NEWBIE question SET vs. Solid State

[awhite1159]

I currently have a pair of the Fostex FE208ES recommended BLH enclosures with the FE208ES drivers and the T90A supertweeters. My amplifier is an Adcom GFA-5802 currently. I have heard alot about Tube amps having a much warmer sound and being a better match for high efficiency BLH speakers. Parts Express is running a special on this SET amp below. Would this be a good choice?

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=306-102

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Klimon]

Looks fine to me.... Classic choice of tubes and (probably) circuitry which can give you pleasure and some; 7watts also sounds more than okay

Simon

[TugaTweaker]

Are you a diy man ? If yes , diy gives you much more pleasure
and if good schematic and components are choosen , i can say more performance too . The critical part the output transformers now are wide available quality and price at the measure of your budget . Now i am in a project for 50w, a single ended 805 triode
valve near the same 999 usd .

Regards

[Kent Smith]

It's more than just a "warmer" sound (which may not be true, depending....). Because of the inherent linearity of the tubes and the type of circuits, it's easier to get better clarity and dynamics, especially over transistor circuits that require alot of global negative feedback. I think the transformer coupling also lends a certain smoothness to the sound. It just sounds more natural, which is why I converted to tubes. Once, I even tried a single-ended MOSFET circuit with an output transformer just to see if it was as good as a tube..... Nope!

[awhite1159]

Thanks everyone. I am a DIY'er but only with building BLH for full range drivers.. The DIY approach to aquiring a tube amp sounds appealing. I do have some background with electron tubes but within the scope of RF for amateur radio. Whatever happened to good old Heathkit? I'll check the newbie thread to see if there is related information.

Andy.

[nhuwar]

Hi awhite1159 it sounds like you are half way there with a back ground in amatuer radio.

I also have a back ground in rf but I have to admit audio is a whole diffrent animal but deffinantly do able.

I'm glad you asked the question about those amp's because I have been eying them too.

Good luck
Nick

[Gerrit Boers]

Some questions and suggestions to help you make your choice:

Do you need an integrated amp (with preamp) or do you have a separate preamp?

How large is your room?
I have a pair of Fostex 208? in a Schmacks BLH. My room is about 7m x 4.5m x 2.5m, with 6.2W of output power I achieve 107 dB SPL at the listening position.

About the amp you mentioned:
The low distortion and high damping factor suggest that negative feedback is used. Looking at the chassis it seems that this amp uses an CRC powersupply filter (no room for chokes).

For DIY have a look here:
TubelabSE

If you do not need a preamp and your budget allows it, have a look at these:
Ladyday signature amp

For some info on loudness and power, have a look at the specs for my amp:
SiTuIT specifications

If you want to go 'all the way' look for a design with DHT's (directly heated triodes) and zero (or adjustable) feedback.

[gni]

Decware Zen Amp - Lifetime Warrenty!

[ThSpeakerDude88]

also www.dynakitparts.com , New exact reproductions of the famous dynaco amps.

[planet10]

Witith 7W from an EL34 that is going to be wired as single ended pentode. Means you'll have to go inside to tweak it (ie a switch to be able to run in triode (4W) and someway of adjusting or disabling the feedback),

An SE tube amp is a pretty straight forward diy.

One of the reasons a typical SE yube amp works so well with FR systems like yours is that the high output impedance. This has the amp looking more like a current device so that it puts out more power as the impedance rises -- on a FR giving the FR help where it needs it at the bottom & the top, With a damping factor of 52 this has way to low an output impedance to get this benefit (and means it has a serious amount of feedback -- something a SE tube amp is trying to avoid)

Reading between the lines, i'm guessing this is a tube amp designed for the guys looking for SS-like specs. I'd tend to stay away from it. There are LOTs of other choices pre-built, as kits, or as pre-built kits (like this one, inexpensive Chinese amps just screaming to be modded)

dave