Vfet / SIT Amplifiers

@jayrossi13 ,
thanks for sharing!
re: " I mostly listen at reasonable volumes (70 db to 80 db range) and find the music doesn’t have to be loud to sound good. "
and
re: " Which is "better" would be a matter of a coin toss. "

I personally prefer finesse and quality over brute force. However, I am spoiled to have both with either one of the classic vfet amps...The finesse and airy sound of SIT-3, plus the "whoomph" to shake things when required.

I have not tried anything else other than the Yamaha C-1, but I probably should

@sonetduo Yes. Your Yamaha is outclassed by the amplifier. You might try a tube preamp; I think you'll hear a transformation.

@atmasphere curious what you think about the idea that a preamp with relatively modest 10db of gain (Microzotl MZ2) paired with the SIT-3, itself a low gain amp, might be contributing to the issues I’m having with the SIT-3. Is that likely to be a "problem’, so to speak, or is it more likely that my speaker’s impedance swings would be the defining issue here? (If I had another preamp just sitting around to try, I would - but wondering if I should invest in a higher gain preamp.)

Basically, in my system the SIT-3 sounds a little dark, limp, anemic, and closed down, especially at the volumes I listen: ~65db.

My F2-J on the other hand - pure heaven. Literally designed for the single driver, crossoverless speakers I use.

@atmasphere
Thanks for your feedback on trying a tube preamp. A luxman tube pre has been on my crosshairs for a long time and will probably bring one in soon.

As far as the C-1, I am not sure what you mean by: " Your Yamaha is outclassed by the amplifier" ?? would you define "outclassed"??

The SIT-3 needs a preamp with sufficient gain to come alive. The C-1 provides that plus C-1 is the only vfet preamp ever build. The synergy between the vfet preamp and the vfet amp, is something to be heard. You should try that combo if you have a chance.
I have not tried other preamp yet because the C-1/SIT-3 combo sounds superb. If I want "more" I can switch out the SIT-3 with one of the B amps from Yamaha, which have the similar airy sound and distinct vfet warmth, but much more headroom and authority.
BTW, my C-1 and other vfet gear is fully restored and sounds the way Yamaha intended it to sound ;)

@sonetduo I love the idea of a SIT-based preamp! The problem here is the Yamaha is far too complex. When you're dealing with purist amps and speakers (and let's be clear here- people these days that insist on crossover-less single-driver speaker tend to be on the purist side of things) the least circuitry you can get away with (without making it **too** simple) usually the better. That Yamaha has its heart in the right place, but it has a lot of encumbrance. It would be really interesting to find out how it sounds with no tone controls or tone control switching, just done in a simple no-nonsense approach. 


Now as a designer, the idea that an amplifier needs to hit a certain power level to 'come alive' is disturbing. I have a VFET amp that was designed by Nelson Pass and it certainly does not behave that way. This makes me think that its the Yamaha that is why you are saying what you are. In looking at the preamp and its signal flow, apparently its equipped with a loudness control in addition to a volume control. Your description matches that of the loudness being improperly set. If this was my preamp I'd be cutting all that extraneous stuff out of it. Since that would ruin whatever collector value it has, it seems prudent to me to just go to the type of circuit that the SITs behave as anyway- triodes.

I love the idea of signal-level SITs; I wish they were commonly available.