Which is Better Sound From High Power: Single Tube SET or Parallel Tube SET?

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Considerably more than two. You're clueless.

Will kept secret. I forgot that you are counting border patrol on your speakers. Which is zero
 
I don't bother with such feedback...it comes from an uneducated position that doesn't recognize that others might have a bit more understanding in an area than they do. They BS so of course you must be also...right??

Haha , always a good laugh the SET thread . :)
Gives you a peak in human psychology.
Why not call all SET criticism " Misinformation " .
 
Sure, I have lots of experience with live concert sound as well *) and I still fail to hear the special magic of SET, even though I have liked systems with SETs in them. Everyone hears differently.

____________

*) of course, we could have a discussion about who has the most or the most meaningful live experience, but that is bound to degrade into a debate akin to who has the biggest
That’s my experience as well. I have had some very good sounding SE amps—300B and 46—and I have used them with high-efficiency speakers (99db) with an easy 16 ohm load, but I consistently prefer the sound of my PP amps especially my Western Electric 124 clone. To each his own.
 
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That’s my experience as well. I have had some very good sounding SE amps—300B and 46—and I have used them with high-efficiency speakers (99db) and an easy 16 ohm load, but I consistently prefer the sound of my PP amps especially my Western Electric 124 clone. To each his own.

So where are SET fans not liking low watt PP amps? The amp you mention, as well as good push pull EL84s, or the 10w PP that Misho uses on Altec, are all excellent. the 46 can easily be made into a PP, and with 300b there are many PP ones.

Generally it is the higher watt PPs like CAT, Ayon Orthos, AR, VTL, that are in a very different bracket for different speaker requirements and paired with highly unmusical KT valves.

There are also neohybrids from Silvercore and Silbatone. You can read up on the Silbatone neohybrid. Don't like their lower model 300b but the Vt2 they use in Munich and let you compare to the WE 300b SET is as good on the WE horns.
 
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Will kept secret. I forgot that you are counting border patrol on your speakers. Which is zero

"Counting border patrol on your speakers."

Huh?
 
To each his own.

Well said. Unfortunately some people become very defensive if you don't love their favorite things as much as they do.

It's a subjective hobby. Yet the dogmatics want none of that.
 
Well said. Unfortunately some people become very defensive if you don't love their favorite things as much as they do.

It's a subjective hobby. Yet the dogmatics want none of that.

Better give it up AL .
This is a dirty trench war , with no end in sight.



CAT AMPS from their website

With triode purity, transparency, and vibrancy that surpasses even the most refined low power single ended triode amplifiers combined with brute force current delivery exceeding all other tube amps, even those rated at four times the power
 
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Better give it up AL .
This is a dirty trench war , with no end in sight.

Of course it is. But unlike a real trench war, it's still fun.

Especially when you're dealing with the schoolyard-brawl SET superiority complex.
 
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Well said. Unfortunately some people become very defensive if you don't love their favorite things as much as they do.

Actually, some become aggressive when you dishonestly claim exposure you do not have
 
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The JL7 had the black path caps.
 
Well said. Unfortunately some people become very defensive if you don't love their favorite things as much as they do.

It's a subjective hobby. Yet the dogmatics want none of that.
I am open to trying everything...and basically have.

That said:
Basically, all but one of my audio friends here in Europe use tubes (the one that doesn't uses Class A SS) and all but one of those use SET (the other has Nagra VPA PP 845 amps). They ALL came from large SS and high power tube PP amps...including me. We have also all been through the Class D of several types, PP triode, PP high power UL tube, OTL , Class A SS, Class AB SS, Mosfet, Bipolar, hybrid, SET hybrid etc. etc. We are all on SET now...because of the sound. It is experience, not religion. I am always open to listening to new technologies or implementation (I have owned three OTLs, three different Class D amps...have you?). There is no dogma, just listening and thinking about what is heard.

One of my friends recently decided to try the Plinius SA-102 MKIII Class A SS amp with his 91dB Dynamikks speakers. It actually sounded "OK". However, one could easily hear where it deviated from realistic sound (flattish images, a bit gray tonality). He has now gone back to his Ayon Helios (Parallel SET with 6C33C) and recently I brought him my Horning SATI 520B amp to play with and it simply blew away the Plinius and was significantly better than they Ayon as well. It's not that we don't try other tech...we do and then we reject it because...it SOUNDS inferior.

There are a couple of non-SET amps that I could easily live with. One is the Ypsilon Phaeton integrated hybrid. The other is the Thrax Spartacus all 300B push pull amp (but this is very expensive). The Alieno and TLA amps have also sounded good at shows. Finally, Aries Cerat has their new single element amplifier, which somehow "welds" a tube and transistor for a single stage amp...these sound probably better than just about anything out there (it is still single ended though).
 
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Off course , i had the JL2 mk 2 for 8 years and the new one now for almost 1,5 years .
The old one is a brute , its also a bit noisy .
The new one is cleaner sounding with no background noise / transformer hum .

Most Set/ speaker combinations lack the raw power music has
Noise is not a huge deciding factor for me. The JL2 I heard was not excessively noisy.

Your comment about the combination depends entirely on the SET and the speaker. A friend of mine recently got a Plinius SA-102MKII, a known "musical" SS amp, and we compared it to two different SETs on his 91dB Dynamikks speakers...hands down the SETs were better...he is now selling the Plinius.
 
Off course , i had the JL2 mk 2 for 8 years and the new one now for almost 1,5 years .
The old one is a brute , its also a bit noisy .
The new one is cleaner sounding with no background noise / transformer hum .

Most Set/ speaker combinations lack the raw power music has
they have learned that powertubes sockets are not mounted on a circuit board but are still a long way from a nice clean structure. They should have looked at quad monos, they run deadquiet on klipsch horns.convergent-audio-technology-jl5-endstufen-33974.jpgs-l400 (1).jpg
P.S
probably would then be twice as expensive and less profit.no bashing... my opion
 

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