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SET the best?

Is SET amplification where we should all end up? I keep reading posts where people tell of their journeys from plenty power to micro power, and how amazing SET amplification is 45 set 211 set 845 set otl, and usually, ....with the right speaker. I have yet to read of anyone who has gone the other direction from SET, to High watt beast class A amps or others.
If your speakers can be driven by minimal wattage, is this the most realistic, natural sound we can achieve? versus say, 86db sensitive speakers and a 1000w amp?
Is the end result solely based on speaker pairing? circuit? tubes?

I am in the process of changing my direction in my search for realistic sound, just because, and wondering if this really is the best direction to be going.
From what I have been reading I think it may be.

What do we get with SET? What do we give up?

What's you favorite color?
hanaleimike
mozartfan
2,143 posts
 

SET. Amps are great holographic midrange especially 300 B but are softer at the extremes , 845 I feel has more drive

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You know I was *set** on getting the 845 with 300B as drive tubes,, Pehaps I should consider a 300B SET before making final decision. My tech says the 300B tube was made for the tele industry and so big roll off at both ends of the band widths. I’m going to take this up in discussion with tech today.

mozartfan
2,143 posts
 
WE, Linlai Elite mesh and solid plates to choose from. My 300B monoblocks aren't soft at either freq. extremes, ea~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hummm , here we go with another vote for 300B amplification. You know i listen exclusively to CM,, which has kettle drums, deep cello sections, is mainly centered in midrange. hummm I need to figure out going 300B or 845. Going to hear some 300B's on youtube now, see hows the bass/highs. And yes I can hear how a amp performs via the right music/w a good upload. /Correct speaker.
mozartfan
2,143 posts
 

sure glad we revived this discussion,. 

I'm going ~~~300B~~~. 

845's too heavy and out my budget. 

If anyone has a  300B they are not using, please contact me, Budget is 2G;'s

larryi
3,717 posts
 

If you are considering parallel SET, be aware of the issue of one tube in a channel pair becoming much stronger than the other such that, in short order, you lose the full power capability of such amps.  Even when one starts with supposedly matched pairs, they tend to quickly become unmatched.  I've had this happen in my Audio Note Kageki, and others running parallel SETs have noted this issue too.  

I have my doubts about any "cheap" 845 amp.  Many really don't run the specified plate voltage for that tube, and the ones that do, would have to be properly built to be safe to operate, and that means higher cost.   The same would apply to 211 and other higher powered SET tubes.  

I hope the $2,000 budget for a 300B amp is the budget for something used, and is not the budget including the output tubes, because decent 300b tube would eat up a very significant part of that budget.  That would leave not much for other parts, particularly the output transformer which is not cheap in a SET amplifier.  If you can build your own gear, the 300b kit offered by Elekit sounds decent and is quite inexpensive for what one gets.  But, I still have my doubts about "budget" SET vs. the many inexpensive vintage pushpull amps that are available.  There is no inherent superiority of any particular design, and a good pushpull transformer amp and pushpull OTL amp can be the right choice to deliver the goods.

mozartfan
2,143 posts
 

There is no inherent superiority of any particular design ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Fully aware this is the general consensus in audiophile beliefs. But seems to be, the best for me let say, maybe not for others, is the SET.

Seems to me push pull is the proper tag for that typology, **pushes and pulls** the delicate musical signal apart. IOW shreds, the electrors to tiny bits. vs a SET , pure linear, natural, just stunning. Lets say PP attacks the listener

VS ,

 

SET gently caresses the music.

Nothing wrong with PP for hard rock, big blues, big jazz bands

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