This might be an interesting story to read:
I have started with SS amplification:A big intergraded by PIONEER from the upper class ELITE/PIANO BLACK series around '87.For a couple years i was happy, as it was on par with my Infinity Kappas of the time.
By the way the EMMIT-K ribbont tweeter was my first contact with the world of planar transducers!Then i moved to a ROTEL MICHI combo,started with the passive preamp (didn't like it much),switched to the active one
to play along with the big 2X200 amp.I moved to KAPPAs 9a which was my dream speaker of the time (bought secondhand) but to my surprise they ate the 2X200 38 kilos Rotel for lunch!So i got another MICHI series
2X100 amp and used the big one for the bass and the smaller one for the rest.It played music like a dream...or so it seemed to my ears.
It was 1996 when i first seriously listened to tubes.The audio press in Greece (where i live) raved about the sound of the Golden tube audio SEP-1 and SE-40 combo that were affordable to many.I went for a listening session which was a revelation!
The delicate hues of sound that i first heard (through a medium sized speaker) was something beyond my horizon.BUT my listening room is 4.5X9 meters (roughly 14,5 X 29 feet) and a small speaker was out of the question as i LOVE bass!
So i started by injecting a little "tube sound" into my system with the arrival of the GTA SEP-2 preamp (with remote).You can't get enough of a good thing and whithin 1,5 year i moved the SEP-3 top model preamp
with internal tubed phono board and outboard PS with tubed rectification.
Out went the Rotels and the Kappas (to a house of a good friend who still cherishes them) and in came the DENON S-10 monoblocks and the QUADRAL VULKAN MKV speakers.Ahhh... those were interesting times!
It seemed that i was getting there...almost!
My new speakers (around 2002) had a 10 inch TL loaded woofer a planar mid and a ribbon tweeter.My hands were itching for a tube amp but my tests revealed that the bass suffered whenever i tried to use a tube amp of moderate wattage(read affordable!).BUT it was evident that the -planar/ribbon/tubes- synergy was special. So i thought:"Why not use a combination of the two?" It's like having your cake and eating it too!
One day,when visiting my favorite audio store i noticed a beautiful amp laying on the carpet.It was one of those "love at first sight (only) moments" because ...i couldn't hear it.
It was a brand new GTA SE-100 that was producing a loud hum/buzz when playing music.The rep had tried to solve the problem at least three times but the amp kept returning with the same problem.
This amp really made me drool!Heavy (around 45 Kgs) wide (51 cms) ,powerfull (2X100 or 1X200 in balanced mode) and imposing with it's center positioned 10 EL34 and one 6SN7.It was my definition of eye candy!
It was 2003 and the amp got loaded in my car as i offered to buy it (at a bargain price) IF the problem was solved.A marathon of running around to find someone to repair the unrepairable problem started then...
Remember that i had no schematics in my hands so it was a bit of hit and miss situation.Finally after a year(!) i got fed up by this endless pursuit and i bought the amp(!) deciding that if you want something to be done right,YOU have to make it!I took the whole thing appart and measured all the transformers and chokes.All measured well,thus i moved on to replace EVERY other part in the amp bar the boards plus mods to specific areas.In place of the medium quality original parts,top parts were used (ouch!).I am talking about resistors,caps,diodes,tubes,cables,output/input posts,trimmers ,the lot!I put it all back together and with trembling hands i pressed the "power on" button.No hum!!!!
Checked the bias and left it on for 4 hours :nothing happened-all looked ok!Moved it into my system and used my solid state monos for the bass only and powered the rest with the tubes.A quick leveling of the two parts with the use of the input trimpots ...and let it rip!Heaven on earth!Solid state bass and ethereal mids and highs.I WAS THERE!I still am!Tubes are made for planars and solid state is made for bass-my motto!