NAT Se2Se amps


Very little information on these amps can be found . Does anyone here own them and do they sound best with "XLR" or "RCA" input cables or has different power cords made much of a difference? Presently, I only have the single ended (RCA) inputs on my preamp which was custom made locally . I know some amps can sound best on either configuration due to how it's implemented. Also, has anyone "rolled" the two small signal tubes and found a significant change in the presentation of the sound?
chuckie
If you need some power and want SET then NAT or KR Audio are really the only two that I have heard that deliver the SET magic with real bass power and control. The biggest Ayon monos are not bad either but despite plenty of power sound kind of soft in the bass. For somewhat easier speakers they are one of the best but for "normal" or electrostats stick with NAT or KR.

I drove my Acoustats (1+1, Spectra 2200 and Spectra 4400) very nicely indeed with my KR Audio VA350i. It also is driving my Genesis III speakers with real authority, even though they are 87db and 4 ohms. No problems. I have hooked it up to a number of Apogees with great success as well (not the 1 ohm Scintilla mind you). The bigger KRs have more headroom of course. The NAT amps have similar punch and drive and perhaps sound a bit more tube like (KR Audio amps are hybrids) overall.
Asking SET's to drive 88db speakers is quite a challenge.
Maybe you could consider the KR audio SET's that are said to deliver the SET and the power, never heard myself but some say they are worth it.
My speakers are Soundlab Ultimate II's. I know they are hard to drive but I have tasted the magic of the 845 tube drving my speakers temporarily and thought the 211's on the NAT Se2Se might work better magic. I plan to work with my setup some more before calling it quits. I will probably try some other amp with the 845 eventually. I don't have any plans to "ever" sell my Soundlabs so finding the right 845 or 211 amp has been my quest lately. I am not interested in Atmasphere,Ayre or Wolcott. I have heard those combinations and they didn't have the magic in the midrange as much as the amp with the 845 installed.

Regards
Chuckie
Chuckie,

Keep in mind that the 845 is the mid range lovers tube.

If your speakers are <90/92db you will be missing quite a lot of what any SET has to offer. Have run SET 55w parallel 211's into 90db then same into 100db, far far better in my world.

Tell us what your speakers are.

Tim
Tim
Thanks,I had a friend's ASL 845 model 1006 in my system about
a year ago checking it out and that's what hooked me.I have never
heard my speakers produce the midrange so lifelike and crystaline.
The low frequency info was lacking the tautness and solidity as expected
but it was enough to give me a glimpse of what was possible with SET
amps .So,figuring a little more power would help elicit better control and
have that glorious midrange I purchased the NAT Se2Se amps .This is what brought me to finding amps that
could power my speakers. So, far they don't have that magic midrange
that the ASL 1006's had and I will continue to work with them to bring the best out of them. They are such beautiful amps and very well built . I'll stay with the RCA 's for now.
Hi,
Have used the Nat Audio SE1 for sometime with high efficiency speakers.

Nat Audio is a great way to walk into SET and get a good taste of the 211/VT4c tubes. Try some GE to start, inputs will enable you to experinence things. In the end if you are hooked to SET then you will climb higher up the ladder.

You may do better going single tube than parallel tubes, this implemntation is harder to master and will detract from the SET magic. Cannot say if Dejan at Nat has acheived this or not. FYI very few parallel 211's work, the best being the Kondo Gakuon, different ball game.

The RCA inputs are better than the XLR's that are "false" balanced anyway, yes tried both.

Tim
Experiment some,come to your own conclusions.What sounds good to Joe Blow might not work for you.Just a thought.