Head-ups for fans of AricAudio designs. His new Super 211 SET two chassis amplifier


Many of you who own some of Aric's preamps/amplifiers already know what a talented designer and master builder he is of great tube gear.  I'll be getting in a few days his first two chassis reference 211 based SET amplifier for a review for Six Moons.com.  He went all out in both design and parts quality in this new creation.  Based on my past experiences with his gear, this is something that might be very special, indeed.  My two favorite power tubes in SET amps are 2A3's and 211's. You can also use 845's in this amplifier.  
teajay
Hi @aricaudio ,

Thank you for reply.
I know that some designers use 300B tube to drive for 211.
300B is even more linear and transparent, but it is much more expensive than EL34, and not everybody like 300B sound signature. EL34 should sound faster.

I never tried SRPP input stage. In my 300B DIY amplifier I use single half of 6SN7.
But I have 6F6 driver in triode mode. And 6F6 is more easy to drive compared to EL34.
I heard 6SN7-6SN7-KT88 SE amplifier and it sounded very slow. One half of 6SN7 is not strong enough to drive KT88.

Regards,
Alex.
Hey Alex- no problem! Two things with DHT’s that are harder to overcome than with Pentodes are C Miller and also grid current. Most of these tubes aren’t linear unless you can drive the grid positive with a high voltage swing. Otherwise the top and low end suffers and is what most people think when they refer to a 300B (or other DHT) as "woolly in the bass", or "lacks high end sparkle but the midrange sounds great!". That’s where C Miller has its effect is on the frequency extremes. A 6SN7 cannot drive the 300B’s grid into A1 unless it’s in SRPP mode or is direct-coupled. It can still sound good but you’re not hearing the 300B’s full potential. On the KT88, I assume the 6SN7 stages were cascaded? In that case, I can imaging how two coupling caps and two stages could bring too much of a harmonic structure to the sound and become dull and lifeless. However if two stages of 6SN7 were configured in Mu Follower, Cathode Follower, or SRPP you could benefit from the lower output impedance to "swing" the grid of the KT88 better and avoid the overly complex harmonic signature. Best, Aric
@teajay Terry, are you listening with one of your Tekton sets? If so, which one(s)? I have the Double Impacts and am looking for something to enhance my music listening while still keeping them as the front five for my home theater. 
@aricaudio, I know you said you hadn't posted photos but I'm not seeing the cost or any other details on the Super SET on your site. 
@sptwriter- The unit has not been added to the site as of yet. TJ just received the first unit and it will be added to the site before the review is complete ;-)