SET amp owners thread

Well that is still interesting - can you tell us more?

there is nothing to say. It looks very nice and he has outsourced various stuff from other people but doesn’t seem to understand sound. So either the crossover or assembly or both is flawed. I can only hear very poor sound.

Weirdest were the youngsters coming in and sitting with shoes off, legs folded and eyes closed as if they were meditating on the presence of quality. Non audiophile crowd who had seen nice speakers, tape, vinyl, and read romantic story of the system in newspapers.

but personally I too would choose the non audiophile crowd as my target audience if I was a manufacturer
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: hopkins
there is nothing to say. It looks very nice and he has outsourced various stuff from other people but doesn’t seem to understand sound. So either the crossover or assembly or both is flawed. I can only hear very poor sound

Thanks. Not knowing the music it was was hard to tell from the video what was going on! If I am ever in NYC again I'll be curious to hear it for myself.
 
So I have joined the gang with Jadis SE300B monos after a long reading, evaluating, thinking, planning.. But as they say, life has its own plans, while we have ours. I couldn't make my Living Voice R80's 'sing' as I wanted them to, as I heard them sing at the High-End Munich 2023 show. Tried and tested many amps and finally made my speakers sing with SET 300B. The system is mainly Lumin U2 -> Nagra Classic DAC with PS -> CH Precision L1 -> Jadis SE300B -> Living Voice R80. From time to time I listen to CD from Esoteric X-03 and vinyl from Clearaudio Ovation / Ortofon PWTi -> Whest PSRDT40
 

Attachments

  • R80-15.jpeg
    R80-15.jpeg
    202 KB · Views: 26
  • R80-16.jpeg
    R80-16.jpeg
    180 KB · Views: 26
So I have joined the gang with Jadis SE300B monos after a long reading, evaluating, thinking, planning.. But as they say, life has its own plans, while we have ours. I couldn't make my Living Voice R80's 'sing' as I wanted them to, as I heard them sing at the High-End Munich 2023 show. Tried and tested many amps and finally made my speakers sing with SET 300B. The system is mainly Lumin U2 -> Nagra Classic DAC with PS -> CH Precision L1 -> Jadis SE300B -> Living Voice R80. From time to time I listen to CD from Esoteric X-03 and vinyl from Clearaudio Ovation / Ortofon PWTi -> Whest PSRDT40
Very nice! Enjoy! It really is all about the system once you've gotten into the position of having or having access to high quality components. From reading and having heard Living Voice a few times before, I could imagine your combination does make its own special magic.
 
So I have joined the gang with Jadis SE300B monos after a long reading, evaluating, thinking, planning.. But as they say, life has its own plans, while we have ours. I couldn't make my Living Voice R80's 'sing' as I wanted them to, as I heard them sing at the High-End Munich 2023 show. Tried and tested many amps and finally made my speakers sing with SET 300B. The system is mainly Lumin U2 -> Nagra Classic DAC with PS -> CH Precision L1 -> Jadis SE300B -> Living Voice R80. From time to time I listen to CD from Esoteric X-03 and vinyl from Clearaudio Ovation / Ortofon PWTi -> Whest PSRDT40
Congratulations 'metei'. The Living Voice R80's are lovely speakers both from a visual and a sound prospective.

If you seen and heard them at last year's High-End Munich hifi show, you may have known that Kevin Scott (from Definitive Audio and Living Voice Speakers and the Designer and Manufacturer of the R80's) was using 300B SET Amps from Simon Shilton of SJS Electroacoustics Arcadia to power the R80's (along with Simon's other lovely electronics i.e. Phono Stage & Pre-Amp etc).

I heard the R80's last year too at one of the UK Hifi Shows linked to Simon's SJS electronics and they sounded amazing.

Now you have the lovely R80's I would seriously consider you visit Definitive Audio in Nottinghamshire in the UK this year (if you can) to hear the R80's been connected to the SJS electronics just to hear them at their best. I'm sure you will be smitten (as I was) by the amazing and very musical sound you will be hearing.
 
Congratulations 'metei'. The Living Voice R80's are lovely speakers both from a visual and a sound prospective.

If you seen and heard them at last year's High-End Munich hifi show, you may have known that Kevin Scott (from Definitive Audio and Living Voice Speakers and the Designer and Manufacturer of the R80's) was using 300B SET Amps from Simon Shilton of SJS Electroacoustics Arcadia to power the R80's (along with Simon's other lovely electronics i.e. Phono Stage & Pre-Amp etc).

I heard the R80's last year too at one of the UK Hifi Shows linked to Simon's SJS electronics and they sounded amazing.

Now you have the lovely R80's I would seriously consider you visit Definitive Audio in Nottinghamshire in the UK this year (if you can) to hear the R80's been connected to the SJS electronics just to hear them at their best. I'm sure you will be smitten (as I was) by the amazing and very musical sound you will be hearing.
Hi 'metei',
I forgot to ask how you like the CH Precision equipment you have ?

Is one of the CH components I see in your photo a Power Amp i.e.. an A1.5 ?

If it is, did you link up the CH Power Amp to the R80's ? And if you did, how did they sound ?

If not, i.e. because you don't have a CH Power Amp, why don't you try one - a loan unit form a CH Dealer (as you have the CH L1 Pre-Amp !) linked to the R80's ?
 
there is nothing to say. It looks very nice and he has outsourced various stuff from other people but doesn’t seem to understand sound. So either the crossover or assembly or both is flawed. I can only hear very poor sound.

Weirdest were the youngsters coming in and sitting with shoes off, legs folded and eyes closed as if they were meditating on the presence of quality. Non audiophile crowd who had seen nice speakers, tape, vinyl, and read romantic story of the system in newspapers.

but personally I too would choose the non audiophile crowd as my target audience if I was a manufacturer

interesting, i think his exhibit is coming to san francisco this summer so I'm looking forward to hearing it. what you say makes sense when you consider all of the articles and videos on his systems... they rarely touch on the quality of sound..

with that said, i built his diy horn bookshelf speakers a couple years ago. i've been using them in my second system ever since and i think they sound great for what they are.
 
Hi 'metei',
I forgot to ask how you like the CH Precision equipment you have ?

Is one of the CH components I see in your photo a Power Amp i.e.. an A1.5 ?

If it is, did you link up the CH Power Amp to the R80's ? And if you did, how did they sound ?

If not, i.e. because you don't have a CH Power Amp, why don't you try one - a loan unit form a CH Dealer (as you have the CH L1 Pre-Amp !) linked to the R80's ?
Hi there Bonesy Jonesy,
The reply to Your both questions are here in detail;
I have written my love story on R80 :]]
In short;
I also listened to them with Simon's amplifiers during Munich 2023 and I also wanted to have the R80 + SJS as a set but the import bureaucracy for a new brand, new model, all the documentation, lab tests etc. is a huge burden for distributor. That's downside of living in Turkey, it is hard for boutique brands to enter the market.
Yes I listened to R80's with my A1.5. R80 being very transparent and neutral, CH pre + power being very transparent & neutral, -I know it is not exactly right to state but- the system sounded too transparent & neutral that kind of sounded "lifeless, not romantic, not engaging" for my ears accustomed to tone character not so neutral.
Similar thing happened last week. The Jadis SE300B's had their stock EH tubes on them. I had a chance to try 2005 WE 300B's, matched quad, tested, no short but low emission. Yes WE's are way better but that romantic tone with EH's are gone. WE's are cleaner, more detail, waay better bass control vs. EH's playing more romantic, more engaging.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bonesy Jonesy
Met an interesting music lover today who plays piano and sings in a choir including the Bach passions.

he built his first speaker 50 years ago and continues to DIY his own systems, for the last few years he has an Onken with Altec woofers. Classical LPs galore. Quadra amped with Kaneda

572F3325-F347-4F6E-96C5-D970DB337577.jpeg
43309ABA-9B93-4BD3-8E19-344E2475F4DC.jpeg

FAE43F56-8F59-415A-A6C6-2676259A4124.jpeg
 
Goldmund reference that was modded to add a Viv lab with Nasotec swing headshell

3C623410-18E0-477E-B5CF-C139C64A62AD.jpeg
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu