SET the best?

mglik614 posts 12-01-2021 5:32pm I was a die hard SET guy for decades. And 45s are the best. The lower the power, the more the magic. However, I now have my destination amps-AGD Audion mono blocks. I do not miss SETs at all. The AGDs are like a great SET combined with a great SS. They give an “open window” into the sound and make even the best SET dull. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well its now beena few more days of listening to various recordings,,, now moved into big symphonic works,,, hummm, , well initially I was captivated completely by the magic of the UX250 SET amplifier ina dual Full-Midrange-Speaker system... Got to rethink this before I click BUY NOW on the 845 amplifer I am looking at. 1st i need to get some new KT88's in the Defy. Its possible I may be missing some of the dynamics and power of the Defy in symphonic works. Just waiting on my tech to get back with me, before I make any final decisions. Although it would not be til July when I had the cash for the 845,,I just like to know if the plan is scraped or still on the planning table... **lower the power , more the magic.** 'No you see I need MORE power to deliver symphonic works with dynamnics and more weight in bass, better extrention in highs. Got to think this through and proceed with caution. Actually I have no issues with the Defy, other than, with the excessive power, limits the abibilty to empoy more gain on the linestage vol pot. My room is 10x15,,, 60 db SPL is where I am confortable. This is the issue, I want more freedom on the vol pot, which the UX250 allows, But the more gain, does not deliver more dynamics. Seems a SET and PP amplifier operates under dif parimeters of power/gain from linestage. New tubes janurary, I will let you know how the speaker respond with new tubes on my new dual Full-Midrange-speaker system. The older tubes had 4k+ hours So some of the upper sheen had worn off. If the new tubes add some sparkles, I may pass on adding a 2nd amplifier.

There can be tradeoffs with SET. With 845 I can run speakers as low as 90db sensitivity, gives me lots of choices. With my extreme modded Klipschorns, 845 and 300B give different but both entirely satisfying presentations. Previously ran 2a3, limited speaker choices. I've been contemplating 2a3 or 45 for Klipschorns (104db) but have seen a few negative comments for the pairing. Klipshcorns do have a decently severe impedance curve in lower mids.

 

Anyway, 845 most exciting SET I've owned, 300B sweethearts, 2A3 inner luminescence. Topologies matter, implementation matters, partnering speaker matters, get it right, wonderful, wrong, less than wonderful.

The AGDs are like a great SET ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just looked at the ADG page , 7 lbs, wow thats amazing, 170 watts. Just curious, $7500 each mono, so a pair $14K , yes? I'd like to seea close up of this tube. Looks amazing. But only 7 lbs??. huh?

@hanaleimike

Over the years I have owned many Tube amps. (Anthem Integrated One, Amp One, VTL MB-450's, Zesto Eros 300's, and Prima Luna.) The best sounding one was the Zesto Mono-blocks. Push Pull pure Class A. However, they are very expensive and being Class A plus Tube. They run very, very hot.
My experience has been SET does not always equal the best sound. It depends on your speakers, room, and program material you like. Both the VTL and Prima Luna designs offer switchable SET functions.
What you gain when in SET mode, is more sweetness. The upper mid-range and treble have more emphasis lending a more realistic, natural sound to vocals. Mighty good stuff if your music library consists of Singer-Songwriter, Bluegrass, and vocal centered Jazz.

The down side is, the lower end is not as well defined, tight, and punchy. If you listen Rap, Hip-Hop, large scale Symphonic, Rock, or EDM, you may find the bass lacking or too mushy.
The other consideration is the efficiency of the speaker you like. A lot of the 300b designs like the Decware Zen are a very low  2 to 6 watts. Depending on the model. So you will want to mate them with something from Klipcsh or Tekton. Anything that very efficient with stable impedance should work. Nonetheless these flea powers variants are probably not the best choice for a Maggie LRS.

Whatever you get into you will want audition and make sure it fits your tastes, speaker choice, and you find that SET sound is to your liking.

The amps I currently use, I hardly ever put them in triode. The music I listen to is very bass heavy. Thus the CDs and Albums I play soud their best when I have my amps set to push-pull. When I put on Diana Krall or Alison Krauss then I switch my amps into Triode, for a more palpable presentation of their performance.  

 

The price of the Audion is $7500 Pair, we did not change the price since January 2020.