2. amps-preamps
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Flea SET amp for Shindo Aurieges

I'm coming over from SS land and new to tubes so hope you guys can help me. I'm considering getting a flea powered SET amp to go with my Shindo Aurieges preamp. The Shindo SET are out of my reach at the moment so I'm looking for alternatives that will mate will with the Shindo's high output impedance (5,000 Ohms) and also do it justice. Is there anything out there for about $2K used that would fit the bill? I listen to a wide variety of music - from jazz to electronic and large orchestral pieces so I'm looking for something with a velvet hammer with good control over the bass if thats possible. I've been considering the Audio Note Quests, is this a good match and are there any other suggestions?
mikeyc8
darkmoebius
900 posts
 
Hi Mikey,

You haven't mentioned what your speakers are and their efficiency/load curve, that is the biggest determining factor of what SET amp(s) to get. Also, knowing your room size, listening distance, and volume levels would help, too.

Let us know and I'm sure we can give you several suggestions that perform well within your budget.
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
start with speakers you love and work backwards
mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
I currently own and love my Gershman Avant Gardes. They have nice smooth mids and good bass slam. The problem is that they are 87 dB so the flea powered amps won't drive them properly. So if I go the SET route I'll probably have to sell them and I'm considering HE models such as Audio Note, Omega, Zu, etc. At the moment I have a vintage Marantz 8 with 35wpc that is adequate to drive the Gershmans, but I find its not as open or transparent as an 8 wpc AN Conqueror amp that I heard recently, hence my possible conversion to the SET dark side.
restock
831 posts
 
Michael, Fi amps (e.g. Fi Super X 2A3, Fi 45 Fi WE421) have a very high input impedance that matches well with the 10K input impedance and high gain of the Fi preamps (one of the reasons why I was considering Shindo :)

Some of the other ones that get good reviews (some of these I heard already): Bottlehead, Korneff, Welborne, Wright, Yamamoto, Verdier - I am sure we can get a few of these together for a listening session in Toronto sometime in the near future ;)

As others mentioned, a lot will depend on your choice of speakers as well.
mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
Hi Rene, yes my research also turned up a couple that you named Yamamoto, Fi and Verdier. The last two should be relatively easy to audition :) Look forward to hearing them soon.

I must confess, I'm a bit of a bass freak, will these flea amps and single driver HE speakers be able to keep me happy?
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