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What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

Hi, Gang,
I response to my recent review of the Reference 3A De Capo BE speaker, someone wrote that if you really want to hear them sing, you should try them with a SET amp, or words to that effect.
That got me thinking. The De Capo's are 92 db efficient, which (correct me if I'm wrong) seems kind of borderline for low-power SET amps.
In any event, right now I'm running mine with a pair of Manley Mahi mono-blocks. They are switchable from triode (20 watts) to "ultra linear" (40 watts). I run them in triode all the time, and in my room, the volume knob almost never goes past 9 o'clock; more would just be too loud.
All that said, what do you guys think of running the De Capo's with a SET amp? And if I did, what's the best bargain in SET's these days?
Thanks!
rebbi
saki70
907 posts
 
Mikirob ;
I must've missed it , what preamp are you using with the Dynamo .

Thanks
mikirob
955 posts
 
None. The Dynamo does not need a preamp. I'm only using a CD transport and a MiniMax DAC. You can use it with a preamp if you want too. See Tim Smith's 6 Moons review, he did use a preamp during a small portion of his time with the Dynamo. It's really not necessary unless you need additional inputs. The Dynamo only has one.
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
That Coincident Dynamo is looking more and more interesting to me!

How does it sound with the tubes that ship with it?
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Rebbi, Ignoring the huge difference in power, on the basis of sound quality alone, to my ears the dynamo was easily on a par with my Cary 500.1 MB amps which retail for about 9K. I do perceive a classic tube amp sound. There is midrange magic with the dynamo. Wonderful sophistication in the upper harmonics. In a double blind test, you would pick it out as a tube amp quickly.

The rectifier tube that came stock with my dynamo was junk. It began to arc with just a few hours. I had a spare NOS Mullard Blackburn GZ34 that I put in which is a great tube with this amp.

I really love this little amp. On the basis of sound quality alone, this is probably second only to my Coincident Frankensteins of all the amps I have ever owned. It is good with the stock tubes, but as Mikirob has pointed out, you are going to want to start tube rolling when you see what it is capable of.

Mine is still sitting idle until I get phase one of the move complete. I am doing all my listening with the Franks right now, but I am eager to get my dynamo up and running again.
mikirob
955 posts
 
Rebbi,
I totally agree with Brownsfan. I've got some good listening hours on the Dynamo now and I am truly blown away by how good it sounds, even with the stock tubes. The rectifier likely must be replaced; but you don't have to spend a lot of money to do that. Get a NOS Mullard 5AR4, if possible, but there are many rectifier tubes in the $40-60 range that will sound great. The Shuguang EL34s and 6SL7s that come stock with the Dynamo sound fine, but can be greatly improved upon. Tomorrow I have a pair of RFT Siemens EL34s coming, can't wait to hear them. I also have 6CA7 Black Treasure on the way, I haven't yet pulled the trigger on the SED Winged C. I was fortunate that I had a beautiful matched pair of 6SL7WGT-VT229 military in my tube stash. Between it and the NOS Mullard rectifier I purchased from Brent a Jesse it really upped the Dynamo's performance, even with the stock Shuguang EL34s. I love this amp so much I'm thinking of selling one of my other amps and purchasing another Dynamo; it will appreciate all the good ancillaries you can throw at it. You asked the question: What is the best SET bargain in all of audio? This is it!
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