Is the Phile sound an Aquired taste.

I agree that most SET's lack the sparkling highs and deep full bass. And it seems that those extentions are something very important to you.
I have an SET that does it all. The rich, beautiful midrange and the powerful bass and sparkling highs.
The Almarro A318B amp is one you must try before placing all SET's into the catagory of no dynamics.
Check out the reviews and give one a try. It'll change your mind about SET's.

Hi Mechans,
An interesting question but hard to answer, what`s the SET sound? I`m drawn to the intrinsic sound/character of the directly heated triode(DHT) but hav`nt heard all of them.I acknowledge that within the same tube type i.e. 300b,45,845 etc. thete`s much variation in the ultimate sound given the differenent circuit choices,transformer choosen, power supply quality, which driver tube,wiring...At the end of the day most people persue the sound they find most realistic is my asumption. For me it`s fairly simple, I attend live jazz venues on a regular basis over the past 23 years. I try to select components that come as close to that jazz club sound as I can get. In my case 300b SET does the trick Coincident Frankenstein. I`m sure there`s other 300b SET amps I`d like less and some as much,or find equal happiness with a different tube type altogether. But for now this has gotten me closer to what I`m seeking more so than any other amp I`ve heard so far.

agree with Zman