want to try a SET but where to start, I have......

Hi Carlo - Yes, certainly the push/pull Cary should be fine and likely would posess many similar qualities of the Mono 10's I liked so much. I can't truly give you an authorative opinion on either having not actually heard them, only read the various posts and reviews referring to them. I've owned a couple of Cary Preamps, which I've liked very much, and a good friend owns a modified SLM-70 which he uses to push his Quad 988's. I think they make fine products and their customer service, and overall reputation is excellent. I would definitely consider either amp you mentioned, perhaps leaning a bit towards the 2A3 PP design. The price on the 300sei does not seem out of line given the blue book, though you may be able to get a better deal with some patience, and make a lower offer on this one. There are certainly other options out there as well, but Cary does represent a solid investment in my mind.

Marco

many thanks

Hello Carlo, For the type of music you mostly listen to and the Klipsch speakers, I'd strongly recommend that you also take some non-commercial offer (ie, DIY offer) into consideration. If you don't listen terribly loud or don't have a big listening space, then a really good SE300B amp will do the trick. I have 6SN7/76/300B and 6SN7/27/45 amps from John Hogan and have auditioned these amps with his Klipsch Cornalls and Lascala. This 300B amp ate the AN Quests for dinner in my system and is in the same ballpark with Fi 2A3 monos & Korneff linestage combo (different flavor, that is). For around $1K, I really cannot think of many expensive commercial SETs that can even touch it. The only potential caveat I can see is whether you will like its appearance....I am getting to like them a lot. Other than that, it will probably come down to the matters of voicing and system matching. Regards, TC

Italy71,
I was in your shoes just very recently before deciding on a SET amp for my system. What I found helpful was the following 3-part article by 6moons:
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/set/set.html

The article lists lots of SET amp manufacturers, SET-friendly speaker manufacturers and also has an interview with the owner of Wavelength Audio - a very well respected SET designer - in which he discusses the three things you need to know when matching a SET amp to speakers.

By the way, I decided on an Art Audio PX25 which is a SET tube somewhat similar to the 300B but superior to it in most respects according to Joe Fratus the owner of Art Audio who also makes a 300B amp. Art Audio amps can be ordered with a volume control making them a single source integrated amp. Another SET manufacturer with lots to choose from including integrated amps is Audion but I caution you that some members here have had terrible servicing issues or shipping damage or suspect product quality issues . . .

Hope this is of some help.

tw2-thanks for the recommendation it will look into DIY in my area

kevinzoe- interesting article, what I though would be a simple decision has become quite a bit more...

great information guys, thumbs up

Carlo