What's the Best SET for Around $3000?

hmen · « **on:** 11 Nov 2003, 02:44 am »

Anybody have an opinion on this? What 's the best SET amp - stereo or mono blocks (no integrateds please) for around $3000?

cjr888 · « **Reply #1 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 04:18 am »

You'll get very varied opinions on this -- first off, what sort of speakers are you pairing the amplifier with? This will cut down your options regardless of price.

gonefishin · « **Reply #2 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 05:17 am »

You really do need to know what speakers you've got. Also, why SET? Have you heard any you like, or just going by what people have said...if you've heard some you've liked...what tubes were they using?

What type of music do you listen to? what room size? what volume do you normally listen to? and what is the loudest you listen to music?

Are you opposed to DIY?

hmen · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 05:48 am »

I've been using a pair of decware zen model c's to power the upper half of my VMPS RM2's. I've tried a couple of push/pulls but I definitely like the sound of the decware better. I'd just like a little more power.

lcrim · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 04:21 pm »

hmen:
I have been looking at SET amplifiers as well and you have fallen onto the exact same issue that I encountered. I really like the sound of my Sonus Faber speakers but they are not really SET friendly. I spoke with Steve Deckert of decware and he was really kind and helpful. The bottom line is that while my Concertino's wouldn't sound crappy, I would probably end up searching for a more efficient speaker that would allow the dynamic swings in the music to be more lifelike. Quieter acoustic music would be less affected.
I have a feeling that the price will be high but if you find a SET amp that works well with your VMPS speakers, I would appreciate a rec.

hmen · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 04:26 pm »

I'm not even attempting to drive the whole speaker, just the midrange and tweeter. The decwares are OK for that but occasionally I need a little more and I don't want to sacrifice the sonics to get it.

JLM · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 05:28 pm »

Obviously Decware has more powerful options up to $2,500/pair. Why not stick with them if your satisfied with the model C?

hmen · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 05:34 pm »

JLM - The $2500 signature model isn't really that much more powewrful than what I have now. I auditioned it in my system and while I heard improvement in resolution and imaging they didn't produce as much output as a pair of model C's bridged as monoblocks.

doug s. · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 05:56 pm »

for serious set toob power, i only know of antique sound labs & radii audio that offer product even remotely resembling anyting affordable. i have heard the asl stuff (not their set, tho), & it's amazing for the price. good, price notwithstanding, for that matter. a canadian dealer sells its own slightly upgraded iterations of the asl gear, ie:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1073329876&class&3&4&

here's a typical $3k-retail pair of asl 22wpc single-ended amps:

http://tubehifi.com/amp/amp/aq1006845dt.html

radii audio quoted me a price of ~$1800 shipped to my door, for a pair of their fully-optioned 50wpc set amps - if i dint end up trading my old amps for my present amp, & had sold them outright, these were among the top contenders on my list:

http://radaudio.com/gs805se.html

the (spendy) jj amps are also getting good reviews; there's a 22w set pair f/s on agon for ~$2900:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1073743219&class&3&4&

this guy is really into the jj stuff (i bought jj toobs for my mesa baron from him, at a really nice price, fwiw):

http://eurotubes.com

the guy's "review" of the jj amps is quite interesting:
http://eurotubes.com/euro-f.htm

anyway, does yer amp *have* to be set? plenty of nice toob amps w/capability of being run either pentode or triode, such as manley, vtl, asl, and my mesa baron. lots more like this, too...

doug s.

gonefishin · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 08:25 pm »

Something to keep in mind is that many of the amps mentioned are not SET amps which use power triode tubes. The only ones that I seen so far mentioned that were SET's were the 845 and 805 amps. But just because they aren't actually SET's doesn't mean anything other than they aren't using triodes. You can still get some nice sound out of these amps too.
When bi-amping the Decware amps did you still feel like you wanted more power? or did you just want to try out a SET amp to see how it sounds in your system? If you needed alot more power...your only choice may be some of the bigger triodes like the 845.

You'll have to do some experimenting to see what you want...and what works with the speakers you've got.

If your not opposed to DIY...you can try some kits for a little less money than buying new (plus you'll get some nice things like quality OPT's, which MAY not be found in lower price amps). IF you can get away with lower power...the Welborne Labs DRD amps are nice sounding. I've not heard their amps specifically, but I have heard some amps based on the same design.

good luck>>>>

hmen · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Nov 2003, 11:42 pm »

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I started with one decware amp and then bought a second and an AES signature pre before I got my RM2's. That wasn't enough so I decided to bi-amp. The decware zens are very close to what I need for my upper end, I really like the way they sound, but there are occasions when I need a little more. BTW, I keep seeing people advertising amps as"single-ended parrallel". Is that just a fancy name for push/pull?

JohnR · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Nov 2003, 01:28 am »

No, single-ended and push-pull refer to the essential circuit topology, whereas parallel is where you have two (or more) tubes in the same place in the circuit doing the work. Push-pull tends to produce more power than single-ended because it doesn't waste as much of the tube's capacity to supply power as heat (err... quite a tautology, but anyway...); parallel produces more power because you have more tubes and can therefore produce (and waste) more power.

That's not technically very precise but hopefully you get the idea.

WerTicus · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Nov 2003, 10:53 pm »

I have heard you can get miltiary spec SET amps they use in the army or whatever, in their radios still today that have, 250wrms or there abouts and bandwidth from dc to 500khz or so....

or did i get that wrong?

elektratig · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Nov 2003, 11:55 pm »

If you're willing to spend less than $3K and build (did you build your Zen?), I'd suggest you take a look at the fairly new Welborne Labs 300B DRD amps. I haven't heard the DRDs but I've used a pair of Welborne Laurels for years, and they're glorious. I don't know your speakers, but I've found the 8W put out by a 300B amp subjectively much more powerful than the 3W or so produced by 2A3s -- and I think the Zens produce less than that. I have more sensitive speakers now, but I've never had a problem with 300Bs driving benign speakers with sensitivites in the low 90s, whereas (for me at least) I've never found 3-3.5W amps sufficient.

doug s. · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Nov 2003, 10:38 pm »

may wanna try these, yust listed f/s on a-gon:

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?ampstube&1074110109&2&3&4&

better hurry, tho, these don't last long on the used market, & these are at a great price. ya could always sell 'em, likely even make a few bucks, if they're not *it*...

doug s.