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Why not more on 845 SETs?

As a brand-new owner of a Bel Canto SETi40 int amp,(bought used) I was intrigued to see very little in the fora on the subject of 845 SET amps an A'gon. It seems that this provides the best of both worlds -adequate power to drive most moderately sensitive speakers- 40 Class A SET WPC with SET sound. What is the downside to this approach and why don't more of the SET groupies have higher powered amps, giving them much more latitude in speaker selection? I drive 4 ohm 87 db sensitivity Totem 1 Signatures quite adequately with this amp. Is it beacuse of transformer issues, difficulty in finding adequate designs, size or the feeling that this is not a true "SET sound"?
I would like to hear SET-owners' reasons, if possible.
springbok10

Showing 2 responses by gunbei

gunbei
2,327 posts
 
I took ownership of a Bel Canto SET40 a little less than a week ago, and got in a lot of good listening time this weekend.

With the exception of this new amp, I am running the exact system listed in my virtual system, which consists of a solid state BAT VK200 powering ProAc Response 2.5s.

My impressions agree strongly with Dopogue's experience. The ProAcs sound fantastic driven by the SET40. The thing I am most surprised with is that the 37wpc SET40 nearly matches the dynamics, drive and bass weight of the VK200. All this with the sonic positives the SET brings with it.

A very pleasantly elated.
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Thanks for the welcome Zt000. I'm definitely open to more elation, heheh.

The tubes that I have in there right now are a pair of standard 845s I purchased from Upscale Audio. I plan on looking into the 845B as well.

In the past, I've spent a lot of cash on NOS 6SN7s and 6922s for my other components, but was hoping to stay away from the NOS 845s because of their even higher cost. However, one thing that makes me feel better about this tube is the long life expectancy I've been reading about.

What are some of the 845 variants I should look into, and what are their corresponding prices? What are their sonic charactersitics?

Thanks!
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