Spectron vs any good tube amp.

Charles1dad, just a FWIW: one of the reasons that you are less likely to listen to an SET at higher volume levels has to do with the way SETs make distortion as power increases.

As power levels drop towards zero the distortion becomes unmeasurable. As power increases, the lower-ordered harmonics (which are euphonic and so contribute to a 'lush' character in the amp) appear; somewhere at about 1/4 full power the higher-ordered harmonics come into play.

Now music has a lot of transients in it, so if the speaker is well matched to the amp these power levels will only be seen at the higher levels. The ear uses the 5th, 7th and 9th harmonics to figure out how loud a sound is, so when these distortions appear (and only on the transients) the result is that the ear perceives the sounds as louder than they really are and so there is no desire to turn it up any louder. This is why SETs have a reputation for being a lot more dynamic than their power capabilities would suggest.

Thank you Athmasphere for your posting. I always learn something new and ineresing from you.

However, my posting was completely misunderstood by Charles1dad (or, alernative I was unclear). I was not talking at all about loudness one would prefer in his own system and in his own room. Its subjective and I will not go there (but thank you again for explanation of what we hear when using SET)

I spoke ONLY about the reproduction of the musical peaks by real musical instruments. For example, I believe musical peak of Stenway is about 109 dB loudness at the position of about 10 feet from the piano.

So, if someone wants to reproduce accurate (i.e. not subjective) loudness of Steinway piano peak of 109 dB at 10 ft from speakers then one must produce appropriate and very specific power output from his/her power amplifier during this peak period. Measurments are provided by Simon from Spectron in his article but no way its 1/10 of the watt for 92 dB efficiency speaker with 8 Ohn nominal impedance.

Mike

I'm not into rock, and my days for "blasting" are long gone. I want to hear all the subtle nuances that make music beautiful. I like musicians that play music as opposed to notes. The right set up in a bedroom would work for me.

I'm going to give the 300B's a try with my present set up and listening room. I'll start shopping soon.

Atmasphere,
The reason I don`t listen at what I consider to be loud volumes is due to potentially harming my hearing. Sadly I`ve treated/examined 'young patients' who have suffered permament hearing loss due to chronic loud noise/ sounds be it music,ocupational etc. It`s no coincident that many professional musicians do unfortunately develop diminished hearing as a result of their profession. My hearing is still very good and I won`t purposely jepardize it.Music does`nt have to be'loud' in order to connect and become involved emotionally.(IMO).

As I said in my earlier post, this is a personal choice.
Even at live venues with unamplified music it can get too loud(no PA system in use) at times. Our ears detect loudness in nature for a reason and in many instances are`nt related to electronic distortion at all.

A crying/screaming baby, irate,aggresive shouting people nearby or how about a thunder clap or loudly barking dogs?? All are just a few examples(non electronic) of our ear`s protective and survival mechanisms at work.In my case SET amplifiers provide stunning realism without the need to 'crank it up'.
No thanks I`ll take a pass on loud music. When your ears warn too loud I pay attetion. YMMV.
Best Regards,

Mike there is no misunderstanding, your example of a piano reaching 109 db peaks at 10 feet means nothing in most listening enviroments. I have a piano in my living room and when played its volume can obviously be controlled(and is) by the player. most of the time the volume ranges in the 80s db level as to keep it comfortable for the surounding listeners in the room. Just because an instrument is'capable' of a certain max level does`nt compel the musician to play at that level. At church services,weddings school recitals etc. instruments are often played well below their maximum levels. When played at more subduded levels people seem to still enjoy these live performances immensely.When I practice scales on my trumpetI play at levels that are much below what the horn is capable of, what is the point of 'blasting' the sound level? live instruments sound quite beautiful even when played softly and at moderate levels.

I personally don`t except the notion that your home audio system has to match'peak' levels such as "109" db to sound realistic.That level of sound pressure is dangerous to our ears if done with any regularity.Why rely on atmasphere to 'tell' you what a SET amp(which one? there are many) sounds like, experience it yourself if you really want to know.

In reality we all attempt to achive what we want. If it`s your goal to reproduce that high db level, more power to you. We just simply have different priorities.Much of music`s beauty and soul is subtle and nuanced a good system should be able to communicate these emotional aspects.