I'm pleased this thread has invoked some very interesting comments.
Atmas, I like your explanation of why DHSET do what they do. Very easy to understand, it makes sense to me, especially in context of what the 45's and Duos did for me. I don't think that a Solista is going to come along anytime soon at a price I can afford say 6.5k (more over time). I'm anticipating time for experimentation.
I'll explain a little more what I like and hope to get out of my new system.
I don't consider myself into huge dynamics or extreme performance, what I am into is a totally sibilant free and natural presentation. Overly Bright and metallic sounding leading edges on s's t's etc are my real pet hate.
Tone, images that are super free from the speakers and depth of image is very important to me. I seem to prefer a more relaxed presentation. I think that this can also be a function of the room, that is in hand. I have a dedicated room 10m x 6m which I can treat for acoustics. Its not a huge room, but I believe I can get the system to work well.
If not I have 12m x 8m room that I can use, but that will take some serious domestic negotiation with my girlfriend, probably including expensive bribes. Money that would be better spent on Vinyl !!
I'll state up front, that the romantic in me (and the fact that Jeff Day got on so well with Sofia 300b) will make sure that I'm going to try a suitable SET with them. If I can find a Solista at the right price, it'll be one of those. It appeals to my Arty side :-). I'm aware, thanks to you guys that Power may be an issue. So onto experimentation......
I regard the Plinius SA250 mk4 as one of the best class A solid state amps (at realistic cost levels). Fortunately I have one, so I've got that experiment covered. I also have access to a friends 50w pp amp that actually sounds really lovely with his speakers, so Ok there as well (cant remember what it is right now ). My AMR AM-77 will be an interesting pairing as well. Just for completeness my front end is a TTweights gem/Kuzma 4point/DL103r.
Originally I started off thinking of a CAT SL2 would be great. There was one on hear last month in NY for 7k ish. In some ways I think that would be a great tube match if the Wests require POWER. I'm not too worried about making an expensive mistake as I believe as long as you're a sensible buyer and not in a rush you generally don't lose to much on quality components. I don't really listen very loud, at least its not something I consciously set out to do. I find tracks generally sound best at a level that they seem to dictate themselves , so I may turn something up or down to get better emotional connection. I have no experience with OTL amps, I'm not even sure what they are other than they have no transformers in the output stage.
Once again, I appreciate your experience and enthusiasm, thanks.
Atmas, I like your explanation of why DHSET do what they do. Very easy to understand, it makes sense to me, especially in context of what the 45's and Duos did for me. I don't think that a Solista is going to come along anytime soon at a price I can afford say 6.5k (more over time). I'm anticipating time for experimentation.
I'll explain a little more what I like and hope to get out of my new system.
I don't consider myself into huge dynamics or extreme performance, what I am into is a totally sibilant free and natural presentation. Overly Bright and metallic sounding leading edges on s's t's etc are my real pet hate.
Tone, images that are super free from the speakers and depth of image is very important to me. I seem to prefer a more relaxed presentation. I think that this can also be a function of the room, that is in hand. I have a dedicated room 10m x 6m which I can treat for acoustics. Its not a huge room, but I believe I can get the system to work well.
If not I have 12m x 8m room that I can use, but that will take some serious domestic negotiation with my girlfriend, probably including expensive bribes. Money that would be better spent on Vinyl !!
I'll state up front, that the romantic in me (and the fact that Jeff Day got on so well with Sofia 300b) will make sure that I'm going to try a suitable SET with them. If I can find a Solista at the right price, it'll be one of those. It appeals to my Arty side :-). I'm aware, thanks to you guys that Power may be an issue. So onto experimentation......
I regard the Plinius SA250 mk4 as one of the best class A solid state amps (at realistic cost levels). Fortunately I have one, so I've got that experiment covered. I also have access to a friends 50w pp amp that actually sounds really lovely with his speakers, so Ok there as well (cant remember what it is right now ). My AMR AM-77 will be an interesting pairing as well. Just for completeness my front end is a TTweights gem/Kuzma 4point/DL103r.
Originally I started off thinking of a CAT SL2 would be great. There was one on hear last month in NY for 7k ish. In some ways I think that would be a great tube match if the Wests require POWER. I'm not too worried about making an expensive mistake as I believe as long as you're a sensible buyer and not in a rush you generally don't lose to much on quality components. I don't really listen very loud, at least its not something I consciously set out to do. I find tracks generally sound best at a level that they seem to dictate themselves , so I may turn something up or down to get better emotional connection. I have no experience with OTL amps, I'm not even sure what they are other than they have no transformers in the output stage.
Once again, I appreciate your experience and enthusiasm, thanks.