Wally wrote:
Keith G wrote:


Any time you want to post a pic of the Air Scouts next to your other
gear, I'm up for looking at it... ;-)


Er, camera battery needs recharging....


That only takes a few hours - you should have something by this evening...



I'm not getting into this 'linearity' thing until I've heard a triode
amp (built, bought, borrowed or blagged) on my own setup.


I've no doubt that they're very linear while one is within the
largely-linear portion of the curve - my point was that keeping it clean
will restrict the power that it can put out.


The same is true for all amplifying devices, its just that most common
triodes are only capable of producing small (by SS standards) amounts of
power. Its quite possible to produce a 50 or 100w SET, just expensive.



I've been promised 'holographic' sounds blowing everything else into
the weeds. I already get/have got a superb 'soundstaging', imaging
and depth from a number of PP valve amps (far superior to any SS amp
I've ever heard, including Meridian and Krell amongst many others and
I gotta say I'm curious....


And I am too.


I will be interested to hear how Keith gets on with his project, I am
already convinced as to the benifit of SET's but that couls well be a
matter of collective insanity. I should also point out I have heard some
very average commercial amps of this type, so its not a case of anything
works as well, it still needs to be well done.


Me too - this 'linearity of triodes' for one thing, but the amp I'm
hoping to build has other features (direct coupled and posh/expensive
components) which are supposed to contribute to the sound quality.


Quality bits and a good circuit design must surely apply to any amplifier
type - it's the 'magic' of triodes that I'm curious about.



the problem IMHO is that the reason that the "magic" thing comes about
is when people hear some of them after hearing push pull amps, they
realise what the other amp is doing to the sound. A SET isn't without
faults, its got loads and loads, but its like the shock of hearing
electrostatics after conventional boxed speakers, and even worse getting
used to 'statics, and then going back to boxes. they all have
compromises, its just a different collection of compromises.


I'm talking about a 4 watt amp here, Wally......


Which has less power than the 20W amp I have at present. So far as I can
tell, the 20W sounds very good at low to medium volume, but not when I want
to crank it up. Years ago, I had a half-decent 40W SS amp, driving the same
speakers, and I got more clean volume than I do at present. As I may have
mentioned in a post a month or three ago, I feel that the speakers are the
next thing to address in terms of improving the sound - I'm not sure that a
super clean 4W amp would make a huge difference until that's done.



Maybe not, who can tell.

--
Nick