The volume control being at the same position means nothing really. It only means that the two amps have similar gain and input sensitivity. If you had increased the listening level, the shortcoming of the SET amp would have been easily noticed.
300B SET Amp driving Wilson Sabrinas
Interesting experience to share.
In my home system I have a pair of Wilson Sabrina speakers normally driven by a Modwright KWA 150SE (Special Edition). On a lark, I replaced the Modwright with an Elekit 8600S 300B amp (Lundahl output transformers and Mundorf Supreme output capacitors) I had in another system.
The surprise, not only did the Elekit drive the Sabrinas very well (improved clarity and tonality), but at the same volume with the same input level as the Modwright! Using a passive preamp, when I set the volume knob on the preamp to the same point for both the Modwright and the Elekit it results in essentially the same volume from the speakers.
Admittedly I listen at moderate levels (SPL rarely exceeds 70dBA), but the sensitivity of the Sabrinas is only 88 dB. Who would have thought!!
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@mijostyn +1: A 7 watt SET amp has a really limited dynamic range unless you have Klipschorns (100db sensitivity). To hear an appreciable increase in loudness with the Sabrina's an amplifier of at least 70wpc is required. 10 x the wpc = twice the perceived loudness. |
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Most people that say that won’t work have never hooked up SET to non efficient speakers. I have hooked up my Magnepans to my 807 monoblocks at 13 watts and because the Maggies are a stable 4 ohms for some reason it just works. Right now I’ve loaned my 807’s to a friend that has very inefficient Ryan speakers. He has several higher powered amps and the 807’s have not left his system. |
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