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Why not more on 845 SETs?

As a brand-new owner of a Bel Canto SETi40 int amp,(bought used) I was intrigued to see very little in the fora on the subject of 845 SET amps an A'gon. It seems that this provides the best of both worlds -adequate power to drive most moderately sensitive speakers- 40 Class A SET WPC with SET sound. What is the downside to this approach and why don't more of the SET groupies have higher powered amps, giving them much more latitude in speaker selection? I drive 4 ohm 87 db sensitivity Totem 1 Signatures quite adequately with this amp. Is it beacuse of transformer issues, difficulty in finding adequate designs, size or the feeling that this is not a true "SET sound"?
I would like to hear SET-owners' reasons, if possible.
springbok10
zt000
30 posts
 
Gunbei, first, I'd recommend that you get the best 12ax7 you can get. Mullard, Telefunken or Amperex are good place to start. I'd recommend paying extra for premium-matched quad. They sound better and last longer. 845s are kind of sensitive to input tubes. Once you settle with input tubes you can play with 845s. I recommend Billington Gold as a very good starting point. Both 12ax7 and 845 will last 8000 to 10,000 hours. Once, you settle on tubes, you can forget about them for many years.

http://www.bel-tubes.co.uk/gold.htm
abrahavt
101 posts
 
1. There is the standard 845 tubes
2. There is the 845B tubes which are supposed to sound better than the standard 845 tubes
3. There is the 845M or metal plate. It seems the production of these may have stopped till modifications are made. Be careful when using these tubes as the current requirements are different and some amps may not be able to handle without modifications. In the Dehavs they have to be biased a whole division lower on the scale.

4. 845 NOS Tubes. They cost a fortune and sound a bit better than the chinese 845s.
711smilin
513 posts
 
Abrahvt, thanks, do you recommend 1 over the other personnaly?
711smilin
513 posts
 
What is an 845C? Anybody know?
abrahavt
101 posts
 
As you go from the standard 845 to the 845B to the 845M the sound gets smoother with more detail and texture in the midrange. The presentation gets darker and more relaxed. It is a matter of preference. I would recommend atleast the 845B. I think the 845C is the same as the metal plate. I could be wrong.
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