SET amp owners thread

[Argonaut]

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A beautiful looking , and I am sure sounding system kpz , congratulations … An audio/Vid always goes down well around these parts should you be so inclined .

 

[kpz]

A beautiful looking , and I am sure sounding system kpz , congratulations … An audio/Vid always goes down well around these parts should you be so inclined .

Thanks very much TheMooN! Much appreciate it

 

[Germanboxers]

Hi Everyone! Finally the pair of Avantgarde Acousitc Duo Mezzo has arrived ! As I have posted before, it was my desire to upgrade the Audio Note E speakers that now came in. I just installed the Mezzo's temporarily, having them connected with the low cost copper speaker cables that was handy, the difference in performance compared to the AN-E is indescribable. It is much greater joy to listen to music now! i have reached a significant milestone by installing the Duo Mezzo's in my ambitious journey of chasing perfection in listening. Honestly I still have the sonic details in my ears of the ultimate, reference playing system that is a set datum level for me in enjoying all sorts of music, the system I have been exposed to @ Clarinet Audio Design studio where the set up was a chain of their own branded amplifiers with pair of Avantgarde A. Trio connected by their own speaker cables and interconnects. This is an ultimate benchmark for me. I am truly delighted to take a leap step now with the Mezzo's. The sonic performance my ears are exposed to now is rather clear with loads of details and the falloff's are entirely different. Overall music started to become what it should be....

Please let me share my joy through the attached photos! To further progress in my journey, I am also lucky benefitting from the expertise in fine tuning my system: I am ordering speaker cables and onsite fine tuning from Clarinet Audio Design. The time I could spend enjoying music is sadly constrained by other duties like work; i could hardly wait for spare time @ weekends!
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I had a similar reaction when I first installed my Duo Mezzo’s in my room. Adding Thomas Mayer silver 10Y line stage and 45 Drives 45 amps was “icing on the cake”. Glad you are enjoying your Duo Mezzo’s, KPZ.

 

[Nelsen]

Hi Everyone! Finally the pair of Avantgarde Acousitc Duo Mezzo has arrived ! As I have posted before, it was my desire to upgrade the Audio Note E speakers that now came in. I just installed the Mezzo's temporarily, having them connected with the low cost copper speaker cables that was handy, the difference in performance compared to the AN-E is indescribable. It is much greater joy to listen to music now! i have reached a significant milestone by installing the Duo Mezzo's in my ambitious journey of chasing perfection in listening. Honestly I still have the sonic details in my ears of the ultimate, reference playing system that is a set datum level for me in enjoying all sorts of music, the system I have been exposed to @ Clarinet Audio Design studio where the set up was a chain of their own branded amplifiers with pair of Avantgarde A. Trio connected by their own speaker cables and interconnects. This is an ultimate benchmark for me. I am truly delighted to take a leap step now with the Mezzo's. The sonic performance my ears are exposed to now is rather clear with loads of details and the falloff's are entirely different. Overall music started to become what it should be....

Please let me share my joy through the attached photos! To further progress in my journey, I am also lucky benefitting from the expertise in fine tuning my system: I am ordering speaker cables and onsite fine tuning from Clarinet Audio Design. The time I could spend enjoying music is sadly constrained by other duties like work; i could hardly wait for spare time @ weekends!
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Ciao
Complimenti per il sistema.
Usi cavi isotek?

 

[morricab]

New Beast in the house!!! GM70 output tube, 6N6P driver and E86C input tube. A true 35 watts And a very robust 56Kg weight. Transparency and dynamics par excellence. What’s interesting is that the whole thing is made by one man...including the all the metal work (which is flawless) and the output transformers!

 

[DasguteOhr]

New Beast in the house!!! GM70 output tube, 6N6P driver and E86C input tube. A true 35 watts And a very robust 56Kg weight. Transparency and dynamics par excellence. What’s interesting is that the whole thing is made by one man...including the all the metal work (which is flawless) and the output transformers! View attachment 87680 View attachment 87681

Looks pretty good which brand i could not read it, good choice ec 86 and 6n6p as input stage and driver

 

[bonzo75]

New Beast in the house!!! GM70 output tube, 6N6P driver and E86C input tube. A true 35 watts And a very robust 56Kg weight. Transparency and dynamics par excellence. What’s interesting is that the whole thing is made by one man...including the all the metal work (which is flawless) and the output transformers! View attachment 87680 View attachment 87681

Can you do videos of this amp vs other amps that you have?

 

[morricab]

Looks pretty good which brand i could not read it, good choice ec 86 and 6n6p as input stage and driver

Polish Brand Amplifon. Very small, basically one man operation. The German importer is in Mainz...I went there Wednesday this week to get it.

 

[morricab]

Can you do videos of this amp vs other amps that you have?

No, too much work swapping huge heavy amps in and out just to hear you don’t like any of them...

 

[morricab]

Looks pretty good which brand i could not read it, good choice ec 86 and 6n6p as input stage and driver

Question: is E86C and EC86 the same tube exactly? Just wondering for the future. Right now have wonderful Telefunken input tubes.

 

[DasguteOhr]

Question: is E86C and EC86 the same tube exactly? Just wondering for the future. Right now have wonderful Telefunken input tubes.

Yes . E86c is longlife version. Aha.. Amplifon made a good 6c33 tube amp too

 

[morricab]

Yes . E86c is longlife version. Aha.. Amplifon made a good 6c33 tube amp too

Yes, and they make extreme 833C monos

 

[marslo]

Looks pretty good which brand i could not read it, good choice ec 86 and 6n6p as input stage and driver

The brand is Amplifon, Andrzej Piwowarczyk is the man behind this brand. The amp on the picture is SET 42.
I had in the past WT30 II, WT 40 II and cd player TACD 01 from Amplifon.
My older son still uses TACD with Mullard NOS.

 

[germinal]

Any recommendations for a SET amp for KLIPSCH Cornwall speakers ?

 

[Atmasphere]

They are a little less efficient so you'll want 15 watts in most rooms.

 

[AB76]

Hi All, just joined the forum, though have enjoyed reading about albums and gear on these threads before. Recently made the switch to more efficient speakers and SET amps. I use Thoress 300B Monoblock SET amps with Fern and Roby Raven iii speakers.

 

[cal3713]

I looked up your amplifiers. They look great. I like the build style.

 

[AB76]

I looked up your amplifiers. They look great. I like the build style.

View attachment 88205

Thanks! I really like them, think the midrange and tone is great. Fun to listen to & pair well with the Thoress pre. Since only 8 WPC, I wanted to get another amp for rock or other genres with more low end, so picked up a used First Watt M3. That does the trick when more WPC required but mostly I listen to the 300Bs. Plan on keeping this Thoress gear a long time. The phono stage in the Thoress full function pre is pretty good too. I have been mostly using it instead of an outboard pre since got it. I like the kind of retro industrial look, though some visitors have had other thoughts

 

[acousticsguru]

Question: is E86C and EC86 the same tube exactly? Just wondering for the future. Right now have wonderful Telefunken input tubes.

Actually, the Telefunken you have in there is yet another step up: EC806S, the gold pin version of which was „guaranteed“ to be good for 10’000 hours.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

 

[AB76]

I don't have a lot of experience with tube amps, especially separates, just last year or so. I will say the sound of the Thoress pre and amp can be tailored by the tube choice. Which makes sense , point to point wired and no circuit boards, the tube should make a big impact on sound. I've been surprised though that the 300B tube hasn't changed the sound of the amp/preamp combo quite as much as the tubes in the line stage and phono stage of the preamp. The Sofia Princess 300B sounded good, then one went bad and got a Gold Lion pair to replace them. Like the Gold Lion too, not quite as quiet as the Sofia's, but not loud either. Just some crackle at warm up that goes away. The change in 12SN7GT tube in the pre, from NOS RCAs to Sylvania, some others. These aren't expensive tubes, and thankfully when bought pre I got a few boxes of tubes, mostly various 12SN7GT pairs. It is surprising just how much it changes the sound. The RCAs I have are kind of punchy and not as detailed on the preamp, but very fun to listen to. Some of the others are more clear and linear and not as "analog" sounding. I kind of expected the 300B choice to make more of a difference in the chain, and it still might. I've only tried a couple. It is fun though how the tubes in the line & phono stage in the preamp change things, it's very noticeable tube to tube. Does anyone have a recommendation of a 300B tube pair under $300 to try?