2. amps-preamps
  3. 1129733242

SET for Orchestral , Big Band etc.

I've always heard how suited SET amps are for vocals, chamber music, jazz ensembles, etc. And, I listen to this type of music a lot. Which is why I've decided to move to this type of system. However, after reading those opinions, I'm inferring that people are implicitly saying that these amps would NOT do as well for large orchestral or big band jazz music which I also listen to a lot of. Currently, when I listen to a symphonic piece and there is a large crescendo punctuated with a tripple forte accent, I can feel it with a big umpf! It's chilling. Will I hever have that with a SET system? Will I need a small sub-woofer? I thought sub-woofers were not very musical and used largely in HT setups. My new speakers will be much smaller than my current ones due to my small room (approx 11x13). Thanx for your thoughts.
pawlowski6132
asonicyouth
120 posts
 
you should go with an 845 or 211 based set for both vocal liquidity and orchestral slam
pawlowski6132 OP
592 posts
 
Asonicyouth; not the 300b?
jeffreybehr's avatar
jeffreybehr
805 posts
 
The magic one gets from SET amps is achieved usually with high-efficiency speakers that can generate high SPLs at low power inputs. What's the sensitivity of your new speakers?

If you don't need ear-damaging peak levels, one can use a lower-sensitivity speaker, but that combo still needs more power than the flea-powered (ie 2A2, 845, 300B) SETs can produce. Until I fell in love with a pair of Eminent Technology 8s, I used 50-Watt 805-based SETs, Antique Sound Lab Exp. 805s, with 86dB-sensitivity Quad 989s in a fairly large (c. 3200CF) room. Peak SPLs tolerated by my ears is c. 95dBA, and that combo satisfied that. I ran them full range--no filtering and no subwoofers--and the combo sounded excellent. See Art Dudley's review of the ASL 805 in 'Stereophile' here http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/304antique/index.html . The 805s proved to be a few dB underpowered for the ET8s so I'm now using Quicksilver V4s.

My significantly improved pair of 805s is for sale.
.
More to discover