SET Shootout China VS The USA

I had no doubt of your motives Charles, just thought an explanation was warranted.

I have no experience with the KT series other than the KT77 which I think is a great tube. But you are doing it again you’re not listening to tubes you’re listening to tube amps. So whatever tube it is you do listen to next make sure it’s in a good amp. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Tube amp design/Circuit

2) what are the pre tubes

3) quality trans 4) power tubes choice/brand (I found Gold Lion a bit dull, confirmed by a member on Audiokhrama)

What I am suggesting is that all power tubes sound awefully close , tiny nunance differences. But a miniscule is all I need LESS IN MIDRANGE with the 90’s vs the tiny bit more full richer mids of a 88. Pre tubes have the most impact, and what brand, I found none beat out Tele , my fav pre tubes are AX, AU, but honestly thats not based on exp, as i’ve not heard a 6SN7 series type pre tubes. I have no idea how they perform. Trans quality allows a superior **cleaner/tighter* bass. Also swaping caps and resistors have allowed some gains, minisclue but worth it. I have 12 Mundorf SESGO .47’s in the Defy @ $50 each + tech fees. Bass has more punch. On swapping caps, it realy only makes a dif if you go highest quality, Supreme EVO SGO. EVO give less impact. All these things go to make a amp’s ultimate performance. Ck out Ken Usegui’s designs. top quality, IMHO Ken is making the best SET’s for the money, 2nd to none. 2nd to none in his price range, Sure we can’t include Kronzilla and Wavac, thats a wholeeee nother price range. But what Ken is doing, 2nd to none. Thing is, he only offers pure SET,,, my thing is DHT in PP design. I need the nuances in dynamics with a DHT/PP vs the super pure linearity of a SET. Suductive, but at the end of the day, I miss the added dynamics of a DHT/PP sound. + a SET will not deliver the power I need for full sym orch,, vs the superior performance with DHT/PP in more complex music.

But as for EL34, KT77, KT88, KT120, Our local tech has run experiements with audiophiles, **guess which tube is in the amp NOW..** and usually its only a lucky guess.

What makes all the dif in allowing nuances of each tube to come through is,,THe Sensitivity of the speaker.

Upgrades were hardly noticed in the Thors at 87db sens. With my Dual FR, any tube swap, I can note the tonal changes. Your xover type speakers are not sensitive enough to allow upgardes to be heard in all their impact. = Big waste of money high end cabels, IC,s Caps, etc, with low sens speakers. A complete waste of cash. Only FR allow the most impact of mods/upgrades to filter through. This is a fact, based on very costly experiences. I’m still in debt with these Thor upgrades. The only thing left now with the Thors are the xovers for the W18’s. Got them sitting on my shelf collecting dust. I really despise all/every xover/low sens speakers, did I not say

HATE.

Loathe,

can’t stand.

my fav pre tubes are AX, AU, but honestly thats not based on exp, as i’ve not heard a 6SN7 series type pre tubes. I have no idea how they perform.

Once you hear what they do there’s no going back. If your SETs don't use 6SN7s there's a whole better world out there...

I agree with Atmasphere--most tube amps, both single-ended or pushpull, benefit from driver tubes with more oomph than the 12AX7 or 12AU7, which often means a 6SN7.  

By the way, Atmasphere is being quite diplomatic by not mentioning the type of amp he manufactures and sells, which are output transformerless (OTL) amps.  If you think your  full-range driver system sounds incredibly alive and vibrant with your typical single-ended triode amp, wait till you hear it with a good OTL amp.

@laoman 

新疆政府组织出来新疆实习生1000人左右，政审，体检合格，年龄16至18周岁，由新疆政府委派正式在编干部管理，厂方有需求可申请新疆籍在编警察24小时驻厂管理！合同期为一年起签！新疆厨师可自带，要有统一的员工宿舍，（方便管理）。签定合同后人员15天内到企业！请有用工需求的企业提前联系！用新疆工的优势是：半军事化管理，能吃苦，人员不流失，合同签多久，就上班多久！100人起送！
 We had the same system here in the US but it ended in 1865.