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Speaker Suggestions for 300b SET Amp

I built an Elekit 8600 300b set amp recently.  It's amazing. I maxed out upgrades (all Takman resistors, Mundorf top end caps, solder/wiring, etc.).  It's a wonderful amp. It cost me $2k to build it and it's glorious.


My issue hasn't been the amp, but finding speakers that I want to use with it.  


I started with Omega XRS 8 Juniors (~$2k). I broke them in for 300 hours and, while they did get better, they largely sounded like the top and bottom ends were just truncated off at both ends the sound spectrum. They sounded more akin to a transistor radio speaker. I feel terrible to say that and I hope others really love them and hear them differently, as the company is great and the owner is wonderful. They just weren't for me.


So, I just paired the 300b up with some inefficient speakers (both KEF LS50s and Wharfedale 80th anniversary Dentons). Both speakers were part of other systems I have.  Both sets, and especially the cheaper Wharfedales, just sing with the 300b.  They do not play particularly loud given their efficiency ratings, yet they sound wonderful for very close nearfield listening. 


But what I'd like to do is go a bit more into the full range speaker category without buying a massive product. Or, I consider a smaller bookshelf/monitor if it were more efficient.


What speakers do folks like with their 300bs?  


jbhiller

Showing 5 responses by jbhiller

jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,445 posts
 
Thank you everyone.  I have some research to do. Stay tuned as I'm gonna have questions!
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,445 posts
 
@wolf_garcia , Your posts are always englightening, humble and humorous.  I'd love to here the new Heresys! Or for that matter, Zu's too. 

Anyone in Chicagoland  with Heresys or Zus who would allow me to bring over my 300b?  I'd love to test drive them together. 
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,445 posts
 
Wolf, get this...

It looks like none of the Chicagoland brick and mortar dealers I’ve looked into so far (as listed on Klipsch’s website) stock the Heresys.

I’m down to Abt and am awaiting a response to this electronically submitted question "Does your Glenview showroom have the Klipsch Heresy III loudspeaker available to audition in the store? Thanks!"

Man I miss the days where brick and mortar shops with real humans were plentiful.
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,445 posts
 
I've built 2 SET kits and am working on another that's not a kit--ground up build.  I'm not an engineer and I'm still relatively new to this, but I think the SET toplogy also has another thing going for it--the signal doesn't have to crossover. 

I think in a traditional push/pull design the signal has to be split into positive and negative because you have several tubes running one channel.  That split has to be put back into one, which leads to a distortion (arguably).  In my mind, I liken it to how digital breaks stuff up only to put it back together into an analog whole later on before it hits the listener.

The allure of SET is that it's simple, cleaner and more straightforward--arguably.  That's supposed to result in a pureness that listeners like.  

I cannot comment on whether SET v. PP produces more or less even/odd harmonics. 
jbhiller's avatar
jbhiller OP
1,445 posts
 
I moved houses and now have a dedicated listening room. I got stuck in analysis paralysis and haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet. Usually I move more decisively. I think all the house projects are slowing me down too. Houses are expensive!
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