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845 Tube vs KT90

Thinking about auditioning/purchasing a 845 mono block, may cost me big money, so i'd like a few ideas on what to expect from the 845 tube image.
I have a Jadis OR with KT90 and really offers me pretty much what i love in my classical music, each orch section is heard distinctly from the others, IOW the sound stage has presence. However I've heard such wonderful comments about the "king of all tubes" the 845.
I'm wondering though, will the single 845 tube deliver the same separation of fq's as well as the dynamics of the mids are separate from the highs and lows. I do not like at all the image presented by the KT88 tube, nor the 300B tube for classical. Both from my experience have presented classical/orch as a flat one dimensional sound. A total flop.
For light rock , jazz, blues these tubes seem to be best.
So what should I expect from the 845 on classical, though I realize not every 845 amp will present the same image, inner components quality also play a big role. Just looking for general characteristcs as concerns the separtion of the 3 main fq's/lows/mids/highs.
bartokfan
bartokfan OP
664 posts
 
I just googled here "845" and see the old topic "Tube fever, 845 set amps"
I read where EJLIU posted on 1-14-06 "most 845 SET 40 watt amps do not do well on low impedance speakers". So like the 300B tube, the speaker must work around the 845amp.
In my game speakers come first, the tube amp has to work for the speaker.
Besides the Cayin monos have a single 300B tube with the driver 845 tube on each chassis, that alone should raise a red flag, in that the speaker must have good sensitivity for the 845.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,299 posts
 
I'm a jazzman, but do Mozart, Vivaldi and their friends quite often. I'm driving 101db speakers with 40 SET wpc. My speakers never drop below 6 ohms. I get all I need from the Brandenburg Concertos to Stravinsky's (some serious SPL) Firebird. I cannot imagine stella satisfaction with an 845 tube with 88db speakers. I would always be yearning for more when playing big symphony music. I would think in terms of more sensitive speakers, then hook up with an SET tube 845 amp/pre. It works for me.
warren
bartokfan OP
664 posts
 
Still looking for a solid opinion on the general character of the 845 vs the KT90 on classical.
As I say i'm very happy with the JOR but having read all the comments on the magic of the 845 I'd like to know if this would bring another dimension to classical.
If the 845 is brother to the 300B then it aon't gonna happen. Classical, orchestral I'm refering to, totally overwhelms the cababilities of the 300 tube. Even most KT88 amps I've heard have difficulities with orchestral. Have not heard the EL34's. The KT90 may be the ideal tube for orchestra.
Thoughts?
jeffreybehr's avatar
jeffreybehr
805 posts
 
Bartok, I think your experience with other output tubes is experience with those AMPLIFIERS. An excellent-sounding amp can be built around vurtually ANY output tube. Also, 845-based SETs, which usually have 20 - 25 Watts, may well be short on power for ANY speaker with sensitivity below more than 90dB.

You don't tell us how much power your Jadis amps have; how much?

One alternative to 845-based SETs is the Antique Sound Lag Cadenza, a push-pull amp of 60 Watts... http://www.divertech.com/aslcadenzadt.htm . Harry Pearson raved about them in his review of the Hansen speakers in the January issue of 'The Absolute Sound'. Rather expensive at $6K.

I use ASL's new 845-based SETs, the AQ1006(845)... http://www.divertech.com/asl1006845dt.html ...to drive my DIY 97dB-sensitive line-array, open-baffle speakers.
[IMG]http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k220/jeffreybehr/OB%20JG6518%20speakers/12Decfmlisteningpos_800w.jpg[/IMG]

They sound VERY good together on aLL the music I play, which is mostly large-scale Classical and film music.
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hiend2's avatar
hiend2
376 posts
 
I dont know what amp you heard the 300B's with but they can be stunning in a push pull set upX4. The mids are somewhat colored and the bass is uncontrolled but the highs are very nice indeed, Too bad i ran them into clipping too much so I sold them . Ca 339
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