As the title says, I'm looking for advice on which amp I should build. I'll try to provide as much info as I can, but please let me know if I've missed anything relevant.
The increased cost and complexity of the TSE aren't really concerns. I'm confident building either amp and don't mind the additional setup and tweaking required for the TSE. Essentially all I'm concerned about is how either would pair with my speakers. My speakers are Paul Carmody's Tarkus with a larger woofer cabinet that gets me flat response at my MLP down to 30hz.
See info about the speakers here: Tarkus - undefinition
This is my measured impedance curve: Imgur: The magic of the Internet
This will be my first tube speaker amp, so correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read it sounds like the impedance spikes down near the tuning frequency would pose some issues for any SE amp but the negative cathode feedback on the SSE might help.
I listen to a bit of everything and I specifically built the speakers to be no-compromises full range, so low end response is important to me. I sometimes listen loud but rarely above 90dB. Carmody claim's 85-86dB sensitivity, which I know is pretty low. But I think a 300b TSE would provide enough power. MLP is about 8 feet from the speakers.
What do you guys think? Are my goals unrealistic with a SE amp? Would the SSE with cathode feedback do better than the TSE? What about the SPP? Are my speakers just not a good fit for a tube amp?
Thanks for the help!
Sidenote: What impedance OPTs would you recommend for my speakers based on the impedance graph?
The increased cost and complexity of the TSE aren't really concerns. I'm confident building either amp and don't mind the additional setup and tweaking required for the TSE. Essentially all I'm concerned about is how either would pair with my speakers. My speakers are Paul Carmody's Tarkus with a larger woofer cabinet that gets me flat response at my MLP down to 30hz.
See info about the speakers here: Tarkus - undefinition
This is my measured impedance curve: Imgur: The magic of the Internet
This will be my first tube speaker amp, so correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read it sounds like the impedance spikes down near the tuning frequency would pose some issues for any SE amp but the negative cathode feedback on the SSE might help.
I listen to a bit of everything and I specifically built the speakers to be no-compromises full range, so low end response is important to me. I sometimes listen loud but rarely above 90dB. Carmody claim's 85-86dB sensitivity, which I know is pretty low. But I think a 300b TSE would provide enough power. MLP is about 8 feet from the speakers.
What do you guys think? Are my goals unrealistic with a SE amp? Would the SSE with cathode feedback do better than the TSE? What about the SPP? Are my speakers just not a good fit for a tube amp?
Thanks for the help!
Sidenote: What impedance OPTs would you recommend for my speakers based on the impedance graph?
Plenty of people have built both, but nobody cranks up the loud rock music?
Here are my experiences, and my preference of the three choices you mention. None of my speaker systems are close to your Tarkus system, but much of my music is. My biggest speaker setup is a pair of 15 inch coaxial open baffle drivers mounted in a pair of identical 80 year old console radio cabinets. Of the TSE, SSE, and SPP boards the only setup that can make the bass from DSOTM heard inside the house across the street is the SSE with KT88's in it running on nearly 450 volts through a 5K ohm OPT. My speakers however, are 96 dB efficient which makes the amp appear about 6 times more powerful than the same amp through 87 dB speakers. Those speakers are absolutely deadly when hooked up to a 125 WPC tube amp.....go outside and mow the lawn without hearing the mower kinda deadly.
If you really don't listen to more than 90 dB SPL, then the SSE will be the best choice.
Choose a 5K OPT that has an ultralinear tap, use the Cathode Feedback and crank up the bias current into the 80 mA or more range if your speakers benefit from the increased damping factor. The big Edcors might be a good choice.
The more "deadly" choice for loud rock involves a higher powered push pull amp that is a bit more work:
Tubelab Universal Driver Board, 2015 version
75 watt per channel triode mode tube amp prototype - YouTube
Here are my experiences, and my preference of the three choices you mention. None of my speaker systems are close to your Tarkus system, but much of my music is. My biggest speaker setup is a pair of 15 inch coaxial open baffle drivers mounted in a pair of identical 80 year old console radio cabinets. Of the TSE, SSE, and SPP boards the only setup that can make the bass from DSOTM heard inside the house across the street is the SSE with KT88's in it running on nearly 450 volts through a 5K ohm OPT. My speakers however, are 96 dB efficient which makes the amp appear about 6 times more powerful than the same amp through 87 dB speakers. Those speakers are absolutely deadly when hooked up to a 125 WPC tube amp.....go outside and mow the lawn without hearing the mower kinda deadly.
If you really don't listen to more than 90 dB SPL, then the SSE will be the best choice.
Choose a 5K OPT that has an ultralinear tap, use the Cathode Feedback and crank up the bias current into the 80 mA or more range if your speakers benefit from the increased damping factor. The big Edcors might be a good choice.
The more "deadly" choice for loud rock involves a higher powered push pull amp that is a bit more work:
Tubelab Universal Driver Board, 2015 version
75 watt per channel triode mode tube amp prototype - YouTube
When I wear my beer muffs and want to listen at rock concert level, a push pull with KT88s and Klipsch Cornwall speakers satisfies me.
The neighbors on one side take in their kid or go to the other side of their yard. The neighbors on the other side get revenge at a later time, blast their crappy music on holidays. I give them all a beer and hamburger.
The neighbors on one side take in their kid or go to the other side of their yard. The neighbors on the other side get revenge at a later time, blast their crappy music on holidays. I give them all a beer and hamburger.
Thanks all for the responses. While the high powered PP option is tempting, I've decided to go with a solid state build for my Tarkus. But a TSE for my office setup with a powered sub is definitely in my future. Especially since I likely won't be returning to the office anytime soon.