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SET vs OTL

Could someone tell me the difference between a single-ended triode amp and an output transformerless amp?

Is it true that despite its operational inconveniences, a good OTL (eg Tenor Audio) will always sound more "natural" than a good SET (eg a Cary 300SE)?

Thanks
aarif
jetrexpro
506 posts
 

I'm with Larryi and have no idea which form of amp is superior to an other. I would love to hear a OTL in my room driving my AN-e LX HE's. 

I've had personal experience dealing with 300b bloat in combination with the warmth of my AN-e's. Very bothersome. Once I went from oil caps in the power supply of my amp to Audio Note Kaisei power supply caps that 300b bloat decreased to the point of being a none issue. I listen to Rock, pop, jazz, classical, large scale orchestral...pretty much everything, and this system makes music with it all. It handles complex orchestral passes without problem. Is it the best system I have ever heard? No.

I live in NYC and get to hear plenty of live music and hear very good stereo systems so I have good reality checks to try and make sure I am not falling off into the wrong direction.

I guess my point is I believe there is no such thing as the best and there are no hard and fast rules about how a tube may sound in a given implementation. Too many variables.  Regards Jet.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,781 posts
 
The Audio Note AN-e LX HE is a fairly benign load and is no problem for an OTL of sufficient power- our customers use our M-60s on that speaker. The speaker definitely benefits from the greater power!
larryi
3,962 posts
 
Jet,

I find that the upper bass on the AN-E, as well as other Audio Note models, can be a bit bloated, but, it is a very musically enjoyable speaker so, if that is a flaw, so what?  I am not as big a fan of the 300b as I am of other small triodes (2a3 and 45) because the upper bass and lower midrange is a bit overblown.  But, as you demonstrated, things can be tuned to ameliorate these sort of issues.

I have heard an OTL on the AN-E SEC and the sound was fantastic.  I think it would be worth your effort to find an OTL to try in your system.  The Atmasphere M-60 should be a good candidate.  It is on the slightly leaner side, so it would not exacerbate the tendency of the AN-E to sound a bit bloated.  All three M-60s I've heard had a slight bit of buzz or hum, but, given that the AN-E is not extremely efficient, I doubt that this noise will be much of an issue.  
jetrexpro
506 posts
 
Would be great to hear on OTL in my listening room someday.
jetrexpro
506 posts
 
Larryi, I should have mentioned that I agree with you that even with the flaws of the AN-e's they are just so musical and emotionally involving that I cant imagine selling them, ever. I've had them for four years and even when I hear systems or speakers that sound better than what I have, I am almost never tempted to upgrade. The 300b is a warm tube but its got some power and in my room and system some slam and good extension in the low and high frequencies.
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