SET amp owners thread

[DasguteOhr]

Thanks, however my question was about asking for SET amplification recommendations for a speaker(s) with these specifications.

Ok i I thought exactly the opposite. Misunderstood

 

[bonzo75]

Full Kondo is out of reach. Also, from what I understand, the Kagura and the Ongaku are the recommended amplifiers in the current line, and they are way above budget and an overkill for 99dB speakers. I don’t know how their 2a3 based amp is.

I’m less into Thomas’ amps.

Any specific recommendations?
I assume they’ll require at least 4-6w if not 8w to fully take advantage for large dynamic swings at above moderate volume levels.

Gain and drive is a different thing from wattage. Tannoy are 100db but require more drive than Devore which are 96 db. The Tannoy driver just requires more push. And it changed with their vintage.

This is a bit like asking which cartridges, even less so. There are a lot of good ones, different flavours, a bit of phono arm match, and I can’t think of an amp I would consider the Vyger Red sparrow or Dava equivalent (or your DST replica equivalent) so you would have to try the Opus, Zyx, vdh, etc to decide your taste.

There is a GM70 amp I like in the UK that is not expensive but has low resale. A guy with many Kondo amps recently bought it I wrote about that earlier. It is 14w, good drive, neutral, and GM70 is as nuanced as any. In direct compares it was better than Silvercore 833c, thoress hybrid 300b and a few others including some Kondo 8 watts.

I was recently told that the Kondo 8w sounds proper with a Kondo preamp only if it is wired out of phase. I haven’t tried that but one guy has called me over to try that out so will check on that.

The SJS 300b is also good at 8 watts, if you get the all silver version. High quality parts. With 300b you can rotate tubes to find your sound. SJS is now used with living voice but is found at reasonable prices

 

[DasguteOhr]

What would you recommend for a 99db 8ohm speaker? (which is horn loaded with a dynamic large driver)
Listening position is -8ft (2.5m).

Out of pure curiosity, what is the speaker's name?
When you search a good build SET amp here, they cost no leg or arm.

Tube Gear | Aric Audio

 

[morricab]

Thanks, however my question was about asking for SET amplification recommendations for a speaker(s) with these specifications.

The new Aries Cerat Quindecim amp. Single tube per channel and 15 watts. Mate that with the Aries Cerat Incito S and you have and endgame amp setup.

 

[iaxel]

The new Aries Cerat Quindecim amp. Single tube per channel and 15 watts. Mate that with the Aries Cerat Incito S and you have and endgame amp setup.

Thanks! They will also be connected to Aries Cerat amplification (however, not the Quindecim), as you can spot in my signature.

 

[morricab]

Thanks! They will also be connected to Aries Cerat amplification (however, not the Quindecim), as you can spot in my signature.

Ah ok! I don’t see the signatures on my phone…which AC amps?

 

[iaxel]

Ah ok! I don’t see the signatures on my phone…which AC amps?

Aperio

 

[bonzo75]

Ah ok! I don’t see the signatures on my phone…which AC amps?

You have to hold phone in landscape to see signatures.

 

[morricab]

Aperio

I run Protos on my Hornings.

 

[Atmasphere]

Thanks, however my question was about asking for SET amplification recommendations for a speaker(s) with these specifications.

Room size and liveliness are variables!

Keep in mind that unless the amp uses feedback (which is unusual in SETs) that you get about 20-25% usable power. Above that level, distortion will cause the amp to sound 'dynamic'. For best results you don't want the amp contributing to dynamics already in the recording.

I would also consider a subwoofer or subs. SETs pay a big price for trying to make bass. If you prevent the amp from seeing bass at its input, it will sound quite a lot better! This is easy to do by using a simple formula and simply placing a capacitor in series with the input signal such that bass is rolled off.

If that is done whatever amp you have will have a lot more usable power.

My room is not large and my speakers are 98 dB. I find it nice to have a good 25 Watts available (such that the amp is not working hard); more than most SETs can really deliver honestly. So your room size is important; it may be that a more practical amplifier might be a lower power push pull amplifier since they tend to have about 90-95% usable power.

 

[Verdier]

The new Aries Cerat Quindecim amp. Single tube per channel and 15 watts. Mate that with the Aries Cerat Incito S and you have and endgame amp setup.

Single Tube? The photo looks like 2 tubes parallel single ended. Irrespective of that: which tube is that?

 

[Atmasphere]

Single Tube? The photo looks like 2 tubes parallel single ended. Irrespective of that: which tube is that?

The amp is not described on their website. The power tube look much like a horizontal output tube for a television (such as an EL509); hence the plate cap as such tubes are designed to expect high plate Voltages. By putting the plate connection at the top of the tube arcing in the tube socket is avoided. One of these tubes could likely do about 15 Watts single-ended. But I suspect these are wired in triode so two would be needed to achieve the same power.

 

[DasguteOhr]

The amp is not described on their website. The power tube look much like a horizontal output tube for a television (such as an EL509); hence the plate cap as such tubes are designed to expect high plate Voltages. By putting the plate connection at the top of the tube arcing in the tube socket is avoided. One of these tubes could likely do about 15 Watts single-ended. But I suspect these are wired in triode so two would be needed to achieve the same power.

I think its a EL36 can not see it correctly..Octal socket

 

[Atmasphere]

I think its a EL36 can not see it correctly..Octal socket

View attachment 154600

The datasheet shows the EL36 to be designed for television sweep service. That tube is long out of production, but apparently no-one uses it either, so there's lots of selection on ebay that look good and are inexpensive.

 

[Argonaut]

15 Years, 15Watts, Quindecim

Happy new year to all! To celebrate our 15 years since company's establishment,we decided to name our new smallest but very very special stereo amp accordingly.Quindecim it is, or,,15 ,as many as it's wattage,as many as our years established. The new amp uses our NOIES technology (or "Pondera...

www.whatsbestforum.com

Instead of uninformed speculation , one might merely approach Stavros personally , either via the forum PM or by posting a question to him on the open forum , he invariably is only too happy to engage.

 

[DasguteOhr]

The datasheet shows the EL36 to be designed for television sweep service. That tube is long out of production, but apparently no-one uses it either, so there's lots of selection on ebay that look good and are inexpensive.

Yes, it was developed for televisions, picture lines amplifiers. Conventional tubes are becoming increasingly expensive, so it's a good idea to look for forgotten tubes and use them againmostly used great britain( e.g mullard , philips el 36( 6cm5)

 

[morricab]

Single Tube? The photo looks like 2 tubes parallel single ended. Irrespective of that: which tube is that?

No, one is in the power supply. Not sure what the tube is but I think it’s a pentode wired in triode. Transformer step up input.

 

[DasguteOhr]

15 Years, 15Watts, Quindecim

Happy new year to all! To celebrate our 15 years since company's establishment,we decided to name our new smallest but very very special stereo amp accordingly.Quindecim it is, or,,15 ,as many as it's wattage,as many as our years established. The new amp uses our NOIES technology (or "Pondera...

www.whatsbestforum.com

Instead of uninformed speculation , one might merely approach Stavros personally , either via the forum PM or by posting a question to him on the open forum , he invariably is only too happy to engage.

Speculation is more interesting than certainty

 

[Argonaut]

Speculation is more interesting than certainty

Sometimes in this game for sure Stephan … Thing is tho that Stavros loves to engage with any enquiring mind interested in his designs, folks can simply enquire of him here .

 

[godofwealth]

With my 105 dB rated La Scala horns, I find a 1.5watt 45-based SET sufficient, and in some ways, a purer sound than the 7-8 watt 300B SET I have on hand. These warm days in the Bay Area, my tube gear is all in storage, and I've gone all solid state. I'm using a Lyngdorf PWM true digital amp with the room correction enabled, combined with a pair of massive REL G1 Mk2 Gibraltar subs. The Lyngdorf doesn't sound tubey in the least. It's a dry kind of sound, very much dependent on the recording. Since it can do about 80 watts, way more than I need, I usually have the volume control around -45 dB or so. Because there is no DAC (the bitstream is directly turned to analog through a passive RC network), one presumes the volume attenuation should not have any deleterious effects. Have to wait another few weeks before I fire up all my tube gear....