What is the "sound" dif. between a Joule -Elctra OTL and a SET amp??

I am not familiar with your Wyetech amp, but I owned a Joule Electra OTL amp and SET monoblock amps at the same time. The Joule was a VZN-80 MKV, Musicwood edition. The SET amps are a pair of Coincident 300b Frankensteins.  I had both of these amps in my system for 7 months and spent a lot of time going back and forth between OTL and SET.

Enough has been said about the Frankensteins on this forum. I will just say they are surprisingly neutral, transparent, and live sounding, unlike the fat and fuzzy stereotype that some have of SET amps. They are also quite dynamic with the right speakers.  

As for my Joule Electra, it was a fantastic amp. I used it mainly with Merlin speakers. The amp can play with a wider variety of speakers than most SET amps. One should know however that power drops when going into 4 ohms; power does not increase into 4 ohms like some amps do. That said, I used mine with Quad ESL-57’s with good results. My daily speakers were Merlin VSM’s, a wonderful match with Joule amplifiers. With a little negative feedback, the amp was deliciously ripe sounding and full bodied (noticeably more so than my SET amp), at the expense of a little bit of transparency.  The amp produced really nice tone. The soundstage was huge in all dimensions (even larger than the Frankensteins). I sold it because of the heat generated by the output tubes. Also, I would make sure that the output tubes are readily available. I bought new tubes 2 years ago, but found that a lot of tube sellers were not carrying them anymore, or if they did, they were asking high prices. Even the usually reliable Russian dealers did not have them in stock. My Joule was a labour of love. Great care needs to be taken to keep it hum free. With all those tubes, it can be a pain to diagnose. I was able to get my Joule to run quietly, but others have complained about not being able to get rid of the humming noise, which can be heard through the speakers.  I would feel much more confident if buying the used pair that Signature Sound just listed. Is that the pair that you are looking at?

As for MKIV versus MKV, I believe it has to do with the use and implementation of circuit boards. I would call Rich at Signature Sound. He would know the answer.

Charles,

As for emotional involvement, they are just two different flavors. With either amp, I could listen for hours at a time and feel emotionally involved. If I can close my eyes and imagine being at the Blackhawk nightclub, or some other venue, then my system, including my amps, is doing its job for me.

As for realism, like I said, my OTL amp was noticeably more full bodied and rich in sound, which I really enjoyed, but the OTL was also somewhat diffuse and obfuscated when compared to the Franks. For example, with the Joule bass notes were fatter, drums had more weight, and cymbals could waft in the air forever, it seemed, but I was not hearing things I can hear with the Franks. However, I was using negative feedback a bit with the Joule. I liked the sound, but was it realistic? I thought so when I owned the amp (I Iisten to a lot of rock and a fair amount of jazz), but the Franks brought a different point of view.

I do feel that with the Franks, I am getting more of the inner detail of the music. I will say the Franks are noticeably more realistic with piano notes. My kids played piano, and what I hear through the Franks is closer to what I heard them playing. This is probably more than you wanted to hear. I could go on and on comparing these two fine amplifiers, both of which are immensely enjoyable in their own way.

When it was the time to choose an amp, I went with the Franks, first because they throw off very little heat, and second and more importantly, I am very happy with their sound. I went through several amps during the course of a year in search of a replacement for the Joule amp, and it took the Frankensteins to finally find something that I was happy with. I also found full range speakers that work exceptionally well with the Franks, so I get to experience something like the full bodied sound of the Joule, combined with the traits of the Franks that I like. All that said, I would like to own another OTL amp in the future. It would be great to have the option to again experience two very different yet enjoyable sounds.

Tom

Fluffers,

I happened to like playing with the feedback feature of my amp to tailor the sound. Jud Barber recommended something around the 6-8 o'clock position for my particular amp. He has very good ears. You can dial it down if you want more transparency, or increase it to create a riper sound. That is a nice thing about the Joules. Whatever setting is decided on, the Joules can be very pleasing to the ears. I too would be interested in reading your opinion on the differences between your Wyetech and the Joule, so please keep us posted if you decide to buy the VZN-100.

Tom

Ralph,

 If the OP were to limit responses to only those with experience with Wyetech and JE, crickets would be chirping. The OP's post is titled "What is the "sound" dif. between a Joule -Elctra OTL and a SET amp??"  I responded in accordance to what was in the title.

Being a former longtime Joule owner, I was trying to give the OP information from someone with the actual experience of owning a Joule amp. That's all, I wasn't trying to make it into a Frankenstein thread. I mentioned the brand and make of my amp, and a brief description of what I am hearing from that amp, to give the OP perspective on where I am coming from. That's all.

I had a few sources for 6c33c tubes that I tried. Joule Electra was the main source, but they went out of business and stopped selling tubes. Upscale Audio was another source, and they did not have any in stock. Another source was a popular Russian tube seller whom I had purchased from in the past, and they surprisingly did not have any either. There were a couple of other well known US based tube sellers that did not have any either. This was two years ago, looks like things have changed.

Peace,
Tom