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
Back in the 'Sound Practices' day, I played with SE amps. 300B and 2A3. PP 6B4Gs too. Though pleasant sounding, I was forever trying to find a good speaker to match up with them. I tried different modern and vintage coaxials without success.

I eventually turned away from Triode SE and back into Ultralinear designs. The higher power worked better with my Altec 604 / Eminence speakers (ie - the UREI 813A). The best DIY design of mine was a SE EL156 UL with a pentode front end. Lots of power (~20Ws), fast, detailed but not clinical. This was nirvana for me.

Then I accidentally got a good deal on a Threshold S/500 amplifier. They gripped the UREI speakers better than any tube amp I have ever heard. No solid state glare or grain - and they have enough power to drive any speaker I would want.

So I sold my SE EL156 amps to a friend (where they are still churning away) and after twenty years of tube amps jumped on the solid state wagon. I'm not getting off either. Though lacking in some of the qualities that tube gear has, good solid-state also has it's own signature that appeals to me.
Having used Wilson Audio speakers for a very long time I was always told you need big SS to drive them.
Used ML 33h, 33, then the ASR Emitter II.
Having been intrigued by all of the SET discussion here on Agon decided to get a Wyetech Topaz which is a SET using 211 output tubes.
Never gonna work I was told.
I much preferred the sound of the SET to the SS in my system.
In turn I sold all of my two channel SS amps.
The most recent loaner to me was the Bryston SST SQ 28 monos.
In my system they did not work at all and returned them after a little over a week.
So in my case I am happy with my SET. But that is not to say that the SS cannot sound right.
I went from high power high current to SET. I bought a 6 Moons reviewer sample amp(that he effused immensely about) and bought the speakers he recommended to go with it (which were also reviewed by him). Now this was not salary priced equipment, but reasonably priced and I was told would take me a good distance into SET performance (by the reviewer).

Sure it did some things well. I am not so sure I would say better than my high power system, but certainly differently. The SET set-up was a faction of the price and this should be noted. What it didn't do as well was significant to me.

My EXPERIENCE and opinion was that if you don't mind just listening to a portion of the music on the recording, albeit that portion sound nice, then you may very well like SET. However, if you feel that you need the entire frequency spectrum at decent or full weight, then you may end up disappointed - as I did. I am now moving back to higher power (at least vs. SET).

Will everyone eventually end up there? No way will that ever happen. It is definately a niche type area.

All that being said, I am confident that there are $100K SET systems that expand beyond my experiences.
I have a system that includes a modded and fully tube-rolled 3-watt Moth s2A3 amp, Omega Grande 8R speakers, Von Schweikert subwoofer, tubed CDP, and all Jade wires. I also have a system that includes Mac 500-watt MC501 monoblocks, C2300 preamp, Marantz sa11s2, Montana EPS2 speakers and all Wireworld wires. I love the 2A3 system. The SS systems beats it in every parameter. Many roads to Dublin.
I know no SS that can do tone like SE DHT like a 300b. If you didn't like it probably running incompatible speakers.