a bit premature but...

Posted by heyeugenio (A) on December 30, 2006 at 17:25:41

In Reply to: SET help needed posted by heyeugenio on December 22, 2006 at 19:04:54:

I wanted to thank all that replied to my post. For now, I am extremely happy with my mostly analog rig based around a Quicksilver line stage and an Anthem Amp 1 - el 34's.

I went back to my local SET guy and listened again at length, 2-3 hours, to the Melody and Triangle rig. This time I came armed with my fave tunes and my Ref 20's in tow ;)

I set up my trusty speaks with the 2a3 melody and sat back and waited...waiting to be disappointed etc. due to the lack of power for my little guys...I waited and waited. They sounded great! The amp was doing wonderfully with my med eff 89db/w ref 20's! It wasn't as extended on the top end like the triangles but I knew off the top that triangles can be considered "bright" with the wrong equipment.

Well the melody with my Ref 20's were not as open and airy - lacked the same type of top end "sparkle" that the triangles had but I attributed this to the amp as I know I've got great extension with the 20's in my rig. Talk about synergy...there's no match for synergy. You've got to match cables, source, amp, everything!

I was actually not as impressed once we swapped the triangles back in - I knew there was magic there but there wasn't that much of a difference between the floorstanding triangles and my ref 20's.

After listening to my tunes, I asked the owner to throw back in the FIM discs we had listened to last week - again, WOW...really WOW.

Then, one final swap, keep the same material and drop my ref 20's in...WOW much less of a difference yet again. The presence and imaging that I experienced with the triangles days before were still there with my speakers. I did note that the staging didn't get quite as wide as the triangles, only about 3-4ft outside of the speakers' placement but depth and presence was just as good. The triangles only bettered them by about 2ft max in terms of width of stage. Where I really liked the triangles was the airy extension, based on the tweeter I'm sure, that surrounded vocals, both male and female, with the Melody integrated.

I could see that the shop owner wasn't too happy that I had done the swapping because I had asked another patron of their opinion - they really liked my speakers and said that I should save my money.

Ok, twist my arm, I really want to spend more money on this crazy hobby don't I? Especially money that I don't have yet.

So, I folded, I spent some money, but I didn't by new equipment, instead I bought the FIM disc and other software we had listened to so that I could compare it at my home.

Guess what...sounds amazing! I know I don't have the same width of stage as the SET rig, and maybe if I were nuts I could lose some sleep over it but after playing some sweet music it all just becomes a distant memory.

I'm thankful for the experience I gained from you all - but also from the shop that allowed me to bring my trusty ref 20's in for a true a/b comparison. This is the 2nd time I've fallen back in love with my speakers from toting them along with me to a shop to a/b.

I know with more tweaking cables, tubes and such @ the shop I could duplicate the extra "air" and extension in treble and vocals that I heard with the triangles but I've already got that with my current rig.

I'd give the name of the shop to anyone in my area and heartily recommend them, if interested just pm/email me. The owner really is a good guy. I just knew that once I heard my speakers in the same system I wasn't going to spend a dime. I hope no hard feelings to you SET guys but I'm sure, with high eff speakers matched with the 2a3, 300b SE designs you can appreciate "synergy".

Right now, I've got it...I might as well use the $ I saved on more music.

Thanks again all and Happy and Safe holidays!

Angelo

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - SET help needed - heyeugenio 19:04:54 12/22/06 (16)

a bit premature but... - heyeugenio 17:25:41 12/30/06 (0)

Well, not what you asked - - Triodeuser 16:46:42 12/23/06 (7)

Re: Well, not what you asked - - heyeugenio 06:19:02 12/24/06 (6)

we each must follow our own path _grin_ - Triodeuser 07:28:03 12/24/06 (5)

Re: part of the human condition... - Matts_ 08:57:35 12/24/06 (4)

While I agree with some of what Triodeuser (that describes me, too) and Matts wrote, I found that ... - jeffreybehr 11:01:28 12/24/06 (3)

Re: that's a valid approach... - Matts_ 12:54:37 12/24/06 (2)

I gotta agree with a good bit of what you say - Triodeuser 18:40:44 12/24/06 (1)

I'll certainly agree that H-E horns (are there any other kind?) are indeed highly dynamic... - jeffreybehr 19:44:10 12/24/06 (0)

"...found myself in a puddle of drool". I LOVE it! How 'bout an 845-based SET? - jeffreybehr 10:06:28 12/23/06 (4)

Re: "...found myself in a puddle of drool". I LOVE it! How 'bout an 845-based SET? - heyeugenio 11:59:04 12/23/06 (3)

Don't know much about the 6C33C triode except that it's a DUAL triode... - jeffreybehr 14:38:44 12/23/06 (2)

Re: Don't know much about the 6C33C triode except that it's a DUAL triode... - heyeugenio 06:01:37 12/24/06 (1)

I posted earlier--above--more info on my 805 experience, but one thing I LOVED.... - jeffreybehr 11:20:15 12/24/06 (0)

Re: SET help needed - astrostar59 04:58:56 12/23/06 (0)

Stage 1 ... - Paul Joppa 19:53:08 12/22/06 (0)

Follow Ups

a bit premature but... - heyeugenio 17:25:41 12/30/06 (0)

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