SET Shootout China VS The USA

Give me some jazz!

Give me some jazz! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wanted to fulfill your wish with Diana Krall, a perfect track which displays fq spikes on piano, where other xover speakers are going to have issues. vs these FR dual speakers,,no spikes whatsoever. But can’t. Had a good rain last night, its FINALLY cool outside and humidity is at 100%. = the chips in the DAC are not happy, soaking in 100% humidity. Tiny pops. have to wait a good hour before the DAC heats up and dries out the chips. I’ve never heard it this bad before, although this is the 1st winter I had the DAC, so Now i know cooler temps + 100% humidity = DAC needs 2 hours warm up time to dry out, Dont want to run heater as we are enjoying the cooler temps inside the house, finally,... what a hot winter we are having. What I can say is the Diana Krall cd is recorded with a traditional jazz warmth. Too warm. But with this speaker, this amp, its all nice and mellow, clean, voice stunning accurate and te warm coloration toned down. There are so many wonderful KT88 amplifiers now avaliable. Cayin, Jadis, Line Magnetic, Willenston, Doge, Prima Luna, Muzishare. plenty others I did not mention. These will work with all speakers. But ideally, a SET or PP with SET type tubes is best for a FR speaker.

EDIT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I steped away to go listen to music,,and the thought occured, Although this amp is not a  pure SET circuit, the 2A3 still adds some linear midrange which a  KT88 does not posess to ~~the same degree~~~, How s that fora  compromise.

= a KT88 will not be as effective, that is misses the linear midrange of a  2A3 whether the 2A3 is a  SET circuit of a  PP design.

So theres no doubt at this point. Witha  FR system a  SET or a  low watt tube is not only ideal, buta  must have  to effectively bringa  FR to its true midrange magic.

No I will not discuss this with my tech, as he's going to argue the other POV.

Then again for full Orchestra, a  KT88 is the superior voice for a complex band width in a  FR speaker,, which is why I do not like a  FR to go over the Golden Sens mark, at 95db sens. 

96 db is too high for my preferences. 

91db is a  bit too low. 

It depends on the FR speaker..

As you know these discussiions around tubes can get slippery. Not justa few weeks ago,,**SET, yeah #1..**

Now, cant say that. I actually by mistake or by lucky chance,,hit on this 2A3 PP circuit. Will the mesh elimiante some of the ever so slight harshness/in some mids fq’s??? Late summer we will know..

In my opinion I just think that you rush to conclusions prematurely. You are doing some interesting things and expanding your experience with different types of tubes and amplifiers.

Just take time to absorb new discoveries and let things sink in, no need to declare absolutes at this stage (Or perhaps any subsequent stage). You note that discussions about tubes can get slippery. A lot of truth there.

You can have two 2A3 amplifiers, however they differ in power supply quality, output transformers, type of coupling capacitors and internal wiring. Despite both utilizing the same 2A3 tubes the two amplifiers can/will sound quite different. You have to account for the numerous variables involved. Continue to explore as you’re definitely learning as you go.

Charles

@mozartfan One of your main problems here is you're paying attention to tube type and not much else. Look at Charles list above especially output transformers which really make or break a tube amp's quality. Parts matter it's why generally tube amps, SET amps especially are more expensive. You should let your tech go over your new amp he obviously builds amps and knows parts quality, I suspect your Yaquins could be a good platform for some parts mods that could boost SQ significantly.