Gave up my SET----looking for moderate to higher power replacement options


I recently sold my JAS Array 2.1, which is a SET using 805 and 300B producing 45w.  With NOS RCA 805 and Sophia Princess 300B's, this amp produced the best sound I've ever had.  I used it to drive the satellite section of a pair of DIY/Legacy Focus clones using Eton drivers.  I've ran several different solid state amps on the bass drivers.  The inner detail and palpability of images were fantastic.  Images were life-sized and, frequently, sounded as if the musicians were in the room with me (not much of an exaggeration--honestly!)  And despite the modest power rating, this amp had startling dynamics.  It was an exciting and very engaging listen but.....well, aside from the amp breaking down on a few occasions, the cost of tubes and the extreme heat the amp put out,  the amp did run out of power when I pushed it too hard.  

I've tried several other amps during my time with the JAS, typically as warm weather substitutes, and a few more since I sold it but I really am mostly disappointed.  Presently I have an Audiozone Amp1 running the satellite section and a Jaton AV5140 on the woofers.  I was biamping with the Jaton but wanted a bit more detail and transparency.  The Audiozone is better than the Jaton in this regard but still falls rather short of the standard set by the JAS  and also runs out of power occasionally and sounds just awful when it clips.  I have an Audio Alchemy DPA 1 and had the Wyred4Sound ST-500 when it first came out and neither are what I'm looking for in my main system.  The AA amp is better but still a far cry from the sonics of the SET JAS.  Do any of the Class D amps truly approach SET sonics?    I'm considering the Gamut D200 mk iii as well though these are hard to find.   Are there any Class D amps I should look in to?  I really need to keep it at $3000 or less and probably around $2000.  Please make recommendations based on actual experience, that is only on amps you've actually heard.  Thanks!
lcherepkai

Showing 10 responses by cal3713

@audioguy85 Note that the OP was already finding 45W insufficient with his original SET.  That's what makes the change such a tough task... gonna want 90W+ I think.
Lots of quality recommendations and educational posts in here. Good luck with the search. I was going to tell you about my efforts in the same regard, but I went from 8W 300b SET monos to a 25W First Watt PP. Moving from 45W to 100W seems like a tall order. My journey was difficult and I think yours will be harder, especially with the budget limitations. Please do post back with updates regarding the journey...
@atmasphere I appreciate your explaination and the educational post Ralph, but I will note that some listeners do find substantial differences between 2nd vs 3rd harmonic dominant designs (e.g., see the "Harmonic Distortion and Sound" section of this article: https://www.passdiy.com/project/articles/audio-distortion-and-feedback).

This even holds when the amplifier typology is otherwise held constant, e.g., when adjusting the front control on the First Watt SIT-1.
Just out of curiosity, I went over to usam and looked at the amps for sale between $2000 & $3000. Not that I think they’re going to sound like a SET, but three I’d be interested in trying if I were in your situation were the Ayre V-X5e (200W), Modwright Instruments KWA100 (100W), and the Carver Crimson 275 (75-90W).
@charles1dad As @twoleftears suggests, my bet is on the AGD amplifiers as the most SET sounding class D design (GAN-based).  I'd love to hear them. 

They certainly want to convince us that they care about SET musical characteristics with the design, and one dealer advertisement states that SET people do like them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PKSlTODkJ0). 

Unfortunately more than double the OP's budget.
@lcherepkai 

1. I've also heard that about the Benchmarks. My impression is that they are not capable of handling low impedance loads, and (perhaps surprisingly) it seems this becomes more of an issue if you're running them as monoblocks. If you're thinking about them, I'd just reach out to Benchmark with your speaker specifications and ask about compatibility. From all reports they're great amplifiers. As Charles mentions, the comparison of this high- feedback amplifier typology to your SET experience will be very interesting. There are some used units around and I think you can get some new ones with free home trials, so it might be easy to find out.

2. Hopefully Ralph will weigh in but unfortunately I suspect @atmasphere is referencing his own Class D amplifier that is currently under development. I'm sure it'll be wonderful, but not yet available and perhaps outside your budget. 
And thanks for channeling @almarg for the technical reminder about why the Benchmarks would struggle when in bridged mono mode.  It makes total technical sense, but is ironic that when configured to deliver the most power, they also lose the ability to deliver the needed current into low Ohm loads.  Unfortunately this is likely the exact kind of case in which one would actually need the additional power.  Watts are cheap... until they aren't.   
@atmasphere No doubt.  If the human ear hears it different, then there somewhere (at some point in time) exists the ability to measure a difference.  The ASR style measurement folks want to claim that human hearing primarily responds to written words and visual bling.  Certainly these things matter, but not like actual differences in sound. 

It takes people like you to educate them in what to measure, but unfortunately many in that crowd seem to care more about mocking subjective perception than truly understanding sound reproduction and measuring the things that predict these subjective differences.  
My dream post-academic career would be getting involved in such an effort, but unfortunately I haven't been able to figure out how to get in the door... "Hey bro, I'm a former top scientist in my field with research on the evolutionary function of music and world-leading expertise in measuring subjective perception" hasn't worked yet.
@agdproduction I’m not in the market for new amplifiers, but I’d happily do a home demo and report about my experience! You can see my current equipment on my systems page...