tvad
It was a transition process for me moving away from decades of 300B and 45 SETs. First I had to focus on why so many love their SS. Ultimately, my understanding of SS sounding like or better than SET concluded that there was, at that time, only one SS amp that satisfies me-Bakoon. I bought a Bakoon headphone amp. It is not “warm” and “delicious” like my SET but, as you said, has qualities well beyond tubes and SETs. Mostly, the lack of distortion and way more detail made me not miss my SET. Granted, this came with the mentioned transition away from SET and toward SS. It took time to accept and appreciate the “open window” quality of the Bakoon and not miss the beautiful but distorted SET. If you love SETs it is called warm if you appreciate SS it is distortion.
Well after Bakoon, I discovered AGD. The AGDs are as much or more “open window” as Bakoon with much more power, mono blocks and balanced. And the AGDs reveal the most subtle and profound beyond Bakoon and SET… musician’s phrasing. When hearing the beginning, ending and nuanced presentation, the whole thing leaps toward realism. Bakoons are mentioned in 2 reviews of AGD. They are wonderful but AGD is another story.
It was a transition process for me moving away from decades of 300B and 45 SETs. First I had to focus on why so many love their SS. Ultimately, my understanding of SS sounding like or better than SET concluded that there was, at that time, only one SS amp that satisfies me-Bakoon. I bought a Bakoon headphone amp. It is not “warm” and “delicious” like my SET but, as you said, has qualities well beyond tubes and SETs. Mostly, the lack of distortion and way more detail made me not miss my SET. Granted, this came with the mentioned transition away from SET and toward SS. It took time to accept and appreciate the “open window” quality of the Bakoon and not miss the beautiful but distorted SET. If you love SETs it is called warm if you appreciate SS it is distortion.
Well after Bakoon, I discovered AGD. The AGDs are as much or more “open window” as Bakoon with much more power, mono blocks and balanced. And the AGDs reveal the most subtle and profound beyond Bakoon and SET… musician’s phrasing. When hearing the beginning, ending and nuanced presentation, the whole thing leaps toward realism. Bakoons are mentioned in 2 reviews of AGD. They are wonderful but AGD is another story.