Would You Rather Own A Good SET Amp, Or A Great Push Pull Amp?

@kevn There is still plenty of differentation and or uniqueness amongst recordings, this includes sound staging. Still you can't get past inherent or a static generalized pattern of sound staging with any particular system, therefore, my system will always project images further forward than a system that has a more distant sound stage. A more forward sound stage also inherent to horn speakers in general, this why horn shape so critical to get right. Formerly had exponential mid horn in my Khorns, went to Volti tractrix horn, loads the room far more naturally than the exponential horn. Back to sound staging, my extensively modded Khorns (includes tweeter on custom baffle for proper physical time allignement)  have plenty of center image depth, so performers aren't right on top of you, thing is with necessary placement of khorns in corners and horn relative directionality hard panned info is necessarily projected out more into room and sticks to speaker more than other designs. I previously used Merlin VSM, you probably couldn't find a speaker that images, sound stages more different than khorns, Merlins well out into room away from all walls, narrow baffle, speakers disappear, more distant sound stage even with SET, with push pulls a bit more distant. And I've had any number of open baffle speakers over the years which sound stage and image in their own unique ways.  Bottom line is I've always managed to achieve a believable sound stage with every setup and system. Room treatments absolutely critical for this so have wide variety of treatments on hand for use whenever needed. 

So, what I'm trying to say is, there are so many presentations available to audiophiles, I've heard entirely engaging systems that span the entire spectrum of audio, so everything from high power SS with very inefficient, highly complex crossover speakers to flea power SET with highly efficient speakers, and everything in between. I'm actually totally agnostic when it comes to topology, if it sounds good it sounds good, how it gets there is for the designers/engineers to figure out. If I had the money and the room I'd have a dozen systems, each completely unique in regard to topology and sound qualities. 

@atmasphere. I'm only getting to respond to your response to my comment now due to the fact that in transferring to fibre broadband, my ISP managed to leave me with no internet access at all for several days - only resolved just now.

The original Halcro amplifier was, for me, the most vivid demonstration of how an ultra low distortion amp with multiple levels of NF can sound utterly unmusical.

yoyoyaya,

I too was shocked at how lifeless, flat, and unmusical was the sound of Halcro amps.  Clearly, low measured distortion is far from the only thing that matters.  

@yoyoyaya I remember hearing something like that too. 

The thing about distortion is we don't put a weight on the harmonics generated. The higher ordered harmonics are the ones that really mess with the ear- the 2nd and 3rd, hardly at all. 

But most amps have what looks like low higher ordered harmonic distortion on paper. If those harmonics are masked by lower orders (the 2nd and 3rd) then they aren't heard. SETs have the most higher ordered harmonics of any kind of amp made, but because the 2nd and 3rd harmonics they also make are prodigious enough, the amp sounds nice and smooth. 

Where I'm going with this is that the distortion signature of the amp is more important than the THD. The amp might be quite low in distortion but if the higher orders are not masked it will not sound musical. 

@sns  - thank you so much for your thorough and detailed reply : ) - you have raised important issues there to consider. If I may ask further - have you encountered any particular typology or signal chain to speaker that is not biased to either a forward or recessed presentation but is neutral as a general characteristic?

In friendship - kevin