Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp...

Rebbi.
I believe you'll get this sorted out. Obviously the 3 watt SET should not out drive your 8 watt SET. This is evidence of the Tekton's easy to drive reputation(3 watts!). In hindsight fingers point to your amplifier. I recall Brownsfan not having this issue with his De Capo driven by the 8 watt Dynamo amplifier. Overall jist think, all of this wonderful sound with a faulty amplifier.
Best Regards,

Rebbi, congratulations! You ran the definitive experiment. Once you get things sorted out, I do hope you are able to make things work with the deCapos. Back at the beginning of this adventure, I evaluated the deCapos driven by my Coincident Frankenstein 300b amps. I found one could go pretty loud without issues. As Charles indicates, my dynamo also does pretty well. At this point, the dynamo driven deCapos are getting as much playing time as my main system. I've got a nice tube complement in the dynamo now. I continue to subscribe to the original premise regarding the deCapos and SETs. "You haven't heard the deCapos until---"

02-13-15: Mikirob
Sebrof, thanks for chiming in. Do you still enjoy the Katz? Were you trying to sell them a while back?

I had an either or ad up, IIRC: Either the Lores or the Katz. I liked them both but didn't need them both so I think I opened either 2 ads or 1 ad that said take your pick. The Lores sold first. I listen to the Katz every day while I work from home.

02-13-15: Rebbi
The other thing I noticed, in retrospect, was that the Kit 1 did not play as loudly on his much more sensitive speakers as I thought it would. (This later led me to wonder whether the amp is even putting out its rated wattage at all.)

3 watts, 8 watts, what's the difference? Seriously there isn't much, and I thought the Kit 1 played about how I expected it to. I mentioned that I usually have my 2A3 amp's volume at 11:00 or 12:00 when I listen at my normal levels (low 80 dbs) and I'll go to 3:00 on rare occasions. That's all about the gain of the amp. Power is when it starts to clip, which you won't know until you get the issue sorted out. I thought it sounded very nice until it almost blew up my speakers (joking and exaggerating), and it looks beautiful. Despite your issue I'm seriously considering looking into one of their PP kits to bi-amp my bass drivers.

Sababa!

I agree with Sebrof's experiences as there not being much difference between 3watts and 8 watts.
I have Wavelength 45 amps and 300B amps. (driving Beauhorn Virtuoso speakers @ 106 db with single Lowther DX4)
There is not much difference in max volume levels.

To be precise, 8 watts is 10log(8/3) = 4.26 db greater than 3 watts, everything else being equal. To put that in perspective, the classic rule of thumb is that a difference of 10 db (10 times as much power) will be subjectively perceived as "twice as loud."

Regarding "everything else being equal," though: Assuming that those power ratings are based on an 8 ohm load, to the extent that the speaker impedance varies from 8 ohms at various frequencies, and to the extent that the output impedances of the two amplifiers are not the same, that 4.26 db difference may change significantly in either direction. Other design-related differences between the amps, such as in their power supplies, of course can also affect that value significantly, depending on the impedance characteristics of the speaker, the dynamics of the music, and other variables.

Sebrof, great job helping out! Rebbi, continued good luck.

Best regards,
-- Al