What is the "sound" dif. between a Joule -Elctra OTL and a SET amp??

The T-1s can use the additional power unless you are in a really small room. I use T-3s, which are the same efficiency and impedance and my preference is our M-60 amplifiers which can make about 80 watts on this speaker (the M-60 is also an OTL).

But I've used SETs many times and am able to run them out of gas. My room is about 17' x 21' and not particularly lively. I found the SETs to be harsh by comparison, but that is compared to our M-60s. With most SETs once you push them past about 20% of full power the higher ordered harmonics start to kick in and that is likely the source of harshness.

The T-1s like my T-3s go well into the bottom octave. SETs don't do so well with that- if you really want a relaxed presentation and the ability to play **anything** at life-like levels, you will want a bit of power and no mistake, SETs don't have it in that regard. The T-1 is a highly revealing, complete bandwidth speaker so you will want to give it your best shot!

Fluffers, Just so we are clear here, unless you are in a smaller room, which is hard to imagine with T-1s, the Frankensteins will likely not have enough power. To really hear what an amplifier like that is all about, you would need a good 6-10 db more efficiency.

I'm very familiar with John's speakers as we've shown with him at shows for the last 20 years or so.

Classic Audio Loudspeakers does offer the Hartsfield Reproductions which are more suitable for the Frankensteins, but IMO the T-1 is a better speaker overall. I'm sure you already know what that is about as you have the T-1.4.

Fluffers isn't interested in Frankenstein,  he's has the Wyetech 211 amplifiers and is considering the Joule OTL. Thaluza owns the Frankenstein and previously owned the Jolues.
Charles,

Thanks- as you surmised I was confused.

FWIW you might want to hear the M-60 on the CALs sometime and see if you still think it sounds lean. Because our amps really don't use feedback, the sound can be influenced by the loudspeaker's impedance curve and whether the designer was expecting the amplifier to employ feedback. 'Lean' is not how our customers tend to describe the product (although they don't tend to use 'lush' either...).

The T-1 was designed using a pair of our amplifiers. John bought his first set of amps from us about 1989.

Also, I would make sure that the output tubes are readily available. I bought new tubes 2 years ago, but found that a lot of tube sellers were not carrying them anymore, or if they did, they were asking high prices. Even the usually reliable Russian dealers did not have them in stock.

I forgot to address this issue- the 6C33 is still not that hard to find. We re-issued our Novacron amplifier which uses that tube and have not had any troubles finding the power tubes at all.

The main problem you are going to be dealing with when using *any* amplifier that uses that tube is socket reliability. The Russians were not concerned with socket reliability when they designed the tube- initially they expected that the tube would serve 750 hours and then be replaced along with its socket. It was for a military application after all. In practice, the tubes often outlive the sockets, which develop bad filament connections due to the excess current in the filament circuit. What this means is that the sockets should be replaced as a regular part of the maintenance of the amplifier. Obviously this should be done by a qualified technician! Anyone owning an amplifier using 6C33s knows this and it was hinted at in larryi's post above.