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What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

Hi, Gang,
I response to my recent review of the Reference 3A De Capo BE speaker, someone wrote that if you really want to hear them sing, you should try them with a SET amp, or words to that effect.
That got me thinking. The De Capo's are 92 db efficient, which (correct me if I'm wrong) seems kind of borderline for low-power SET amps.
In any event, right now I'm running mine with a pair of Manley Mahi mono-blocks. They are switchable from triode (20 watts) to "ultra linear" (40 watts). I run them in triode all the time, and in my room, the volume knob almost never goes past 9 o'clock; more would just be too loud.
All that said, what do you guys think of running the De Capo's with a SET amp? And if I did, what's the best bargain in SET's these days?
Thanks!
rebbi
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Brownsfan,
Thanks.
The respect and appreciation is mutual.
Charles,
ddd1
261 posts
 
If you are using low powered (ie. 2-10 wpc) SET and SEP amps, they work better with speakers of higher sensitivity. ie. closer to 100 dB instead of closer to 90 dB.

Don't put a lightweight in the ring against a heavyweight!

If that is all the power you have, try some horns. If you don't want to buy the big dollar stuff, try some Klipsch Heresy, Forte, Chorus, Cornwall, Lascala, Klipschorn, etc. Better the speaker impedance is linear too, othewise there will be audible frequency response issues that you may not be able to overcome with speaker placement.

OP: with your De Capos I would look at 20 wpc as the minimum, which will give you some leeway with different recordings, volume levels and room placements.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Ddd1,
I am also an advocate for high efficiency easy to drive speakers. If you have followed this thread closely it's very apparent that Brownsfan and other contributors here report excellent results with their deCapo and SET/SEP amplifiers. As I and others have pointed out, simply looking at a amplifier's power specification isn't the whole story. Certainly a "good" quality 20 watt amplifier would be a fine match with this speaker but not necessarily represent "better", a viable alternative, yes. Brownsfan's clear detailed impressions of the Dynamo and deCapo pairing are quite convincing.
I believe that often too much emphasis is on power and not enough
attention given to an amplifie's actual design, built quality and
implementation. Brownsfan said in an earlier post that he could make the
case that his 8 watt Frankenstein SET drove the speaker better than his
500 watt Cary SSamp. In specific situations and pairings this isn't
surprising. Some speakers need more powerful amplifiers to perform their
best. Other speakers need high quality not power quantity to perform at
their best. With my current speakers my 8 watt SET "completely" outperformed my 40 watt push pull in sound quality.8 watts is 1/5 the power of 40 watts however these 8 watts are just superior sounding. Moral of the story, it all depends on individual amp and speaker matching rather than blanket proclamations about power.
Charles,
rebbi OP
1,326 posts
 
Charles1dad,
Very helpful synopsis, thanks!
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Indeed Charles, very helpful and very true.
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