SET Asylum

Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream.

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RE: Help me pick SET monoblocks

Posted by Caucasian Blackplate on August 20, 2017 at 17:52:13:
If you can DIY then there isn't a big reason to go commercial.

Testing speakers on a T-amp can give you some clues as to how they will do on low power, but a T-amp clips very abruptly and a 300B amp rated for similar power will deliver greater peak power with more finesse. Your room isn't big enough for you to need that kind of power unless you listen very loudly or the speaker sensitivity is grossly overstated (both are unlikely in your case).

The 6 Ohm speaker thing is a little bit annoying. If there's an AN amp that's made to go with these, that might be a nice idea. Otherwise you might want to hit up Sowter Transformer to see if they can make you an output transformer with an 8 Ohm secondary tapped at 4, 6, and 8 Ohms.

The option that I would go with would be to select a hotter operating point for a tube like the 300B and aim to get 10-12 watts. Yeah, you'll get more distortion and you'll be running the tube a little harder, but just buy a new pair of EH300B's every 3 to 5 years and don't worry about it. With the extra power, running your 6 Ohm speakers on a 4 Ohm wired transformer will trade some of the available power for lower distortion, and you should be in good shape.

With your budget, spending $800 on a pair of output transformers is a very real proposition!