SET Shootout China VS The USA

I'll take Sonus Faber for $500 Alex!

Neither sounds particularly good. I think that is supposed to be piano playing at about the 8 to 9 minute mark of the first video. It is pretty tough to tell for sure though. Bright and splashy with overall poor timbre. The Sonus Faber have a somewhat more realistic piano, but is closed in and dark sounding. If I am forced to choose between them, it would be the Sonus Faber but only because it is less bad.

IMO its a tell of the sorry state of affairs in high end audio that there are SETs that actually do sound better than their PP brethren- it really shouldn’t be that way!

@atmasphere

For a number of listeners this is their conclusion. You give rationale explanation as to how push pull topology could easily equal (Or surpass) the sonic presentation of a good SET amplifier. Problem is very few manufacturers commercially are following the recipe you propose.

Most happy SET owners migrated from the world of transistor and push pull tube amplifiers. Very rarely is SET the first amplifier choice for newbies. Rather it’s a choice discovered after ownership and exposure to non SET amplifiers. So most of these converts are seasoned listeners and owners of High End audio components.

Upon introduction to a good DHT SET some listeners find a purity, aliveness, transparency and most importantly a genuine deep emotional connection with their music listening experience. These traits were found lacking to some degree with their previous non SET amplifiers. Some do return at some point to other amplifier types, but many do not. So perhaps other manufacturers should heed your guide lines for improving their push pull amplifiers.

Charles

The Sonus Faber version sounds better but it's impossible to know if it's the system or the quality of the recording. Neither sounds great but that's YT for you.