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What speakers for 300B S.E.T ??

Hi,

Recently i heard a 300B based Audio electronics SE-1 SET amp + AE-3 pre with Lowther Academy speakers & was quite impressed with the immediacy,dynamics,soundstaging
& basically the whole presentation.

Now i'm very keen to try this to see if this is the kind of sound i would enjoy for a long time.Only way to know this i guess is to try it at home for an extended period of time. My previous exrerience has been with high powered SS .
( For ref : Supratek Chardonnay tube pre + Mac MC352 + TDL Ref studio monitors ) This is my first venture into low powered SET. I love the sound of my present sys. but the SET is a different experience.

Un fotunately my present speakers( 87db ) would not support the 7 watts the AES is capable of. The Lowthers are too expensive to experiment with. My goal is to keep the costs
low as possible . I shall very much appreciate your recommendations for high-sensitive monitors or small floor-standers ( HORN ??? ) preferably under $1K . This could very well end up as a second sys or it could go further.....

So what does everyone use with less than 10 magic watts ????
dilly
dilly OP
113 posts
 
Twl,Howard & everyone elese who chimed in, THANKS A LOT !

The voigt pipes are on top of my list. They would work perfectly for me as they are not very deep in cabinet size. They look quite intriguing as well. I have alredy consulted a friend who has built Lowthers before & he will be able to get me an estimate for the project. Twl, thanks for the offer to help. I will check with you regarding the bass enhancements you did when the project takes off.

As i mentioned earlier this is my first time with SET's so i hope you would'nt mind answering a few more questions along the way.

(1) I heard lowther drivers have a limited life-span . How long is this & is this specific to each driver model. How long would you give the EX2 & EX3 drivers.

(2) I was going to buy the AES SE-1 power amp but now there's an opportunity for me to buy an Audio Note Kit 1 based assembled amp. Ofcourse at a higher price ! Would there be a significant difference between the two. I can't listen to both in the same room & also they will be hooked to different front-end's speakers etc. What is your take on this ??
twl
3,251 posts
 
Dilly, the Lowther drivers don't really have a limited life span, it's just the cone/suspension surround which will degrade over time, just like any other driver. Lowthers use a foam type suspension surround, which probably lasts about 12 years or so. When it starts to go bad, you can just get them redone by the factory.

I can't comment on the particulars of those two amps you are considering.
s23chang
620 posts
 
AES SE-1 vs Audio Note Kit 1
While the AE SE-1 gives you a flexible of using either 2A3 or 300B, the Audio Note kit 1 has much better transformer and power supply.
If you plan to use 300B and Audio Note Kit One is the way to go. If you plan to go with 2A3 then you should consider Sun Audio SV2a3 or upgrade the stock AES SE-1.

Back to square one, the speaker has to match right with the amp. If you plan to get 94db+ speakers, then I would choose either type. Anything less then I would only choose 300B.

Choose the type of speakers first then buy the amp. It is easier to find the right match and it is also easier to swap amps then speakers.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,976 posts
 
There are fostex that are as good or better than lowther like fe208e sig or f200a or fx200,I owned lowthers best I perfer fostex but not the little drivers
dilly OP
113 posts
 
S23chang, Thanks for the reply. I am also leaning towards the Kit One. I too feel starting with the speakers would be the better option. I am looking at the voigt pipes.

Johnk, Which Lowther drivers did you own. Could you briefly do a comparison between the Fostex & the Lowthers as i doubt very much my chances of listening to a Fostex. Why did you prefer the Fostex & in which speakers did you use them ? Is it true the Lowthers tend to sound bright at times?
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