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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
mikirob
955 posts
 
Brownsfan,
Your experience mirrors my own. My father, mother, uncle and other relations were musicians. My uncle had a large pre WWII collection of 78s, he lived in the house next door and I too spent hours upon hours listening to them. Between my parents and uncle we always had great music rigs in either house plus live music. My uncle had, beside the 78s, more than a thousand records, my parents perhaps half that many. Boy, I wish that I could have gotten some of those discs and rigs; but sadly it was no to be.
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Mikirob, very interesting. Perhaps it was that early exposure to tubes and shellack that started us down this road.

Music, like beer, is best served in glass.
topoxforddoc's avatar
topoxforddoc
353 posts
 
Another option might be a TRON Atlantic, if you are considering buying new. 8W 300B with great build quality. Having heard it, it is every bit as good as Graham Tricker's other valve power amps.

A friend of mine in the UK has just bought one to go with his PMC twenty.24 speakers (90dB/W); he's delighted. It sounds wonderful, almost as good as the TRON top end Discovery 300B, but at a third of the price.

http://www.tron-electric.co.uk/products/view/atlantic
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
I don't doubt the quality of this Tron amplifier but 1/3 the cost of the Discovery amp still could be relatively high price. Isn't the Discovery 300b amp pretty expensive compared to the amplifiers discussed on this thread? I've heard the Tron 211 tube SET amplifier at RMAF and CES and it's was very good driving the Cessaro horn speakers. I haven't heard their 300b SETs. The beauty of the Coincident Dynamo (and Frankenstein) is the very high performance/cost ratio. This isn't an easy accomplishment.
Charles,
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
The Tron Atlantic lists for 6750 british pounds, this=10850.00 USD. I imagine this is a fine 300b SET, it uses C core transformers (Israel insists on these in the Frankenstein and CSL). I'd like to hear this amplifier one day.
Charles,
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