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Re: Complex music v. ? on ? and ?

Equipment used? Where to start... I've been playing with tubes for almost 35 years, commercial amps, modifications of commercial amps and my own (and friend’s) new designs. From flea power 12B4 SETs and 7119 PP triode amps through a monster 833 PP ESL direct-driver. In between, 845 and 211 SETs, 845 PP, 300B SET, 300B PP, a smattering of 2A3 and 45 SET auditions. My KT88/6550 designs in both UL and Class A PP. As a former high-end sales person, I got to audition all kinds of wild and crazy commercial offerings. My first vivid SET memory comes from the grand Uesugi 211 SET of the seventies, which I still recall as an amazing experience. My overall observations have been built on years of listening, not just on yesterday’s amp in residence. Some people might say “if you haven’t tried a hand-blown, cryogenically treated 45 with the Z shaped getter and coupling caps made of ancient papyrus and organic flax oil, then you haven’t heard what SETs can REALLY do”. This line of BS can be taken by any side of any audio debate. After a lot of critical listening to a variety of amps, speakers and music, you start to develop certain consistent observations (biases?). Speakers? Klipschorns, high sensitivity Fultons with ESL tweeters, Quads of both kinds, LS3/5As, my own DIY ESLs, a touch of just about everything that’s come down the pike; but I do not have much experience with full range Lowther/Fostex/whatever types, although I have heard those more casually in stores and trade shows.

You said “SET creates a music that is the utmost clarity, tonality and living, breathing quality”.

I’d have to agree with that, especially with simple musical arrangements. But I think that when you put on Wagner, or the Mahavishnu Orchestra in full tilt, or the rich layering of a latter-day Bryan Ferry studio tune, or a dense percussion ensemble, there can be a congestion/confusion/intermixing that occurs more in SETs than in decent class A triode PP amps (yes, even at lower listening levels). Individual instruments can get befuddled and less distinct. A sense of harshness, in one sense of that word, albeit different from the glaring ice of some lesser amps, but still there. I find that effect pretty annoying. To me it’s a bit reminiscent of inner grove distortion in analog. So, again, I do respect, even love, SETs, especially on simpler music. My point was not to say that PP is absolutely better than SET, or vice versa; I was just recounting my experiences with complex music versus simple music and how these musical choices sound to me with various tube configurations - for the purpose of further discussions of distortion mechanisms, the point of this post :)

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