SET amp owners thread

[Solypsa]

Dual mono, 6 channel a side single ended triodes direct driving (no crossovers) a ribbon tweeter, three horns 100Hz/250Hz/400Hz, sealed bass channel plus a spare channel for mid-bass once room integration is complete. All channels circa 110dB/w/m except bass which is 100dB/w/m.

Room response is flat to 18Hz. Bass channel presents a 1.1ohm load and is driven by 9w SET with enormous custom wound output transformer. Channel gives full 9w power with -1dB roll-off at 6Hz. Other SET channels are a mixture of two stage, DHT and single stage depending on the transducer they are driving with outputs of 1.5w - 17w.

Compared with single SET amps driving a particular loudspeaker system, or even SET amps with bass passed to other amplifier, there is absolutely no comparison...the failings of SET's in those systems just dissapear with multiple channels free of interference from the others. Direct driving the transducers really helps here as well. Soft bass, dynamics so real and transients so right with energy and time to spare. Dead quiet with my head in the horns, a soundstage and imaging that is immersive and more detail retrieval, intonation and fleshing out of sounds than many may think possible but not bleached or bright or fatiguing. I often listen 10 or more hours day while working. Loud.

The true beauty of this system though is that there are no distortion or other cues to tell you to stop turning it up. Listening at concert levels (i.e. 105dB peaks) is wonderful regardless of genre of music but you can go higher if you like. True to the Fletcher-Munson or Equal Loudness curves, the louder this system plays the softer the music sounds because it is actually capable of scaling up the bass with the mids and treble into spl territory where we can actually hear the bass frequencies as well as just feel them.

Not for everyone though. System weighs more than my car.

Have you written about the diy aspects of your system development before? I for one would love to learn more about the 'journey'...

 

[Rob181]

Have you written about the diy aspects of your system development before? I for one would love to learn more about the 'journey'...

I know Anthony & this I can tell you - it makes one hell of a read - not because he's a great story teller - because of the journey itself...

 

[anubisgrau]

Nice system, I'd love to see some pictures! Are your speakers 16 ohms?

I think they are 8 ohm! Pics - will find some ASAP. My room is currently a hoarder's cave, not fit for photos.

 

[jeff1225]

I think they are 8 ohm! Pics - will find some ASAP. My room is currently a hoarder's cave, not fit for photos.

If they are 16 than that might have been the issue, the SIT-3 likes 8 and below.

 

[anubisgrau]

they can't be 16 ohm with two 16 ohm drivers wired parallel plus BMS4592nd also 8ohm.

SIT-3 was tried with other speakers, for example tannoy berkley or more advanced tannoy DIY builts, both benign drive.

a friend whose opinion i highly rate had ultimate DIY defiSIT based on tokin sand for some minor service, he confirmed my findings with SIT-3. similar character, similar problems. YMMV. i guess it really depends on a benchmark.

 

[Exlibris]

Don’t know this band...have to check them out.
So, it sounds like you hear more of a sense of “action” with the SIT compared to the Allnic. That is one thing I really love with my setup is, for example, with piano there is the sensation of action and bRing there with the piano...not just notes in space but the sense of the machine making them...is that what you mean?

Just a comment on "action"...
I've always used the word "action" to describe the ability of a system to propel music from the image on the soundstage, through the soundfield, out to the listener, and beyond.
With most crappy recordings of popular music this isn't even possible.
When I do experience it, however, it satisfies me like nothing else in audio.
Tonight I was doing another compare between amps and, as expected, the Allnic made more of my streamed 'pop' songs sound wonderful than the SIT-3. On two songs, however, it couldn't match the "action" of the SIT-3. I don't know what it is but the SIT-3 at only 18 watts seems like it has the effortless power to play complex music, send it to me, and have it wash over me in a completely natural and unstrained way.
[for reference they are: 1. Sigur Rós - "Hoppípolla" and 2. Neil Young - “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)"]

 

[cjfrbw]

I listen to the Defisit Tokin on 3.6 ohm panels full range w/o crossover, or 300Hz-7Khz midrange @ 6 ohms, all impedances flat, and the amp sounds fantastic. I would rank it amongst the best SS I have heard.

The reviews were pretty clear that higher impedances could roll SIT-3 back into blandness.

Although pro and consumer reviews of SIT-3 are nearly all of high praise, everybody knows that there will always be outliers who don't agree or whose setups are not compatible. I guess that is why it is nice we have choices.

 

[anubisgrau]

Just wondering if anyone had a chance to hear Tron Voyager DHT SPUD - the minimalistic topology caught my attention, it seems to be 1:4 step up into 20B DHT OPT stage and that's all. I like simple things and Graham Tricker said this is his favorite Tron design.... Would like to hear the impressions, either from owners or those who had a listening experience with it. Thank you!

 

[jeff1225]

I listen to the Defisit Tokin on 3.6 ohm panels full range w/o crossover, or 300Hz-7Khz midrange @ 6 ohms, all impedances flat, and the amp sounds fantastic. I would rank it amongst the best SS I have heard.

The reviews were pretty clear that higher impedances could roll SIT-3 back into blandness.

Although pro and consumer reviews of SIT-3 are nearly all of high praise, everybody knows that there will always be outliers who don't agree or whose setups are not compatible. I guess that is why it is nice we have choices.

On my 4 ohm JBL’s, the SIT3 is something special.

 

[morricab]

Just wondering if anyone had a chance to hear Tron Voyager DHT SPUD - the minimalistic topology caught my attention, it seems to be 1:4 step up into 20B DHT OPT stage and that's all. I like simple things and Graham Tricker said this is his favorite Tron design.... Would like to hear the impressions, either from owners or those who had a listening experience with it. Thank you!

Nope never heard that but if you don’t need a lot of gain could be very pure sounding.

Aries Cerat now has a single stage amp called the Ianus Essentia. It is something that Stavros fro AC calls a triodefet as it is some kind of hybrid element and only 1 per amp.

 

[morricab]

Well, I recently sold off my MasterSound Dueundici (a pretty nice sounding SEP) and my WLM Minueta (pretty decent EL84 PP amp in Triode or UL) and will but an Ayon Spark, which is based on the Russian 6C33C output tube. With about 20 watts it is perfect for my mid bass Supravox TQWT section of my active system. The WE91 derived 300b monos will drive the horns. Should get here in a couple weeks and I will share some photos.

 

[Solypsa]

Aries Cerat now has a single stage amp called the Ianus Essentia. It is something that Stavros fro AC calls a triodefet as it is some kind of hybrid element and only 1 per amp.

Is this along the lines of the Broskie / Morrison designs ( a version of which Silbatone calls NeoHyb ... )?

 

[morricab]

Is this along the lines of the Broskie / Morrison designs ( a version of which Silbatone calls NeoHyb ... )?

To be honest, it is not clear to me what Aries Cerat has come up with (they are pretty tight lipped about it) nor do I know what Broksie/Silbatone are really doing.

 

[kjartanb]

I have not read through this thread until now. Many great systems in this thread. The last posts got me exited to try SITs, I got some Tokin SITs and a half finished SizzySIT DIY amp. I have several different amps, including a pair of DIY LadyDay LD-91 Mark II 300B monoblocks and use them on Altec A5s and Altec Mod 17 speakers. The LD-91 300B amps are great sounding amplifiers and I fully undestand those that stick with SE300Bs. They are the amps to go to on a quiet evening with some good red or some brandy in the glass. Day to day I still go back to my First Watt DIY amps, probably both because of convenience and because the FW amps do many things quite well. Maybe I have used tubes for too many years and had to fix my tube amps too often so I trust the FW amps more.

 

[jespera]

My Sit 2 was the amp I had the longest in my system. Then a few articles came out saying how you needed to pair it with a DHT pre. So i went through many of those trying to get the best combination. I had some great ones the best being a Vinnie Rossi with PX25 eml. I then went to a 300b integrated amp and i couldn't get that sound out of my head. The next couple years I'd put the Sit 2 back in and wanted to love it as much my set tube and didn't... so it was sold. I miss it. I think at the time my speakers sounded a little hot so the 300b tamed that. I wish I had a more powerful SET amp to try with my current line up of speakers. I have since moved on to a 46 tube and even less efficient speakers, modified Altecs. And THIS sound I can't get out of my head.

Looks righteous. What are the speakers?

 

[guf]

Looks righteous. What are the speakers?

hey, thanks. they are Altec Valencias with Werner (Mass_mutter) crossovers.

 

[morricab]

I have not read through this thread until now. Many great systems in this thread. The last posts got me exited to try SITs, I got some Tokin SITs and a half finished SizzySIT DIY amp. I have several different amps, including a pair of DIY LadyDay LD-91 Mark II 300B monoblocks and use them on Altec A5s and Altec Mod 17 speakers. The LD-91 300B amps are great sounding amplifiers and I fully undestand those that stick with SE300Bs. They are the amps to go to on a quiet evening with some good red or some brandy in the glass. Day to day I still go back to my First Watt DIY amps, probably both because of convenience and because the FW amps do many things quite well. Maybe I have used tubes for too many years and had to fix my tube amps too often so I trust the FW amps more.

I use my Lady day mkii monos for my mid/high horn. I will use an Ayon Spark for mid/bass duties. Until I get the Ayon though I am running the LD+ monos on just the Supravox driver full range, which still sounds quite good.

 

[morricab]

MY “new” SET

 

[Mikem53]

MY “new” SET

View attachment 75401View attachment 75402

Very nice.. Those 6C33 tubes ? I had the 6C33 tubes in a pair of BAT VK75SE monos. I kept having the ceramic tube sockets crack on me.. Was a pain to replace. They run so hot.. I finally let them go and that was the last tube power amps I’ve owned..

 

[morricab]

Very nice.. Those 6C33 tubes ? I had the 6C33 tubes in a pair of BAT VK75SE monos. I kept having the ceramic tube sockets crack on me.. Was a pain to replace. They run so hot.. I finally let them go and that was the last tube power amps I’ve owned..

Yes, these are the 6c33c output tubes. This is the third amp I have had with this tube . The first were OTL monos (4 per channel) that ran hot as hell and I sold them for that reason. The second was PSET monos with 2/channel, which was tolerable. Now this amp with only 1/channel seems quite ok wrt. heat.

So far sonically it sounds quite good and it has some balls! Nice tone and great soundstage. I have tried it out on my 97db Odeons and my 91db Dynamikks speakers and both rocked.