SET vs Class A vs tubes vs Class AB amps

Lewinskih01/Horatio...on the Audio Aficionado site there are hundreds of pages devoted to all aspects of Dennis Had amps. That site can keep you busy for hours and make your head spin with the "what power tubes with what rectifier with what input tube" endless discussions. Fun stuff.

I like my SEP lower powered amp, as it simply sounds far better than any other amp I've used in my current (or previous) system, possibly because Dennis Had knows how to design a brilliant amp that I can afford (I saved over 50 grand by not buying a Kondo Audio Note with similar output)...I'm evaluating a "Continuity sort of Class A" Schiit Aegir (also relatively low powered) that so far has shown some interesting tonal characteristics, and might earn a place in my amp collection...it has to pass a background test and be vetted by a committee before taking an oath...takes time. So far I still prefer my SEP, and yeah, you do get chained to a "different class" of speaker where high efficiency is paramount...my current main speakers are supposedly 99db efficient, but I've had good luck with a 90db or so pair as well...it's just nice to have more headroom from efficiency.

It's bass, not base. My little SEP Dennis Had tube amp will play anything well...from chamber jazz to Little Feat to Mahler...as any well designed amp should. If your rig is "music style specific" there's simply something wrong with the thing...don't expect much low end from tiny inefficient monitors, or relative loudness from a 2 watt amp, but otherwise don't be denied! My latest amp experiment is a Schiit Aegir...so far it's brilliant...cost less than my cables.

Although the Schiit Aegir stood up well in its shoot-out with my little Firebottle HO SEP amp, it ultimately lost and sadly was sent home to Schiit. Nice try though and it clearly is a great design, but the Had digs deeper, sounds more like real music to my ears, and simply reinforces my preference for glowing tubes.