russ69 Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Can anybody recommend a good SET amp. I'd like to dip my toe into the flea powered world. Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_Mack Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Russ, It has been said here many times that “horns love tubes”. I truly believe that. The best thing I ever did for my Heresys was to drive them with a 2A3 amp. But then again, since I have waded off into the higher end of audio, I have picked up a few different amps and have been lucky with each one. My present amp stable consists of: Bottlehead S.E.X. amp – 6DN7 SET at 2 WPC (a giant killer) Bottlehead Paramour – 2A3 SET monoblocks at 3.5 WPC (oh that midrange magic and clarity!) Stromberg-Carlson – EL84 PP at 17 WPC (very vintage, very nice!) Macintosh MC250 – SS at 50 WPC (very close to all my tube amps, and some punch) Teac Tripath – Class D at 40 WPC (unbelievable what these can do) All of these amps sound very similar on the Heresys, although they are of slightly or even very different topologies. To me that means maybe they are really only neutral; or to steal a descriptor from Mallette, maybe they are accurate. That is what I believe. I could easily live with any of these amps with my present setup. My favorite is the Paramours. I guess a second would be the PP EL84. I have heard many times the EL84 has very much the SET sound. One thing you may consider is bass. The Heresy is quite bass shy, so I use a modest powered sub-woofer, just barely tweaked in, in my small room and it blends perfectly. Of all the amps I mentioned above, the Stromberg-Carlson probably has the best bass response. The Mac of course has some punch, but it is SS at 50 WPC. I think running a very close third would be the 2 watt S.E.X. amp for bass punch. But if you run a sub-woofer, bass may not be an issue. The 2A3 amp is probably weakest on bass punch but it makes up for it in all other areas! Room size will also be a factor. I very seldom run out of gas and want it louder, but you can see my room dimensions in my signature below. As far as recommendation, I can only recommend what I have used. I think Bottlehead is a great value, but also that there are soooooo many other options to choose from. So, instead of recommending anything specific, I will say that, to clarify my opening line; “Klipsch loves quality amplification”. Hope this helps. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 I have been quite amazed at how good my Welborne Labs Moondog 2A3 amps are with my LaScalas. I keep telling myself that I will try them on my Heresy IIs, but never get them moved. I find I have plenty of bass on the LS with these. The drawback, is they don't make them any longer, so you would have to pick up a used pair. I don't know how often they come up for sale on the used market. Been quite tempted to build a pair, as there isn't much to them.Not Moondogs, per se, but some2A3 amps. I love the 2A3! What is your budget? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 Russ, I thoroughly enjoyed my Wright 2A3 amps with my Khorns and LaScalas. When I used them to drive Heresy's, I thought they did OK, but didn't have quite the power needed for a satisfactory long term solution. The Heresy's are just less efficient than the bigger Heritage speaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted March 19, 2009 Share Posted March 19, 2009 I also used Wright 2A3 amps with my Heresys and was never more delighted... until I got the La Scalas. Heresys are very good SET speakers and will even show some low end if you put them in the corners, on the floor, toed in 45 degrees and tipped back a few inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Rick, Thanks for all the thoughtful reply. I don't have my Heresys yet (on special order from Hope). I have a nice little Velodyne SPL-800R sub, so no problems with the bass response (I hope). I'll be using my Quicksilver mini-mites to start with but I wanted to at least hear a set amp sometime in the future. I've looked at the Bottleheads in the past so they are on "my radar". I also looked at the Sun Audio amps and some others but never pulled the plug. I'm just day dreaming right now but I think a set is my next purchase. Thanx, Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody_Mack Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 H-IIIs on the way...sweet! Another amp I have a little experience with is the Eddie Vaughn Carina. It is a EL84 SET at around 2 watts and can be switched to ultra-linear mode for a little more power. It belongs to a friend of mine and we sort of A-B(d) it and my Paramours on his Hawthorne Audio Duets. Although it has a very nice sound, the Carina seemed to run out of gas sooner than I would generally prefer. I personally believe it is a little pricey for what it is, but then again, Eddie Vaughn has a good reputation as a designer, so I am sure the amp would grow on you. And with the high efficiency of the H-IIIs, you may be fine with that power. Still, I chose my 2A3 Paramour as the winner that day. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Not all SET amps but I had some McIntosh MC-30's, MC-2102 as well as the Wright 2A3 and the Transcendent SE-OTL (Thanks Dee!) The Transcendent SE-OTL (1 1/2 watts x 2 unless you buy two and bridge them to 4 wpc) was my particular winner of the above except for, I could not live with 4 watts/channel and this was through Khorns!! I've currently got this funky Viva 300B SET amp here at the house and it is also a lovely amp with a sweet midrange. I think it's something like 8 watts. I've come to wonder why the OTL amp sounded better. I do not profess to KNOW the answer, just my thoughts.... I've now sold ALL those amps but the SE-OTL was the one I hated to see go the most, other than the 4 wpc. What was common with all of them but for the output transformer. Was it the lack of output transformer that created a nicer sound for me??? Dunno... I'd like to get another OTL someday to look further into them. Maybe LarryC will ship me his for a month to mess around with!! [G] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Rick, Congrats on getting your Heresy's on order from Hope. Very cool. I've got the K-28 HIII woofers in a pair of modded Heresy I's and find that the package sounds very nice and never a thought that it is shy of bass. That's interesting because to my ears La Scalas really needed a sub. The HIII is so well balanced that is sounds full and good right out of the box. I had Bottlehead Paramours for a while and they do sound good and are an excellent bang for the buck value for 2A3 amplification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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