In addition to getting all of your wonderful advice, I’m trying to educate myself on which might suit me best - a SET or Push-Pull - and stumbled across this article... http://www.x3mhc.no/dokumenter/SE-v-PP-Part1.pdf .
Now, while 95% of it went completely over my head as I'm still a newbie, i cut to the chase (the bottom of the article)...
ADVANTAGES OF SE OPERATION
- Less signal deterioration because of fewer signal path components
- Better detail and coherency, especially at low volumes
- More open and airy sound
ADVANTAGES OF PP OPERATION
- More power
- (Usually) more authoritative and powerful sounding
- Better bass performance
- Fewer speaker compatibility issues
- Lower distortion
Does anyone have any more advice for me for my first tube amp with the speakers I’ll be using (fostex 208ez / sigma).
Thanks.
Now, while 95% of it went completely over my head as I'm still a newbie, i cut to the chase (the bottom of the article)...
ADVANTAGES OF SE OPERATION
- Less signal deterioration because of fewer signal path components
- Better detail and coherency, especially at low volumes
- More open and airy sound
ADVANTAGES OF PP OPERATION
- More power
- (Usually) more authoritative and powerful sounding
- Better bass performance
- Fewer speaker compatibility issues
- Lower distortion
Does anyone have any more advice for me for my first tube amp with the speakers I’ll be using (fostex 208ez / sigma).
Thanks.
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This should hold true also for digital audio. Shannon and Nyquist would not approve...also Fourier!
Advice? Sure.....
All that talk about "single ended" and its "purity" belongs in the toilet and flushed. I say that because despite what critics insist, those lousy 2, or 5 watt SE tube amps are not "hifi", and the ones sold by those "purist" websites with the "high end" price tags are nothing but a joke. You're left with a limited hunk of metal decorating your room and a nice dent in your bank account.
In a well designed "push pull" amp, the amount of power and dynamics when needed is there, not limiting you in speaker choices later on, and the ability to enjoy more than just suble "chamber music". The amp controls the speaker, as it should.
I don't like to be limited, hindered, or unsatisfied.
My EL84 PP amp wasn't an expensive investment, and as a DIY design with some feature enhancements, it holds its own quite admirably against my much higher wattage solid state equipment. I've got a set of floor-standing air-suspension speakers that I consider "power-hungry", yet they can be driven cleanly to "next door neighbor banging on the wall" levels if I choose to.
Of course, the choice is yours, opinions over the internet are plenty, but I can sit here and chuckle at some of them, knowing what I know from decades of home entertainment sales and service.
I agree for the most part, but a wel designed single ended amp can be something very special. Just to find one commercially is extreamly difficult, as the most 300b amps out there are junk. Just they want to take part of the hype. But a single ended EL519 amp screen driven as it should could change your mind about single ended amps. Just try it one time! It is fun to build one! Most single ended lack the drive because the power tube is not driven “hard” enough.
Wayne where are you in the UK? You may find that someone close is willing to let you listen to their tube gear. Possibly even try your speakers. The Fostex should match up well with a tube amp. I had a variery of tube amps over the last 15 years starting with WAD 6550 PP UL then WAD 300B SE. I now have an 845 SE. Each amp topology sounds different and needs careful matching to your other components. Listening before you dive in is invaluable. I can recommend rhe WAD kits/amps to start - they are good value. You can always do better but that's true of all HiFi.
There is an article somewhere on the internet that says "I haven't met an 2A3 amp I did not like" The EL84 I find to be in that category as well (ofcourse there are exceptions). There is just something about that tube. And they are generally more affordable than 2a3 amps.
So my advice would be almost verbatim what scobham commentend above. Find somewhere where YOU can listen to the amps on someone who also has a SINGLE DRIVER speaker similar to yours.
Blanket statements about SE or PP....or about the power of amps without the context of a listening space and the speakers used.... I truly find to be the dumbest ever.
I have a homebuilt EL84 SE and also one Chinese FU32 SE and a Boyyu A9 EL34 SE amplifier. I use them with a Lowther DX2 horn without a tweeter. I think the cheapest way to get into tube audio is to order one amp from China, there are plenty below 200 GPB including shipping. I would say with a little tuning, there is 95 % of magic in these. To get the last 5 percent means a lot of money especially for the transformers.
The second cheapest way is to get a second hand amp, could be also made at home by the seller.
Actually, I wonder if the "magic" is tubes or single ended, since I have never really listened to a SE transistor amp.
The second cheapest way is to get a second hand amp, could be also made at home by the seller.
Actually, I wonder if the "magic" is tubes or single ended, since I have never really listened to a SE transistor amp.
I agree!
Most people have no experience with these things, and spout all sorts of tales. And I've heard all the arguments pro and con by now. Having been a long-time middle-aged service technician, as well as in sales, and had the ability to inspect and audition audio components through the decades, I've determined what real High Fidelity is all about, and what is pure hype.
Well, it's DIYaudio here, not Off the Shelf audio
Best regards!
Maybe you missed the
bit?
Why have you descided on Fostex 208? I have heard these in several builds including THE factory recommended back loaded horns and I was not impressed at all. A pair of vintage speakers from the 50s or 60s could rival them easily on a 5W amplifier. For a 20cm speaker they lacked low end extention and the mids were rather harsh. Top end was sqeeking without zobel network. Just my observation, others may think otherwise.
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Because i heard the opposite about the Fostex.
Do you have anything helpful to contribute to this thread?
Let me remind you of how I started this thread...
“...was wondering if anyone can recommend my first valve / tube amp to use with them?
I am so intrigued by these amps and want my first experience to be a really good one, but without making me bankrupt! I don't want to explain how little I have to spend on one, but rather just welcome your suggestions, please.”
“...was wondering if anyone can recommend my first valve / tube amp to use with them?
I am so intrigued by these amps and want my first experience to be a really good one, but without making me bankrupt! I don't want to explain how little I have to spend on one, but rather just welcome your suggestions, please.”
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