2. amps-preamps
  3. 1107110136

Why not more on 845 SETs?

As a brand-new owner of a Bel Canto SETi40 int amp,(bought used) I was intrigued to see very little in the fora on the subject of 845 SET amps an A'gon. It seems that this provides the best of both worlds -adequate power to drive most moderately sensitive speakers- 40 Class A SET WPC with SET sound. What is the downside to this approach and why don't more of the SET groupies have higher powered amps, giving them much more latitude in speaker selection? I drive 4 ohm 87 db sensitivity Totem 1 Signatures quite adequately with this amp. Is it beacuse of transformer issues, difficulty in finding adequate designs, size or the feeling that this is not a true "SET sound"?
I would like to hear SET-owners' reasons, if possible.
springbok10

Showing 3 responses by budrew

budrew
467 posts
 
My deHavilland Ios amp is the best amp I've ever heard. I'm wondering how
the dehavilland 845 products stack up against the other 845s? What speakers
work well with 845s? I'm using it with 88 db JMR Trentes and the Ios really
makes them sing unlike any other amp has been able to. I wonder how they
would work with more efficient speakers?

If one were to generalize what are the characteristics of the 845 and the 300b
in comparison? I would appreciate any descriptions here.
budrew
467 posts
 
Perhaps a SET amp would perform best with a single driver speaker if one were looking for the simplest path, but that does not mean that it won't sound excellent through a dynamic multiple driver speaker. And with a single driver speaker you may not get much bass and I can tell you the bass the Ios/Trentes is deep and tight! I thought of this analogy: with some amps the Trentes are like a water skier being pulled by a sluggish boat; they just never get up and going. But with the 845-based Ios the Trentes get up, go and sing like a slalom skier on a glass-smooth lake at first light. Beauty, eloquence, dynamics.
budrew
467 posts
 
The 845M tubes are bright (light-wise)! I understand from the Supertnt.com web site that they are no longer available. There is a lengthy explanation about this; from the clunky Chinese-to-English translation I gather they are redesigning them.
More to discover