SET the best?


Is SET amplification where we should all end up? I keep reading posts where people tell of their journeys from plenty power to micro power, and how amazing SET amplification is 45 set 211 set 845 set otl, and usually, ....with the right speaker. I have yet to read of anyone who has gone the other direction from SET, to High watt beast class A amps or others.
If your speakers can be driven by minimal wattage, is this the most realistic, natural sound we can achieve? versus say, 86db sensitive speakers and a 1000w amp?
Is the end result solely based on speaker pairing? circuit? tubes?

I am in the process of changing my direction in my search for realistic sound, just because, and wondering if this really is the best direction to be going.
From what I have been reading I think it may be.

What do we get with SET? What do we give up?

What's you favorite color?
hanaleimike
OK just tested the SET and havea  YT  uploading, will post when finished...
Look even 6 watts is too much power for these 92db WBers.
I should add, the desiner has pure COLBALT output transforers, which are the best, but pack a  super wallpo of punch.

I can not even imagine driving AER/Voxativ's 94db-100db speakers with this 250 tube pure colbalt trans amplifier.
I mean at 8 oclock, the SPL would be over whleming.

Seems to me, ideally, the best SETs are flear watts, 1 watt, - 5 watts. 
And not sure if pure colbalt trans, which are  very expenisve are necessary.
Why the added power of colbalt trans???
Not needed.
My 92db WBers are maxed out at 10 oclock on the vol pot.
I'm wondering if the  high tech super Class A JEFT opamps in the DAC are adding too foraward a  gain in the source..???
paid $100 each  for those guys, but perhaps these high tech guys are amplifiying the source too much..??
I'll go back to jadi's stock ops and see what gives.
I doubt if much ..if at all.

This test proves we do not need PP amplification. 
Low powered SETs have more, wayyyy more than enough power to drive any higher sens speakers, with massive SPL.

There is so much dis-information, mis-understandings surrounding SET amps. 
SETs have just as much if not more bass SLAM as any  PP amp. 
Can not see any reason why PP amps have  received so much attention these past decades.
SET amplification   is the most practical and most musical amplification. 

RIP PP amplification
You served us well....
GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!

Maybe a  Cayin low powered EL34 linear/Triode mode amp maight be acceptable along with SETs. 
Amp I had, but sold off, due to the reasoning *has not enough power* under the delusion, more power = better amplification.
More power = less superior amplification.
 Sold it off cheap.

PP amps = fidelity
SET amps = high fidelity. 
Close but 
No Cigar
OK 6 watt SET 250 tube with PURE COLBALT output tansformers.
Tiny but packa  super punch and very expensive trans.'
Wayyy more than enough power, Close to the  Defy's slam.
Defy and EL 34 amps, both max on SPL at say 930 on the linestage vol pot. SET 6 watt, 10:30 maxed out.
You might say thats only a  1 hour dif..
But its better than nothing.
I really want the freedom on vol control, which I don't have with PP amplification..
I should say, SET and PP power are  very close and musical image is close.
I have to recant some of my superlatives on SETs are superior to PP amplification..
I  bet  these 6 watt colbalt trans amps can drive even the big Sound lab, big magnepan, bif martin Logan's with  flair and finesse.
But of course not a  happy match.

WE really need to clean up, clear up the many misunderstandings, mis info surrounding SET amplification.

I feel these SET amps are the superior amplication and see no need for PP designed amps..
 Also,
Not sure if pure colbalt trans  are needed, as its actually too much power from the output transformers. 
But not sure, its possible low quality trans lack the slam  the colbalts deliver. 
SET amps  require 20 minutes to warm up for max output. 
As I just learned......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5cPEjgAVo8


I mean at 8 oclock, the SPL would be over whleming.
SETs generate up to 10%THD at full power. If you have a lower powered SET on a speaker of insufficient efficiency, the result will be a lot of distortion, which the ear translates as 'loudness'.

But if you use a sound pressure level meter, you see the truth of the situation.
SETs have just as much if not more bass SLAM as any PP amp. 
This is demonstrably false. SETs have a lot of trouble making bass because of limitations in the output transformer. If you really want to get the bass right, to prevent phase shift (since you have no feedback in most SETs) you have to have full power bandwidth to 1/10th of the lowest frequency to be reproduced (20Hz). That means you need bandwidth to 2Hz and SETs simply can't do that.

For that matter **most** PP amps can't either, but they get a lot closer. There are class A triode tube amps that do have full power to 2Hz FWIW.


I have yet to find a better amp than my Wavac EC300b. Anyone who has listened to a good high efficiency speaker driven by a good SET, lest they are Harvey Wallbanger won’t go back to anything else. That said, I‘d love to listen to the AGD Audion class-d amps. There might be a revolution in the making…
Should probably mention we had a Bel Canto SET power amp here at Chuxpona.    
    
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9675   

It was being driven by I forget what preamp so hard to judge inner detail but what we heard was terrific and with 37 SET watts the thing was a beast! Really looking forward to getting it back in here for Chuctoberfest, hopefully with a much better preamp to be able to better judge just how good it really is. But I was excited to hear and my first SET experience was no let down, that is for sure.