SET sound without a lot of money

Boy can I relate!! I went through Various Triode, Pentode and Push Pull tube amps.....etc. Vandersteen, Legacy, Klipsch, a few monitors with subs.....etc. I'm in a very similar size room with very similar taste in music. I was always missing something in my listening sessions. I've even heard a $250,000.00 system that still wasn't what I was looking for. The system was great on presence, imaging and staging but was very fatiguing and straining to listen to. Take a look at my system. It's in the building stages but is still very rewarding to listen to. After I heard a good SET amp on some efficient speakers ( I'm talking 97db or greater )I've never looked back. This is just one persons opinion and it's not for everyone but I at least recommend giving it a try. I feel you will really need more efficient speakers though before you switch over to an SET amp. The amp won't be allowed to shine to it's potential. FYI...I just added a Cary AE-3 pre amp tonight and OH MY.....just what I needed to drive my 45SET amp. Good gain and soundstage with no coloration over my passive volume control that I've been using.

1gear, your enthusiasm is contagious....

Erfranke,

As I understand your request, you are not looking for a replacement amp, but, something that can be used once in a while to mix things up. What would be helpful is an idea of what you are currently going to keep as the primary amp.

There is a WIDE range of sonic offerings when it comes to SET amps. For my taste, the BEST of SET sound comes from those low powered directly heated tubes (e.g., 34, 2a3 and 300b), and less so for the higher power offerings. Some listeners also prefer single tube SETs to those with parallel output tubes (I own, and like, a parallel 2a3 SET amp). These kinds of amps limit, to some degree, the kinds of speakers that can be matched to the amp. I have heard very nice sound from low-powered SETs used with some not very efficient speakers so it is possible for you to use such amps in a small room as long as volume level is kept reasonable. The most difficult kind of music to get to satisfying levels with these amps will be large-scale symphonic music and large-scale choral works.

Some of the higher powered SET amps that use tubes like the 211 and 845 are more versatile, though I don't think they quite deliver the same kind of immersed-in-sound experience of the smaller SET tubes. These amps must have a robust build because of the high voltages involved and so I would actually be a bit leery of "cheap" amps. Even with low-powered SETs, cheap probably means compromises on the output transformer which is hard to do right with SET amps.

When it comes to speakers and setups that demand more power than a directly heated low-power SET can provide, I would suggest looking into OTL amps. These deliver the kind of immediacy, and "jump" that few other kinds of amps will deliver. Joule and Atmasphere make really nice OTL amps.

Larryi,

Thank you for your post, you nailed it. Your assessment could not have been stated better. I have experienced the 211/845 powered 300b and could not quite understand what all the hype was about the "300b". I suspect remaining true to the purer faith of low watt 300b/2A3 amps coupled with fewer driver, more efficient speakers is the way to get the best of them. For now, OTLs are astounding and they are my primary listening vehicles (MP3 and S30 AtmaSpheres). But the damnable curiosity never ends!

Erfranke,
One reason you may not have gotten the "hype" about 300b SET amps is they`re so many of them around. Probably 40-50 commercially available,at all different levels of price,quality and sound.

Due to their very simple circuits and fewer parts count,when constructed to a high quality standard they can sound so pure and transparent.If not then colorations become quite evident.

As Larryi said, the level of transformers,parts and power supply will make or break these amplifiers. IMO when implemented right they present realism better than anything else I`ve heard so far. Its just that the better ones are`nt cheap.
Regards,