What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

All legit concerns, Rebbi. In my experience, David does tend to be a bit hyperbolic as well, so take that for what it's worth. But what I heard sounded great, and given the topic at hand thought the AN was worth mentioning.

It sounds like this might come down to the question of pride of ownership and personal ethics, particularly if "Made in China" isn't an issue from a quality standpoint. I completely get that one. It's for that very reason I mostly stick with gear made by someone I can call on the phone, or with used gear (I figure the damage is already done there). I guess that's the byproduct of coming from a family comprised fairly equally of artisans and labor lawyers...I try my best to represent both camps in my personal choices whenever possible ;)

Mdemaio,
Bingo!
Look, this hobby (and industry) are full of colorful characters all over the place, and his confidence that there is simply nothing better out there - "the best speaker ever made, the best amp ever made" - well, take it for what it's worth.
Thanks for your understanding.

Rebbi,
The AN decision isn't unusual, just basic quality tubes for stock use (these "plain jane" tubes can sound pretty good). It saves money as the premium 300b tubes aren't cheap. Well I think the Audio Nirvana represents an excellent value if it sounds as Mdemaio described. Audion Audio SET like sound for 1550.00 would be a significant achievement. I'm an open advocate for quality SET amplifiers. If one comes along and delivers good sound for this cost, that's a good thing for music lovers.

Charles1dad,
Spoke with David at Common Sense Audio about modding the 300b amp. He opined that the whole modding thing is bullish*t. He said that they did many prototypes and listened to many different parts and simply chose the ones that sounded the best. He said, "yes, you can mod it, but it'll sound worse."
So there you go.

Gsm18439,

Your comments about the sound of the 2a3 and 45 amp illustrate how important it is to hear these different tubes. Yes, the 2a3 and 45 ARE leaner sounding tubes. Both, particularly the 45, CAN actually deliver deeper bass than the 300b, but, neither have the big, fat, upper bass that so many listeners love about the 300b. Personally, I like the 2a3 and 45 more than the 300b because, in my system, the 300b sounds too bloated and lumpy in the bass range. I particularly like the 45, but for the very low output of that tube.

Rebbi,

If you are willing to take a little bit of a gamble, go with the interesting, low-cost alternatives mentioned here. If you want more of a sure thing, go with the Audionote kit. The kits are quite reasonably priced and Audionote provides good instructions on how to build them. I have heard most of their lineup of amps and they all sound very good. I have not heard a kit amp, but, a good friend of mine built their DAC4 kit and it is a particularly good DAC for the money.