Set otl?

morricab

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Many of you have tried SETs many have tried OTLs but how many have tried SET OTLs?? I am really curious about this approach. Obviously we are talking low power and high heat, nevertheless, it seems to hold a lot of promise sonically.

Thoughts?
 

JackD201

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I know of amps with a Circlotron circuit but with OPTs but have never even heard of a SET without a transformer.
 

microstrip

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As far as I know Aries Cerat manufactures a Single Ended Tube OTL amplifier.

There are many single ended power amplifiers using solid state devices.
 

Keith_W

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As far as I know Aries Cerat manufactures a Single Ended Tube OTL amplifier.

Thank you! I just googled it ... http://aries-cerat.eu/products/amplifiers/collatio-series

Wow, 120kg. 20W at 8 Ohm (meaning 10W at 4 Ohm, 5W at 2 Ohm, and 2.5W at 1 Ohm). Look at the size of that thing, I wonder if it comes with its own nuclear power plant.

There are many single ended power amplifiers using solid state devices.

Yes, and I own one of them :) I have a pair of Valvet monoblocks - http://valvet.de/
 

morricab

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I know of amps with a Circlotron circuit but with OPTs but have never even heard of a SET without a transformer.

I know of two makers currently:

Aries Cerat, as mentioned and Transcendent Sound , which is quite affordable as a kit.
 

microstrip

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beaur

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morricab

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bonzo75

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Well Berning and Transcendent do make single ended OTLs;

http://www.transcendentsound.com/Home.html
http://davidberning.com/products/zh_211_845

Not sure if either uses the tubes as triodes but I have heard the Berning and if I could afford it I would have one. Also while it's not single ended AFAIK, the Miyajima OTL is very good.

A guy on the gon moved from transcendent T-8 stereo to berning 270, said Berning was much better, and that the tenor was even better.

He has 3 posts on this thread, first his discovery of Transendent, then the Berning https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/otl-amps-with-wilson-watt-puppy-6s
 
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morricab

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A guy on the gon moved from transcendent T-8 stereo to berning 270, said Berning was much better, and that the tenor was even better.

He has 3 posts on this thread, first his discovery of Transendent, then the Berning https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/otl-amps-with-wilson-watt-puppy-6s

And? None of the above is a SET OTL. I don't need an opinion on normal OTLs, having owned a couple and having heard several others a length (I agree the Tenor OTLs were quite good sounding but the heat and reliability issues ), I know pretty much what to expect. SET OTL is still an unknown to me. I have also done the SE(T) OTL route (NAT Symbiosis) but that did not quite live up to my hopes.
 

manisandher

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No, Berning is something else entirely. He says OTL but really he is using some radio frequency transformers once he has put the audio signal onto an RF carrier...wacky stuff but not really OTL.

I used to own a Berning Siegfried 300B. Feeding a pair of BD-Design Swing horn speakers, it was a nice-sounding amp. But yes, it's debatable as to whether it's really an OTL, in the generally accepted use of the term. What ultimately made me part with it was its switching power supply - I felt it was negatively affecting the sound of the system as a whole.

Mani.
 

morricab

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I used to own a Berning Siegfried 300B. Feeding a pair of BD-Design Swing horn speakers, it was a nice-sounding amp. But yes, it's debatable as to whether it's really an OTL, in the generally accepted use of the term. What ultimately made me part with it was its switching power supply - I felt it was negatively affecting the sound of the system as a whole.

Mani.

Interesting. The Bernings are definitely "out of the box" thinking in terms of amp design no doubt about it. I would probably have to try one some day but I too would have to be quite wary of the whole switching supply thing.

How are your Thöress amps working out?
 

egidius

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Interesting. The Bernings are definitely "out of the box" thinking in terms of amp design no doubt about it. I would probably have to try one some day but I too would have to be quite wary of the whole switching supply thing.

How are your Thöress amps working out?

..It was my mistake as well to think the Berning 845/211 were SET, they are Triode/ZOTL amps.
I am not actually writing to correct anybody, but I must add, that I can't hear switching amps in my Quadrature Z's..(yes, I know, they are not SET, nor OTL ;-)
 

manisandher

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How are your Thöress amps working out?

Sorry for the late reply - I was waiting for Reinhard to adjust the amps to work with the Elrog 300B tubes. All done now and amps are feeding the Anima speakers. And they sound simply wonderful!

The Animas are rated at 109dB/W@1m, and there is zero noise coming through, even with ear as far up the mid/high horn as possible. The very low gain of the amps no doubt helps, but I think they're genuinely quiet anyway.

Reinhard has measured the -3dB frequency response, and it's 7.5Hz to 150kHz, with no observable OPT resonances beyond 150kHz.

Yep, I'm very happy with them - the best amps I've ever owned.

Mani.
 

bonzo75

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Are you running these directly from the Phasure? I thought the Thoress amps had low gain but were designed to work with the Thoress preamp which was amplifying the signal with a high gain. Nots ure of details.
 

manisandher

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Yes, feeding them directly from the Phasure NOS1 DAC. The amps have very low gain - around 15-18dB lower than most other power amps I've had here. But the DAC has enough output voltage to give me a reasonable listening volume. The DAC's output stage will be upgraded very soon and this will give me even more output voltage. All in all, I doubt I'll ever need a preamp due to lack of gain.

Mani.
 

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