I own a DHT pushpull amp that uses the 45 tube. It is a terrific amp--bass is tight and punchy, harmonic structure of instruments is fully saturated and realistic, and attack and decay of notes is very natural. These are all the qualities one would expect of DHT tubes. The biggest difference with SET amps is in soundstaging. SET amps tend to be better at presenting a big, enveloping soundstage in which the listener feels fully emersed rather than looking from outside in.
I mentioned high quality SET amp in my earlier post because there is a general impression that SET amps are lower in cost because of their simplicity. The problem with that assumption is that it is quite challenging to make decent output transformers for SET amps because of the high DC current saturating the core. The transformer is the key to a great SET amp, and good ones are not cheap.
I mentioned high quality SET amp in my earlier post because there is a general impression that SET amps are lower in cost because of their simplicity. The problem with that assumption is that it is quite challenging to make decent output transformers for SET amps because of the high DC current saturating the core. The transformer is the key to a great SET amp, and good ones are not cheap.