Hi Edoit,
You're getting a lot of great advice here from some smart audiophiles. The common threads appear to be: 1) don't become overly enchanted by the idea of any single topology; 2) your speakers are ill-suited for SETs.
SETs can sound great; they also have real limitations. I've been running a sweet 2A3 DHT SET into 99db speakers (easy 8-ohm impedance, compression drivers) since 1999. It sounds really good in small spaces for quiet near-field listening. In my critical-listening room, however, where vinyl rules and I want realistic SPLs, it pales. That's with speakers designed for low-watt tube amps. Your speakers are not.
SET lovers tend to be very passionate about their choices, and they're on to something, no doubt. There's an infectious immediacy about the SET sound. But sometimes the passion takes on a metaphysical character that seems to imbue the topology with the ability to transcend the limitations of mundane physics, like adequately powering inefficient speakers with challenging impedance curves.
If you're certain that SET amps are your manna, I'd suggesting thinking about the amps and speakers as a unit, a single purchase, without trying to retrofit amps to your Harbeths. That way you have a much better chance of hearing the magic a SET *system* can make.
You're getting a lot of great advice here from some smart audiophiles. The common threads appear to be: 1) don't become overly enchanted by the idea of any single topology; 2) your speakers are ill-suited for SETs.
SETs can sound great; they also have real limitations. I've been running a sweet 2A3 DHT SET into 99db speakers (easy 8-ohm impedance, compression drivers) since 1999. It sounds really good in small spaces for quiet near-field listening. In my critical-listening room, however, where vinyl rules and I want realistic SPLs, it pales. That's with speakers designed for low-watt tube amps. Your speakers are not.
SET lovers tend to be very passionate about their choices, and they're on to something, no doubt. There's an infectious immediacy about the SET sound. But sometimes the passion takes on a metaphysical character that seems to imbue the topology with the ability to transcend the limitations of mundane physics, like adequately powering inefficient speakers with challenging impedance curves.
If you're certain that SET amps are your manna, I'd suggesting thinking about the amps and speakers as a unit, a single purchase, without trying to retrofit amps to your Harbeths. That way you have a much better chance of hearing the magic a SET *system* can make.