Cary 805, deHavilland or Atma-Sphere? Anyone cares

FWIW, the deHavilland SETs are some of the very best SETs made in the US. Also, as far as bass is concerned, Atma-Sphere amplifiers are full power to either 1Hz or 2Hz, depending on the model.

In either case of SET or smaller OTL, the speaker choice is important- the amplifier investment dollar will be better served by a 16 ohm speaker as opposed to four ohms (in fact transistor amplifiers sound better on 16 ohms too; there is not much argument for four ohm speakers if better sound is your goal). Some help in understanding what is up can be found at
http://www.atma-sphere.com/papers/paradigm_paper2.html

The speakers using is the Magnepan 3.6.
This is a speakers from the SET hell, I believe.
I fall in love with the Maggies and I am sleeping with the SET.
Committing the sin, right?

Sounds like a quick divorce.

Tvad asks the right question.

I currently own the Cary 300B sig monos and the 805s. I've previously owned the little Atma-Sphere stereo amp (s300?). The sig monos and little Atma MUST be paired with appropriate speakers (a relatively small percentage of all those out there) or they just won't work. The Cary 805 is much more flexible. I suspect the higher output OTLs are probably more flexible as well, but have no personal experience with them.

Further, the small OTL and 300B amps sound quite different even when paired with one suitable speaker versus another suitable speaker. In short, they are much more sensitive to the load they face and behave differently as that load changes. Some combos will sound great, others awful. Unfortunately, looking at impedance and sensitivity specs is not a great predictor of happy marriages.

IMHO, you shouldn't buy a 300B amp or a low output OTL until you've heard it with the partnered speaker. While that advice is generally good for any amp/speaker set-up. IMHO it is particularly critical for these quirky amp designs.

Good Luck

Marty