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SET the best?

Is SET amplification where we should all end up? I keep reading posts where people tell of their journeys from plenty power to micro power, and how amazing SET amplification is 45 set 211 set 845 set otl, and usually, ....with the right speaker. I have yet to read of anyone who has gone the other direction from SET, to High watt beast class A amps or others.
If your speakers can be driven by minimal wattage, is this the most realistic, natural sound we can achieve? versus say, 86db sensitive speakers and a 1000w amp?
Is the end result solely based on speaker pairing? circuit? tubes?

I am in the process of changing my direction in my search for realistic sound, just because, and wondering if this really is the best direction to be going.
From what I have been reading I think it may be.

What do we get with SET? What do we give up?

What's you favorite color?
hanaleimike
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breuninger
101 posts
 
I was one of the pioneering voices of the SET movement and as I grew with the hobby I discovered that as good as SET amplifiers are, there are not as many good loudspeakers to complete the chain. Having heard well set up-up Wilsons, Magicos and owning MBL 101Es I can honestly say that the speaker is t-h-e most important variable in a high end system. SET is incomparable if you have uber expensive amplifiers mated with loudspeakers that you (can) allow to have certain faults; like lack of LF or lack of dynamics, or lack of finesse. There is no magic bullet speaker for SET. On the other hand, great speakers like MBLs and numerous others allow for many different amplifiers and combos that you can tailor to your taste. In SET land the dog's tail is wagging the dog-- with great speakers and higher powered amps the dog is wagging the tail. I've lived it, reviewed it, and promoted it and it's just the way it is. Some may say that you can cheat physics with big Wilsons and low powered Lamms but a question mark hangs over my head with these set ups. I think that you may be shortchanging both products and ending up with neither fish nor foul.

A great SET systen is very satisfying, with hints of human realism, almost stylisticly so. A great Wilson, Rockport MBL, Magico (fill in the blank) system is like being at a concert, though matching ancillary equipment is very demanding. Both are fun, but only one is like being there.

Peter
amandarae
512 posts
 
Count me in for "Yes" stats.

Went planar, electrostatic, vintage, single driver, with both SS and tube amps not less than 30 watts and speakers as high as 94 dB efficiency. I was happy but still something was missing I thought per my preferrence.

I found my heaven on both DIY flea powered SET/High efficiency coaxial speaker(100dB) with a simple topology active preamp and so far still enjoying it. To me, speakers should be at least 97 dB and above, the higher the better. Power not more than 6 watts (I will not be surprised if I am oly using less than a watt on normal listening level. If it doesn't sound good at 1 watt, why need more?). Also, I found my preferrence on using DHT tubes with AC on the heaters for output tubes of the amp and old type DHT/IDHT tubes (currently using 76) on the preamp side.

To me, although it is hard for me to describe it, there is something about speakers with 98 dB and above efficiency, full range, using 45/2A3 tubes with AC on the filaments that 96 dB and below speakers cannot touch. But the trick is to make the amps quiet so that hum will not be an issue.

YMMV!
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marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
It depends. Believe it or not, Johnatan Swift described a detailed answer to your question in his "Adventures of Hulliver in the Country of Lilliputs"...
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