845 SET recommendation

2nd the recommendation for the BelCanto SET40i. My good friend has this piece. I've heard it many, many times. Paired w/ Rick Craig's ExcelArray line-array speakers, the combination is excellent. He just had it upgraded + new o/p xformers put in & the sound is amongst the best SETs made. Other SET40i owners say that this modified amp can hold its own w/ the Lamm SETs. Says a lot about this SET40i. FWIW.

Unison Smart 845. It was sublime - I have never forgotten it.

I can tell you that the best 845 based SET i have ever heard is the New Audio Frontiers 845. Give Jeff at high water sound in NYC a call highwatersound.com absolutely stunning especially with the silver wound output transformers

Why has nowone mentioned Viva, another excellent Italian manufacturer like Unison, (Why are Italians so good at valve amps?) They make a wide range of amps, most 845 based. I have the excellent Solista integrated 18watt SET and it drives my Living Voice Avatars as near perfectly as I've heard and I've heard Kevin Scott using an Audio Note Ongaku with his OBX 2 speakers. Alright that was in a show in a small hotel room and they still sounded excellent.
Viva also do the Aurora Monoblocks, 24 watt SET I believe, currently 2 of them on the Audiogon site.
I heard the Solista in the London high end show this april and I'm not the only person to think it made the best sound in show. These amps are grain free, muscular, good base for a valve amp. The manufacturer is truly an undiscovered gem. Walker audio import them to the US. Absolute sound gave the Auroras a strong recommendation a few years ago. Stereophile due to review the Solista I believe.

I own a pair of Audion Black Shadow 845 monoblocks. They are outstanding, especially with the 845M tube. Self-bias circuit, no problems, very robust. The Black Shadow has been replaced by the Elite, a 3-box monoblock + power module upgrade based on the Black Shadow design. These amps use silver wire in the audio path too. Black Shadows are scarce in the US. The Elite can be ordered new. I've heard the deHavilland, ASL and Bel Canto and Art Audio 845s. I prefer my Audions but I think if I didn't have them, I'd own the Art Audio Carissa though there's nothing wrong with the others.

Phil