Need help : Single ended, Low power, SET amps..


Can someone help me to understand the + and - of Low Power? SET? Single Ended? And a few examples of some models would help.
tweekerman

Showing 2 responses by tmcroy

Try looking up the triode guild on www.meta-gizmo.com. Eccentric, irreverent, thought provoking and informative if you can cope with an intellegent very anti pollitically correct approach that is not as sexist as it appears once you get past the surface.
General idea is you don't need heaps of power if you have around 105 dB per watt efficiency. 3 watts will go as loud as 200 watts into average efficiency speakers, i.e. 86 dB.
Go listen to someting like Klipshorn La Scala speakers suitably driven. Yes, megabucks including a good system - but so is the high power low efficiency system, probably MORE expensive.
Then have a look at JBL pro gear, for instance their slot tweeter (which is available in 15 ohm versions, ideal for low power tube amps)Try 105 dB maximum output to 22 KHz!. Not even slightly harsh, very quick and detailed. One of the best tweeters I've ever heard - as good as any electrostatic but with real dynamics!
They also do some wonderfull mid and mid/high horns, like the so-called "but cheek" or "Dolly Parton" horn. 500 Hz - 16 KHz in one driver!
Their so called "paper" drivers seem to have kevlar and carbon fibre reinforcing the paper. Very light, stiff and efficient.
How about a tube crossover (though I would actually use solid state with tube pre and power - but that is sacrilege!) and bi-amp? 2 - 5 watts of single ended driving a slot and but cheek passively crossed over with 1st order crossover and 10 - 20 watts of push pull triode on bass!

Personally, I like push pull over SE - but listen LOTS to as many different rigs as you can and then TRUST YOUR OWN EARS - cos you have to listen tp it!
Hi Tweek,

Believe it or not, I didn't say JBL just because they are so efficient.

Most hi end people consider the JBL sound is what you get at concerts.
Well sometimes it is, but how would a whole wall of your favourite hi-fi speakers sound, often driven by an "interesting" selection of power amps wired up by people who think fancy cables are snake oil.
Cables being robust so they can be moved 10,000 times is what counts to them - not fancy stranding, teflon or oxygen free!

JBL's are often used in mastering studios. A friend of mine has such a studio and the sound he gets is awesome - of course VERY revealing, which is what SET is like as Twl points out.
If JBL's couldn't get it right - those recordings could never sound right on our hi-fi! (don't assume JBL's are all used for pop recordings either)
Take the best of those drivers (and they are very good, think of the volumes they do, how ruthless the competition is in pro sound and estimate their research budget for yourself), set them up like hi-fi drivers would be and you would be VERY shocked.
I was, and your Jardis gear would be damn fine to drive them - with that much power (even the smallest Jardis) going into speakers of around 100 dB/watt efficiency, bi-amping would be a sonic experement (likely to be rewarding, IMHO) rather than a necesity.

With SET, as with any sort of tube amp, output transformer quality is critical, hence expensive and single ended ones are the hardest to build! Right, = great. Not quite right = oh dear!

If you have pocket deep enough to go 3 way active, how about mosfet or PP tube bass, SET midrange and triode PP trebble? That I think, would be using each type of technology in its strongest area.
Let me know how your hi-fi adventure goes!