Thoughts on the First Watt SIT Amps

Charles1dad,

when I say noise, I don't mean the old school noise from bad circuits. When I talk about noise here, i mean when compared with that tomb like silence one can get from SS or class D efforts.

Ok my speakers are very revealing due to their sensitivity, but I don't mean I hear hiss or hum from the yammy. Just a kind of glow around instruments.

Let's face it if that SS amp turns up that's capable of the magic we would all jump ship. Apart from the hair shirt brigade of course...

While I'd love to hear the SIT amps it looks like you need to spend a lot of money ($10K for monoblocks plus additional for single stage DHT preamp)to essentially approximate what a good SET already gives you for a lot less. On top of that, you will also be stuck with a sonic signature that you can't change. If I want to alter the sound in any of my tube amps I can simply change brand of tubes. Will keep an open ear on the subject but have been disappointed in my ventures into the land of high end SS amps. I really want to hear a SS amp that I can love - at least for the summer months so I can avoid using my tube space heaters.

Chad,
Does that "tomb like silence" seem natural to you? I find the 'ultra' silence or blackness artificial, as no background is that quiet(like outer space vacuum). I believe tube background ambience is the more realistic one in nature. Just an opinion that`s all.
Regards,

Phil/Keith,

Let me know if something comes to fruition, i'd be happy to lug over my Shindo Cortese for comparison.

Hi charles1dad,

If the recording has a tomb like silence then surely the playback of the recording should too? In other words if there is nothing there, there should be nothing, & if there is something there should be something.

I have had amplifiers like the Halcro where the recording leaps out at you from nowhere.

Even the Tom Evans Linear A (which is tubed) did this. I'm not sure the SET, for all it's positives, can do this. Even though the linear A is a kind of SET! But you understand what I'm getting at? Anything else is masking detail.