FR is 93-95db.
QUOTE from Mozartfan:::~~Poor Mr Jadis.... so sad,......ARC in Minnesota as well....End quote
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well not true. Jadis amps, PP amps (under 100 watts please) will work just fine with a FR speaker, provided the speaker is not over 95db sens. Here’s the thing SET’s offer a super linear *speaker disappears* musical image pair witha high end FR. But on heavier jazz/blues, big symphonic orchestra, PP amps offer the ideal power for these complex loads. Good thing about a FR is a big PP amp is not required though is usable. With a FR speaker any/all PP will work just fine.
18Hz - 20Khz transmisson lines. Somehow I don’t miss this. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just unhooked the dual Seas Excel W18’s from the system, running a single FR W8 + tweeter, I don’t miss the dual W18’s. A high end FR does not need bass assist, as far as voicing light jazz, chamber classical. Even heavy big orch jazz, symphonic/kettle drum, you might want to add a single 10 ibch woofer, but again, there is not much below 40 hz, so why add more ohm over laod to the SET?? If you want more bass w/o adding the ohms of a W26, , maybe try Cube Neuphar’s 10 inch speaker.
SET. However, if you feel that you need the entire frequency spectrum at decent or full weight, then you may end up disappointed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somehow I failed to mention,, the highs witha SET may also be a bit rolled off along with hz’s under 40.
But really in classical chamber there is not much in terms of highs,, and for your ligher weight jazz ensembles, you might want a higher sens tweeter, say 94db+,, Now I know why bache Audio uses the Fostex super horn tweeter in his FR designs. So you see there are options to achieve sparkles in the highs with SET. We love SET’s for lifelike magical midrange, how you achieve the below 30hz and above 15khz is something you will need to figure out.
Myself, a dome tweeter at 91db and a single 8 inch FR offers all the band width I need.
To play the bottom octave properly you need bandwidth to 2Hz. This is because once the amp starts rolling off, it does so at 6dB/octave. When you have a slope like that it causes phase shift to be present up to about 10x the cutoff frequency. This is basic filter theory. So 2Hz bandwidth allows for 0 degrees of phase shift at 20Hz.
The ear perceives phase shift as a tonality. In the case of bass, its perceived as a lack of impact, as a thinness in the sound.
In the case of a 30Hz rolloff, the phase shift will go as high as 300Hz. As a side note, speakers are not part of this phase shift issue- its something that applies to electronics.
You can get around this problem if you have enough feedback. If you have enough, the feedback can correct for phase shift.
That kind of feedback isn’t available to SETs or for that matter, most tube amps. So bandwidth is the only way to solve the phase shift issue.
Can't put in one basket. 845 300B, 2a3, and then added variable of loudspeaker. Find the right combo, experience live performers in room every listening session.
in the video running both a coax tweeter and a second tweeter in paralell off-axis will reult in a blurred soundstage, partial cancellation of frequencies through overlap as well as issues of phase coherence. I’d suggest to use a supertweeter with the Coax driver instead. On bass, similar issues apply although localisation is less critical. The SET looks intereting and you rightly point out the importance of transformers.
My speakers are 95.5db sensitive which allows me to use low powered amps. I’ve come full circle from large speakers, big heavy tube amps, etc … to a minimalist system that uses a single stage amp w 18wpc. Less is more ! Everything sounds better with less power, less components, etc..
I spent lots of money to learn that you don’t need to spend lots of money to get good sound.. IME
My first system back in the early 70’s was a 2A3 tube amp and a pair of plywood lowthers .. I didn’t realize then how good it was.. I only focused on the lack of bass and spent mad money buying large everything to make bass.. I have to laugh at myself.. now I have it all with less. Just hope I live long enough to keep enjoying what I have.. No regrets, enjoyed the chase.. but now just enjoying the music ..
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
