used SET amp under $1500 suggestion

05-01-11: Viridian
Personally, I would skip the pentodes and tetrodes hooked up as triodes and move right to directly heated triodes. IMHO, this is where the magic lives. The Elekit 2A3 is a good example:

While I agree with you 100% for experienced SET users , 45 and 2A3 are nearly unparalleled (although PX-25 ranks up there)... I just think the odds of a first-timer being totally satisfied with 2-3wpc are far less likely than 12-18wpc. Especially in the case where we do not know the OP's room size, musical tastes, and listening preferences.

Luckily, the Zu Omen Defs are 98dB/4-6ohm, so 2-3wpc could be satisfying in many situations, but not all. All depends on the robustness of the power supply.

As much as I enjoy SET amps (and I do!), I must agree with Jrinkerptdnet - moving to a SET amp for the reason you stated seems a little extreme to me. It might be easier to deal with the gain issue. But maybe your amp is just not a good match for your Omens.

But assuming that you want to move to SET for whatever reason, you have a lot of choices as you can see from the responses above. As the old saying goes, opinons are like... belly buttons. Everybody has one. There have been discussions and arguments ad nauseum on this and every other audio forum about the merits of DHT vs. PP vs. OTL vs. triode-mode pentode etc. In the end you are going to have to decide for yourself, in your room, with your gear and with your ears.

Without making any strict recommendations, please allow me to add some as of yet unmentioned, reasonably priced options that you might also consider:

Power Amps:
- Almarro A205A - a SEP, not a SET.
- Conrad Johnson Premier 11XS - An 11A wired in triode mode.
- Decware - reportedly an outstanding line of products
- Golden Tube Audio - the SE40 is a much maligned parallel SET amp. I have two, and I have never had an issue with either one. Outstanding value, and can be rebuilt quite reasonably if wanted or needed.
- Quicksilver - an entire line of great, fairly priced products, including a SET model.
- Sophia Baby

Integrated Amps:
- Audio Note OTO SE - IMHO the best value in a fully integrated SET amp
- Conrad Johnson CAV50 - a PP amp, but it looks and sounds great

Good luck!

I also feel that a DHT based amp is the ultimate in sound.The 45,2a3 and 300b(I`ve heard them all)can sound superb or merely average. Depends on implemetation and parts quality. The 300b(there`s many to choose from)can provide 8-10 watts in a SET design. For a 98db speaker this is a lot of power with plenty of headroom. With this speaker at reasonable listening levels(70-85db) you`re using 1/10to 1/100 of a watt!

not trying to talk him out of a SET amp, just not sure that will solve the problem of too much gain in the system. would be a shame to put $1500 into an amp and STILL have too much gain from the source allowing you a tiny range on the volume control

just my 2 cents

Jeff