what can I get by with?

I should rephrase the statement about China. I was referring to some of the " fly by night " outfits that are using low quality parts. I speak from experience as I once lived in China. But for what it's worth, I am prone to be " not politically correct " And since I'm not running for a government office, I don't really care so much if I say the politically correct thing. We Americans are caught up in our words, when it should be we do that defines us, not what we say. Was it Abe Lincoln that once said? " You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people, all of the time. Well something like that. I'm sure if I'm wrong someone here will correct me :) We just can't stand letting someone think differently, don't ya know!

The hot rods are not worth much as the veneer is loosening on one, and there is a 5 " scratch on the other. So rather than sell them for a song. I decided to just enjoy them :)

88

i think the made in china 'assumption' is foolish, but if you can find a tube amp with every part made in usa or similarly politcally correct countries go for it... i respect your choice. russian tubes? silver mined in mud pits in brazil by child slaves etc. just kidding , but seriously, electrical components are not anything mystical as you know. as far as e bay. that is a different discussion. interested in selling the hot rods?

Dang! My internet conncetion has been going up and down lately. Too bad I'm still not employed at my local cable company, I would have it running as smooth as a SET amp :) Well anyway-

I'm not going to look for different speakers for a bit. But when I do..... I would look for something similar to my Meadowlarks. But something more sensivite, maybe time coherent? Anything out there?

As far as SET I will look for something American made. I'm assuming that stuff coming out of China I see on ebay would be a disappointment. I would love to try something like a cary 805C but it is out of my price range ( even used ) at the moment.

Anyone have a suggestion on a 300b or 845 in the 15-24 watt range, say about $3500-$6000 new?

thanks for all the suggestions!

Here's some Omegas now:
Omega super 3

Now that is possible with a good 15 watts, if the speakers are an easy 89 dB. I run 89 dB speakers with a 14 wpc SET. Room isn't huge and I've never heard my amplifier congest. The more you turn in up the more open it becomes. Just get a REAL SET amp you'll probably be fine. Down the road you can mate it with a higher efficiency speaker like John Ks and reap all the benefits.

Well it appears I was wrong on the spec. The Kestrel ( mine are hotrod ) is 89db. Most of what I am able to find about the reviews of SET ask for at least 90db. So maybe I can get lucky if I can find a SET with at least 20 watts? I remember I once ran 60 watt amps through Vandersteen 3a speakers. Something that some dealers advised agianst. The bass wasn't much but oh the midrange!

To bad Meadowlark is out of business, they would have my answer.

Why ? So many always wanting to try SET but not with the right loudspeakers to go with a SET. Your just asking for disapointment. Even kt88 845 SET wouldnt run your 86db loudspeakers.Sure they will make music but your not going to hear what a proper SET based system would do. So if you want to try SET get a loudspeaker designed to run off SETs. If you dont want to change loudspeakers get a PP tube amp. Its not just power or volume level a SET will react to impedance of loudspeakers. Today hi-eff loudspeakers can come in many diferant designing including ribbons dynamics horns TL BR AS line arrays so much to pick from. Not just fullrange or vintage horns.

How about some Omega Speakers? They are very efficient single driver speakers made for SET. Often seen here at A-gon.

What can you lose by trying them? As stated: It all depends on your room size and the volume you require to be happy.

Conventional wisdom says no way with 300b. 89 dB with benign impedence and phase angle worked OK for easy material but began to be congested if you wanted to boogie a bit, in my house, in a 23 x 14 x 8 room.

i play the kestral 2's with 60 wpc push pull. the k2's are apparently more efficient than the originals.. are you sure of sensitivity value.? if so, the obvious ? is how loud do you need them to play? do you have a decibel meter, if so just do the math. if it is truly 86db i doubt you will really get them singing the way you should but it depends on the source, room, etc. honestly i don't think 86 db. speakers are a decent choice for low powered amp even if it is the SET type. of course if you bought some hi $$$ SET you may pull it off but at that point you might as well get more eff. spkrs. interesting question tho!