Who makes a headphone SET amp?

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on August 31, 2016 at 21:52:24
Donald North Manufacturer Posts: 1296 Joined: February 8, 2001	Eddie Current and Apex Audio come to mind.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 05:52:59
aarocks Audiophile Posts: 812 Joined: January 26, 2008	I always have trouble figuring out what is a real SET and what isn't. Is the Pinnacle the only SET made by Apex and is the Studio the only SET made by Eddie Current?

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 08:46:18
Palustris Audiophile Posts: 2408 Location: Cape Cod Joined: September 12, 2008	A SET is a Single Ended Triode. If there is no triode then it is NOT a SET. The Consonance CYBER-20, for instance is not a SET. It is a SEP since it is a Single Ended Pentode. "Cyber-20 is the first high-end vacuum tube headphone amplifier produced by Opera Audio. It uses two EL84 connected in triode mode single end operation"

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 09:02:12
aarocks Audiophile Posts: 812 Joined: January 26, 2008	It seems like a lot of amp descriptions will mention "single-ended" or "triode" but not necessarily "SET" or "single-ended triode". Is there a way to tell when researching them? Is the Cyber-30 an SET?

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:03:13

Palustris
Audiophile

Posts: 2408
Location: Cape Cod
Joined: September 12, 2008

>It seems like a lot of amp descriptions will mention "single-ended" or "triode" but not necessarily "SET" or "single-ended triode".

Yes, marketing documents are intended to confuse the consumer by using audio buzz words.

>Is there a way to tell when researching them?

Yes, look at the tubes in the device. Is the output tube a triode? If YES then it is a SET. If NO then NOT a SET.

Don't know if the tube is a triode or pentode? Look it up at the link below.

>Is the Cyber-30 an SET?

The Consonance CYBER-20, for instance, is not a SET. It is a SEP since it is a Single Ended Pentode. Check the EL84 data sheet at the link below.

electron Tube Data sheets

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:11:39
aarocks Audiophile Posts: 812 Joined: January 26, 2008	Got it. So if the output tubes are triodes then it's an SET. The Cyber 30 is said to use 2a3 output tubes which I believe are a triode tube so that's all we need to know to determine that it's an SET? http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/cyber30.htm

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:42:15

Paul Joppa
Industry Professional

Posts: 7296
Location: Seattle, WA
Joined: April 23, 2001

There is some confusion of nomenclature because pentodes (and beam tetrodes) can be wired as triodes and will behave as such. There is no universal agreement on whether such amps are called SETs or SEPs.

Single-ended is in contrast to push-pull; almost all amps are either one or the other.

Triodes (and triode-wired pentodes) have a low output impedance and thus do not need negative feedback. Most but not all SETs are zero-feedback. Some triodes are directly-heated, and some are indirectly heated. This aspect is also not clear; sometimes the term SEDHT is used, but again not universally.

I am part of the Bottlehead team, so I can't volunteer information on specific products here, but I think it's OK for me to say we do offer SET headphone amps.

Many on the market; few worth owning, posted on September 1, 2016 at 10:55:51

Triode_Kingdom
Audiophile

Posts: 10048
Location: Central Texas
Joined: September 24, 2006

I'd be more concerned about output coupling than whether the last active stage is a triode or pentode. The best headphone amps use output transformers. Next are OTL, then capacitor-coupled. Transformer-based amps are harder to find than the others, and they cost more because high quality transformers are expensive. They take best advantage of the tubes, however, because they can couple the impedance of the load more accurately.

Eliminating capacitor-coupled amps from the wishlist probably removes more than half the amps on the market. Nevertheless, I personally won't run audio through the huge capacitors necessary to couple bass frequencies at typical headphone impedances. If one is going to do that, it's likely that the potential benefits of triode output won't even be audible.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 11:42:23

fred76
Audiophile

Posts: 1586
Location: Manila
Joined: February 28, 2004

Hi,

Others you might want to check out are headamps from Sonnare with Russian 4p1L outputs (directly heated pentode wired as triode), another is the Kenzie loosely based on the 'Darling' amp popularized by Bob Danielak decades ago. These use 1626 triodes (indirectly heated)... Both are sub $2k I think, there are others but most likely more pricey.. You'd just have to read up about triode wired pentodes (directly heated or not), single ended pentode w/ UL tap, what is "directly heated", true directly heated triodes, etc, etc..

Regards..

Bottlehead, posted on September 1, 2016 at 16:37:17
aarocks Audiophile Posts: 812 Joined: January 26, 2008	Which of the Bottlehead amps are SET? Do you guys sell them assembled?

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 1, 2016 at 18:45:44

RGA
Reviewer

Posts: 15177
Location: Hong Kong
Joined: August 8, 2001

They get around calling stuff a SET because the T can stand for topology - Single Ended Topology - The Sugden A21a can therefore be called a SET and the various EL84 output tubes. The SE bit is the important bit IMO.

But that's up to you. Line Magnetic makes a nice headphone amp in the 218 mini which is also a 3 watt per channel integrated - And it actually sounds quite good too provided you have high efficient speakers. Drove Zu Audio quite well and at low volumes managed to make ATC sing as well. So not bad as a back-up amp for the main system or power HE speakers in the bedroom. https://pitchperfectaudio.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/abcdefghijk-lm-n-oh-yeah/

as does Antique Sound Lab with their MG Head amps http://www.divertech.com/aslmgheaddt.html

RE: Bottlehead, posted on September 1, 2016 at 22:13:10
Triode_Kingdom Audiophile Posts: 10048 Location: Central Texas Joined: September 24, 2006	Paul can't discuss this here. He's affiliated with the vendor. Why don't you go to the Bottlehead site and review their products?

As a last resort, posted on September 2, 2016 at 01:22:14
Frihed89 Audiophile Posts: 15703 Location: Copenhagen Joined: March 21, 2005	Usually, there is a picture of the amp and/or the type of power tube is specified. If you don't know whether it is a triode or not, find a data sheet for the tube and that will tell you. The most common non-dht, non-idht tubes used are members of the KT88, EL34, 6L6, 6V6 families, i think.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 2, 2016 at 10:26:46
Larry I Audiophile Posts: 2229 Location: No. Va. Joined: June 28, 2000	One of the better setups I heard utilized a Viva headphone amp. I believe it is a SET amp (845 output tube), and I believe it utilizes a hefty output transformer. The downside is that the amp is NOT cheap.

Here's a long list with information, posted on September 6, 2016 at 12:21:53

Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005

on many tube headphone amps. Many are not SE or SET.

Also consider SE OTL amps.

http://hoved-fi.dk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3753&sid=3db6e7a0393

Inspire, posted on September 8, 2016 at 11:58:09
JamesV Audiophile Posts: 195 Location: So. California Joined: August 28, 2004	by Dennis Had.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 8, 2016 at 12:20:00
Bill Way Audiophile Posts: 1884 Location: Toms River NJ Joined: May 28, 2012 Contributor Since: December 14, 2012	I can volunteer: the Crack/Speedball amp on Senn HD800s is wondrous. WW "Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on September 17, 2016 at 11:47:35

horn kid
Audiophile

Posts: 128
Joined: November 2, 2014

If you have an SET for speakers, just make a voltage divider to attenuate. With 2 series resistors and 2 parallel resistors you can let the amp see the impedance it likes and let headphones look back to the impedance they like, and get the exact volume range you want on your preamp. And, if it's a high quality SET, you'll get better sound than any headphone amp I have heard. Just a few dollars outlay for resistors.

This way, you have a vast array of SETs to choose from, or you may already have the perfect SET for this use.

RE: Who makes a headphone SET amp?, posted on December 24, 2016 at 18:12:47
PMEL324X0 Audiophile Posts: 124 Location: Tacoma Joined: January 6, 2008	Decware makes 2!!!

SET Asylum

Who makes a headphone SET amp?

166.170.14.62