SET amp owners thread

[Kingrex]

Trio 15 Coax. I have used Ampsandsound KT88, Dartzeel NHB108, Atmasphere Class D, KT88 PP 40 watt, Audion SET 845, Thrax monos.

No amp has pressurized the room like a ported box speaker does. Noor reached down to pipe organ lows. But then again, few of those speakers play as natural and real as the PAP.

I believe a swarm of subs might work well. Might. I could be totally wrong. A friend has a swarm and Fd it all up. I had to stop the music on Come Together because it was rattling my ears. He agreed. But he had them dialed in wrong and plays them too hard. They play loud. Well integrated subs seem to make no sound with your ear to the driver.

 

[Atmasphere]

Trio 15 Coax. I have used Ampsandsound KT88, Dartzeel NHB108, Atmasphere Class D, KT88 PP 40 watt, Audion SET 845, Thrax monos.

No amp has pressurized the room like a ported box speaker does. Noor reached down to pipe organ lows. But then again, few of those speakers play as natural and real as the PAP.

I believe a swarm of subs might work well. Might. I could be totally wrong. A friend has a swarm and Fd it all up. I had to stop the music on Come Together because it was rattling my ears. He agreed. But he had them dialed in wrong and plays them too hard. They play loud. Well integrated subs seem to make no sound with your ear to the driver.

Since the PAPs go down fairly low, likely you might only need a pair of the Swarm subs (which are designed be directly against the wall) to break up any standing waves in the room.
That's exactly what I do. So one woofer is to my left against the wall and the other behind me and slightly to the right.

 

[Kingrex]

Deoxit D series. Works best in the spray can; stay away from the non-spray versions. Tube sockets can be contaminated by the carriers used in non-spray contact cleaners- resulting in loss of bandwidth and worse (such as arcing). If that happens the only solution is to replace the socket.

This sounds really sketchy. Anything that leaves a film on the tube contacts is a risk of contaminating the socket as the film can leach across the socket dielectric. I've seen this happen and its not pretty. Do this to multiple sockets in your amp or preamp and you could have a major service nightmare if the 'enhancer' is able to contaminate the socket (it can contaminate connectors in the same way). I've seen contact enhancers contaminate circuit boards, requiring their replacement along with all the parts on it. That started with just application to the pins of the tubes.

If the tube is contaminated it may not work right until its been cleaned off properly. For this reason, the Deoxit D series in a spray can is the best bet; spray the pins of the socket and then installed the tube and pull it out a few times. Use a paper towel to then clean the pins of the tube and a cotton swap to remove any excess from the socket contacts.

FWIW Dept.: if you have to polish the wire the only thing I can think of is its corroded. If you have oxygen free copper and if you use a good quality solder with a good solder flux, this simply isn't necessary as that is literally the job of the flux.

I agree on never use a contact enhancer.

I use Caig D100 when I can wipe it off. It does a better job than the G100 in lifting oxidation. You have to then come back and wipe it again as Lifted is not Removed. Lifted will settle back down over time. I finish with G. And I am wiping it clean.

I have never sprayed in a tube socket. I would only do it if I could get paper towels below the socket to catch the discharge. And be carefull. Use something to ensure all caps are discharged. I don't know what or how to tell they are totally empty.

I like gold pins. Even gold has a surprising amount of black tarnish that comes off. The gold probably protects and keeps the underlying metal from pitting and degrading over time. But some.sort of stuff comes off when you clean it.

 

[Atmasphere]

I agree on never use a contact enhancer.

I use Caig D100 when I can wipe it off. It does a better job than the G100 in lifting oxidation. You have to then come back and wipe it again as Lifted is not Removed. Lifted will settle back down over time. I finish with G. And I am wiping it clean.

I have never sprayed in a tube socket. I would only do it if I could get paper towels below the socket to catch the discharge. And be carefull. Use something to ensure all caps are discharged. I don't know what or how to tell they are totally empty.

I like gold pins. Even gold has a surprising amount of black tarnish that comes off. The gold probably protects and keeps the underlying metal from pitting and degrading over time. But some.sort of stuff comes off when you clean it.

Using any contact cleaner that isn't a spray; IOW that leaves a residue, is asking for trouble. Not sure what you mean by 'G'.

I've had no troubles at all with the spray cleaning a socket. I've done it for decades and never had a problem. If the 'cleaner' is going to give trouble with filter caps charged, you've got a 'cleaner' that is going to cause trouble!!

The spray is really all you need.

Gold is terrible in tube sockets; arguably the worst. Put a tube in and out a few times and the gold, which is pretty soft as metals go, is worn off and the underlying metal is exposed to corrosion; at which point corrosion crystals of the underlying metal will remove the remaining gold plating. I've seen such socket's contacts turn black due to this process. If its just the tube pins that are gold plated that's nice but really doesn't help. Tube sockets are tin plated for a very good reason; try to second guess people who did metallurgy for a living, like using silver or gold and you have an unreliable socket. Might sound good for a little while but if you plan to own the amp or preamp for a few years the socket itself will degrade the performance as it degrades.

 

[Kingrex]

Caig DN5S-2N, the non arcing, non flamable version, or the original D5S spray both have 5% solution and 95% propellent/solvent. Both leave a film of solution after the solvent evaporates.

The D version is better at removing tarnish. The G version has a better solution that protects longer. G is supposed to only be used on new,non tarnished metal.

I am saying to discharge the caps to get under the pin sockets to place rags. I don't want anyone electrocuted.

 

[Kingrex]

My PAPs have the Standard Voxativ center drivers. I have used everything from 300 watt GaN FET to 3 watts 2A3 with a personal 45 being built. In MY ROOM, I much prefer the lower power tube amps.

How low a power. The 845 seems enough. I play at about 76db 1 foot from the driver. About 71 db at my seat. Louder hurts my ears and starts to shout. The vocals become more forward and harsh.

I have never tried a 200 watt plus amp.
I really want to try biamping. Have you tried to biamp. I could see a couple 2A3 or 45 amps work really well if direct coupled to the drivers.

 

[Audiohertz2]

How low a power. The 845 seems enough. I play at about 76db 1 foot from the driver. About 71 db at my seat. Louder hurts my ears and starts to shout. The vocals become more forward and harsh.

I have never tried a 200 watt plus amp.
I really want to try biamping. Have you tried to biamp. I could see a couple 2A3 or 45 amps work really well if direct coupled to the drivers.

1ft or 1M for db levels ? How far are you listening from the speakers?

The harshness and shout is from clipping distortion , you will need 4 times your current power to squash that and ideally enuff power to lift levels into the 80+ db range for realism ..

Bi-amping with the same low power amps is not gonna give you the db gains you are looking ..

Can you specify the actual sensitivity .. ?

 

[Purity Audio Design 1]

How low a power. The 845 seems enough. I play at about 76db 1 foot from the driver. About 71 db at my seat. Louder hurts my ears and starts to shout. The vocals become more forward and harsh.

I have never tried a 200 watt plus amp.
I really want to try biamping. Have you tried to biamp. I could see a couple 2A3 or 45 amps work really well if direct coupled to the drivers.

I cannot bi-amp as I have series crossovers.
As far as power goes, my preference is 2-3 watts with 45’s or 2A3’s. Also working on a little 3 watt EL84 integrated which I can’t wait to hear on these speakers. I also work for Raven Audio and have a personal Osprey which is about 30 watts PP 6L6. That is the highest powered amp that works well in my room. In fact, extremely well.
With any of these amps, I do not feel the need for a subwoofer.