SET Asylum: REVIEW: Electronic Tonalities Paramour Mono Blocks Amplifier (Tube) by RBP

The mighty name of Electronic Tonalities has become the "Bottlehead Corporation". Same great ownership, service and user supported Forum.

Okay.....$399 for 2A3 Power..and that is PER PAIR!

These are in Kit Form. You get everything to build these including Vaccum tubes. All you need is Solder , simple tools and the ability to follow instructions. Some good wood finishing experience will make the completed units look fantastic! Yes....you even get the enclosures!

As soon as Doc B (founder and Owner) said that he was going to offer these at this price...I doubled checked frankly because $399 "each" was a bargin.

Getting past the small talk, these Amplifiers are rediculous. Being the owner of a fabulous Dynaco ST70 BAS (Bone ass stock) and very pleased, I just knew going from 35WPCH to 3.5WPCH would just be a handicap that just did not seem viable. You mean...I am going to loose 10dB of headroom, and be satisfyed? How?

The sheer musicality of these amplifiers are the answer to audio nirvana.

Listening to very familiar music, I am hearing detail and smoothness one just dreams of. SET fans know. 1 watt of power on 96.9 dB speakers at near field will play well....97dB...which is very large.

Compared to the ST70, the results are as follows.

Sub bass (below 35hZ) Larger, bigger, bloomyer, more defined. You cannot shake the house down with this combination, but you can hear all the bass notes in any recording. The super low frequencies are very audible and very musical. The ST70 must be turned up to about 5 to 10 watts to make these tones "happen" and the Paramours do them just fine. You can run out of juice, but remember what we have for power! The very finest amplifiers would be slightly tighter, but this is what I wish the ST70 could do.

Bass: (35 to 140hZ) Harmonics of these bass sounds are very true. Bass drums have what I call just the right amount of dampning to sound real. Upper bass notes are authentic to the point of being able to tell what brand of bass guitar is being used. Bass ambience is detailed...could not ask for much better at 20 times the price... Must be heard.

Mid bass/midrange:(140 to 2500hZ) Pretty special, because you hear it all. Extremely low volume sounds are not covered up, and anything in this range is smooth and easy to follow. Musical. No ringing, or harshness. Fast and clear.

Treble: (2500 to 8K) Just like the Midbass/midrange...a seemless transition. Microdynamics causes you to hear new qualities to the familiar recordings that sounds complete. Excellent decay and attack. Thes sounds are slightly Darker than the ST70, but with much greater ambience.

High Treble: (Above 8K) This area is very different from the ST70. The highs simply are not near as loud, but much more defined. The ST70 sounds "hot" here compared to the Paramours. The Highs are larger, without being as loud. You hear more detail! Much more comfortable. Love this sound.

Dynamics are great, within reason. If you want to get Dynaco Volume with this level of sound, better sell the house....It could cost that much...

In summary, If you have not heard SET amplifiers and can part with less than 500 Dollars, this is it. Many are now in use, and many mods are becoming avalible to take them into the stratosphere.

Better Iron, Better tubes than stock (I am running the Stock 2A3 O&J China VALVE ART tubes.) Meshplates would be heaven. A set of meshes cost more than these amps!

REVIEW: Electronic Tonalities Paramour Mono Blocks Amplifier (Tube) Review by RBP at Audio Asylum