Tekton Double Impacts

Do any other SET amplifier owners have a dubious opinion of SET amplifiers that utilize a tetrode/pentode as the power tube?  I mean come on,  its called a single ended triode amplifier for a reason and shouldn't a Triode be employed if for no other reason than name continuity alone; notwithstanding obvious sonic benefits of simplicity, intended application of the proper tube for the proper circuit, and me personally, I don't like my electrons having to jump through additional hoops or grids to get to my ears. Seriously though, am I being a purist snob here? Am I alone in the sentiment that a real set amplifier should have,  at the very least, a real triode tube employed?  Do you roll your eyes when you hear the words "triode mode" as a switchable option on what is most definitely not a set amplifier, at least imho.  Please discuss. I'm dying to get off my high horse and just need to be talked down by some rational banter.  😂  I mean I'd suffer with a parallel set amplifier, but that's where I draw a line in the sand. 

Hey Grannyring,

Thanks for a very interesting field report!  The two relatively minor criticisms of the DI's compared to your AZ Crescendo's, which I think are wonderful music makers that I have listened to many times, I believe are more based on grey9hound's room placement and upstream gear.

1)  To have the DI's only 18 inches off the front wall would almost certainly negate them being able to produce a deep sound-stage or what you called depth in the sound-stage layering.  I ran this experiment many times and to get the sound-staging/layering you were missing takes at least three feet off the front wall.

2)  The DI's are more of a pure conduit then your Crescendo's which are voiced to be slightly warm/full, just like my old reference Lawrence Audio Cello's were, and what you were hearing in my opinion was the preamp and amplifier voicing not the DI's overall sonic signature.  That's why my go to combo on the DI's, I think we have similar tastes, is either the Triode Labs SET 2A3 or the Aric Audio SET KT-88 driven by the Micro-ZOTL to get what you call, "more beautiful and lovely sound to my ears". 

Sorry, there really is no P/P tube amplifier that gives you what a reference level SET provides in what you are referring to in your above quote.  No offense to grey9hound's McIntosh MX151, however I find this preamp not to be very musical compared to other line-stages that I have auditioned.

In my professional review on the DI's one of the speakers I compared them to are your great Crescendo's that I love indeed, what you heard the DI's do better then the AZ speakers we agree on, the overall statement about not quite being as beautiful/lovely I believe is based more on the upstream gear then the DI's which are more neutral/transparent conduit then the AZ's and you heard the electronics more then the speakers.

    

Well you make some good points Terry. His Rogue amp however and cabling are not forward. The DI speakers are more forward sounding as I am sure you know. They do indeed lean towards sounding forward.  His preamp does offer the SOTA Lyngdorf room correction and this really helps this speaker sound as it should in a given room.

In the end the DI speaker does lean, I do mean just lean, on the forward more analytical side of things.

My Crescendo speakers are heavily modified and more resolved and airy compared to stock. They still deliver the tone and perspective I prefer however.

I drive my Crescendos with 100% digital gear. No tubes. Lyngdorf 2170 and a Sound Science Music server. The resulting sound is beautiful, full bodied, relaxed, vivid and sensual. No tubes. no DHT, no 2a3...

I say this because DHT tubes are not maditory for a system, total system, to deliver the kind of lovely tones some say only come from small tube watts. 

Hey jcarcopo,

I never was riding a "high horse" but also believed that in a SET design to get the "inner glow", timbres/colors, liquidity and intimacy we all love you had to use 2A3/45/300b tubes.  However, with AricAudio's SET which uses KT-88's I'm getting all those virtues plus better sound-staging and low end dynamics on the Ulf's then with other SET's using 2A3 or 300b tubes.   

my room is about 11x12, but open on one end