EL34 in triode vs 300B/845 SET


Hi All,

    I thank you ahead if some of you already helped out with my previously related post.  Quick story, I currently use a Dared VP-300B SET and just loving the sound but since I'm using B&W805 D3 I keep wondering if better higher current/watt amp would further impress me.  The best SET in the market seems to be 805B driven by 300B, very very expensive (thinking Line Magnetic 219ia).  I've been reading that EL34 due to it's design gets very close to 300B SET when wired in triode mode.  It seems far more economical to get the romantic lush sound and lots more power (relative to SET) with EL34B in triode then going 845/805 tubes (especially considering high heat).  Any anyone can share experience with above since there're lot of EL34 triode/UL amp out there these days?

    I'm also wondering since Dared VP-300B is a very entry level 300B SET, if upgrading to more expensive ones like Line Magnetic or AudioSpace or Cary...etc would make big difference with fuller body sound?  Or maybe SET is SET and won't get too huge leap of a difference.

Thanks.

hifineubee

your obviously going to have different power outputs with the different tubes. so if power is a concern that may be the driver of your choice. all those tubes sound great in a good amp with slight differences. biggest being your going to be comparing SET 300b etc and Push Pull El34. one other option you may consider if you need more power in an SET is Parallel SET this has two tubes doing the amplification in a parallel configuration in a 300b this would essentially double the output power to 15wch roughly. in a parallel amp both tubes are SET and both do the full wave ( so not push pull with cross over distortion) they are summed at the output so doubling the power. I like every tube you mentioned all have strong points and week points Push Pull will always feel more powerful as they usually are. SET will tend to have a more romantic mid range but suffer at the freq extremes. ( note good output transformers can eliminate this some what).

I'm actually surprised your getting satisfying sound from your 8wch SET driving those speakers at 88db they are not efficient.


one thing to consider is what makes a SET tube amp great, 1. stable clean noise free power supply 2. quality output transformers. the first gives you low noise floor (very important in high efficient speakers), drive and power reserves. the second (arguably the more important) determines greatly the freq response mostly at the freq extremes (poor out put transformers tend to roll off the highs and lows more the quality ones). the rest is minor with tubes somewhere in there close to the top as well. the transformers are the most expensive components in a tube amp. power transformer, output transformer and choke if installed.

Thanks glenn for info.  Yeah, I've been pleasantly surprised with 300B SET, seems that many people have the false assumption that 300B SET is automatically bad for anything non-flat 8ohm and less than 92db sensitivity.  I started with NuPrime ID8, then B&K EX442, then Parasound Halo Integrated then Marantz HD-AMP1.  So far my SET amp is the best performer among above (though no where nearly perfect).  The biggest deficiency for 20% of my music recorded in full dynamic range 'classical/orchestral' is lack of power.  Hence I'm looking for economy way to get more power for comparison.

Thanks to mboldda1 and several others who've been recommending Mastesound, I'm just not quite ready to shell out $3000+tax without a great demo first hence still doing my research