2. amps-preamps
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My opinions re. SET and pp triode

My old stuff: Data3/ Enkainthus dac/First Sound 2/ CJ8xs/ Montana EPS.(92 sen)/ all Sy.Re.active x dig and analog ics/ AM Stealth/Custom power for the front end/ 7k in power cords (yes)
I just bought a Sophia 845 The one with the 205 tube ect.($7500ret.) --(bought used)
The dif as I hear it is; with the set you loose most of the lower slam and 10% of the highs. BUT; the mid magic is to die for. Never heard Nora sound like this.--- But one keeps looking for cds that are in the 'zone' of the set amp. I love this so much. Rock ain't its forte. When you come across a bad cd,female voice or not;its bad. Anybody did the switch? If you're coming from a 6550 amp the differences are huge. Ed, where R U?-Tell us what U think.
avguygeorge
ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
hi George -

congrats on making a leap into that -the big 845 is such a nice tube. And if the sophia 205 is anything like the WE 205, that's a hell of a nice tube too. Glad that you like what you hear - I think in general SET stuff is my favorite type of amp/preamp/etc. the Big CJ stuff and other PP pentode/beam tetrode amps are nice too - they just have a massiveness of power which is unlike the SET scene. Different flavors, different roads to similar ends. Ultimately the best is to have at least one of each (SET and big-ass PP amp), and enjoy them both for what they are. Fortunately there's a lot of good choices in either camp.

enjoy,
-Ed
twl
3,251 posts
 
The bass and treble rolloff is related to the output transformers, and are not specific to the triodes. My Berning SET ZOTL has no bass or treble problems,it's pure "midrange magic" from top to bottom. It has no output transformers. However, my speakers roll off at about 40Hz, so there is a lack of real deep bass in my system. But, it is surprising how I never miss any of the stuff under 40Hz, and quite often there is nothing on the recording that goes that deep anyway.

Also, for maximum coherency with SET amplifiers, single-driver louspeaker systems are preferred, due to the elimination of the crossovers and the true single point-source of sound for each channel.
jrd351
332 posts
 
when you give up the bass and the highs, the midrange had better be magic. in fact it had better be so magical that you think that what you are hearing even distantly resembles real music. even anne murray will send an set into clipping with a quality fullrange loudspeaker. as b.b. king said..the thrill is gone.
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