Has anyone heard these SET amps?

[sunnysal]

hey mobile what about jeff korneffs units...about $1,500 but they use 45 tubes...any thoughts? tony

[mike stehr]

Ain't nothin' wrong with a 45!

[sunnysal]

a little lower power than a 2A3 or 300B I was told...I am already worried about getting the punch I like from a 300B!...tony

[mobile homeless]

The only negative I have heard about the Jeff Korneff amps, whether they be the integrated, stereo, or monoblocks, is from Tom Brennan, who is not a fan of SET amps to begin with (I like ole Tom but we have different tastes/opinions in audio to some extent). In other words, going by things I have read and from people sharing emails and opinions with me personally, the Korneff amps are VERY nice (including his preamp, too). Remember that he makes his amps to owner specs and not all are the same, some including vintage transformers, others including Electraprint outs etc. Some of use twin chokes, transformer coupling etc. They are basically made to order although he does have a base design he seems to work from. I have seen some of his amps use very boutique parts while others employ more pedestrian options. So I have to say he seems to make a product that many are quite fond of. He appears to be the big rage over at the SET Asylum, then again, I dont know if that's saying too much really.

I have a friend up north that could make you a custom 300B amp that he says sounds INSANELY good, bettering anything near this range and for probably not too much more. Here are some pics of his EXCELLENT work. Although he is a good friend of mine, I have to be unbiased and say that he does as nice a soldering as anyone I know, bar none, not to mention excellent design work. It's top notch stuff:

You dont see a layout like this very often. All top notch parts

Look at the detail below... amazing.

kh

[mike stehr]

Damn! Symmetrical!

That is some nice work.

[akshobhyavajra]

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On 12/11/2002 3:23:58 PM cjk1026 wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I think the Zen is a very cool little amp, but why would somebody spend $700.00 on speaker wire/cable for a $500.00 amp? Honestly, I'm not trying to be sarcastic.

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I understand what you're saying - some people are budget oriented and as such this would be silly. Other audiophiles like to play around with this sort of thing, so it's not really a budget issue.

For $700 you can also get some The Loth-X Amaze single driver speakers (96 db/W/m) or some Omega TS1 single drivers (96dB also) and accomplish the same - maybe better.

My point was only to point to various viable solutions to a problem, rather than just focusing on the problem itself, i.e.

1. Autotransformers

2. Single driver or other efficient speakers

3. Equipment matching - using a good pre-amp, etc et al

Spending $700 on cable (the Select costs $700) is not that tragic in terms of the big picture (only my opinion - not here to start an altercation). If the reader feels that quality cable and interconnects are unimportant and ought not to be considered as a component - just disregard this paragraph.

Happy listening,

~Michael~

[ChrisK]

An audiophile (also jazz critic for our metropolitan newspaper) friend of mine (far more knowledgeable than myself - which, come to think of it, doesn't say much) once advised me to spend no more than 10% of the value of a component on it's wire/cabling. Any more than that he said, and you are probably buying tone control. Not to mention one of the more respected analog/tube salesman in my area said to me, "Remember, it's not a cables job to add to the signal, only to transmit and stay out of the way. And didn't PWK often use lamp cord in demos...<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I think the wire/cable debate can be argued logically from any prospective. But I believe, in twisted 1970's parlance, "If it sounds good, do it!

[sunnysal]

Kelly, that IS a beautiful amplifier! but I bet it costs over $2k which means 6-9 months of savings. how could I contact this gentleman for more information? or perhaps I should wait until I have the dinero...some people don't like "window shoppers". thanks, tony

[mobile homeless]

Another thing that sets Jean-Francois apart is he puts a lot of thought into the layout of the circuit as well as the construction of the amplifier. The amp you see above has wood specified by the buyer but he actually usually uses wood stock that looks better than that. He also is VERY careful about RFI shielding and grounding and uses copper top plates that he either paints or seals.

Another positive is that he has VERY sensitive speakers over 100dB (Lamhorns with AER Mk 1 Drivers) so this will uncover some hum No, it's not to the level of the 104dB Khorns but it's more than most people do.

Yet another positive is that he listens to the amps for awhile in his own home to give them a proper shakedown, this far beyond the 24hr burn-in of other small name manufacturers.

I heard another pair of Cobalt Parafeed 300B amps that were perhaps the most transparent/revealing amps I have heard. I would have called that version biased more toward the Audiophile segment of the spectrum (He later changed the driver circuit and converted this amp to 2A3 - it's the maple amp you see in this post ~ The Plitron toroid output/JE Labs Modified verison is more biased toward musical according to Jean-Francois and is less expensive to boot) . These Plitron output amps above are a bit more biased toward the musical side of the spectrum as noted, although many would hear that other 300B circuit and proclaim them utterly amazing. They employ a version of the MagneQuest Parafeed COBALT outputs, VERY expensive only on special order. Regardless, Jean-Francois can customize the amps how you like and change the tone to fit your tastes.

Here are a few more shots of amps he has done:

Latest 2A3/300B (depending) Parafeed Cobalt 204 Monos

HORUS COBALT PARAFEED as featured at WWW.MAGNEQUEST.COM

kh

[sunnysal]

magnificent! I love the birds eye maple (is that what that is) on those 2A3 amps...I would be looking for musical versus hifi in my amp...this guy is a real craftsman! I got the mail from him and will begin saving pennies today!...tony

[edster00]

Hey Kelly,

Does Jean-Francois have a 45 amp design? I'd be interested...

[mobile homeless]

Jean-Francois is going to be doing a 45 amp, one with a full copper chassis and the other with a wood chassis and copper top plate cut by the same person that cuts the plates for Wavelength Audio's amps.

Drop me an email if interested in his address although it can be obtained from the DIY section of the MagneQuest site (He has an article there on his Horus 2A3 amps).

I think he is excited about the interest. Rest assured, these amps are a major step up in parts and especially build quality. They are not in thin steel bud boxes. These are VERY solid amps meant to last a lifetime and crafted as such. He was a little embarrassed I posted in here! I just think his stuff is really nice and I have been trying to talk him into building for people interested.

kh