"Keith G" wrote in message
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"Iain Churches" wrote in message
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G'd evening Keith!

I have just come back from a pleasant few hours fettling in my den of
excellence. A CCS cathode follower is bubbling nicely on the front
burner:-)

It seems that people find SET pleasing in a musical way.

Yes, this is fundamental. A better, more *pleasing* sound is what it's all
about AFAIAC....

Yes. My pal Peter Lewis used to call it the M (musicality) factor.
Peter was a design engineer at Leevers Rich, in the UK. He was a "real"
(not just an NG armchair) engineer, in that he was constantly building
and trying out something. He made a very good living even after retirement
building bespoke valve amps for discerning clients. He could offer the
features and attention to detail which no larger maker can offer.

It needs to be clearly stated that not everyone will like the SET/Horn
combination - I do, but then then I'm not overly endowed with the
*technical knowledge* that makes this 'difficult' for some people...!!
;-)

Hmm. Once the technical performance has been assessed,
and we know what the amp can (or cannot) do, why not sit back and
enjoy what it has to offer?

If valve amps are simply too expensive for impoverished/curious types,
they will never join the growing legions of 'thermionophiles'. I'm fairly
sure, that once they have got their feet wet, they will be curious about
'better amps' and, now that valves are almost parallel with SS stuff on
prices, a clear upgrade path becomes visible presenting some interesting
options.

Yes. Interesting point. My dealer pal tells me that he can offer an
entry level valve amp for about the same money as a mid price SS system.
From then on, the only way is up :-)

(Not so in the 'Podes, though - poor old Pat "Lend Us A Shag 'Til I Get
Paid" Turner is stoked. Over there they are buying dirt girt Chinese valve
amps with big squidgy feet for the sole purpose of flattening out out
their warped vinyl, I gather!! ;-)

Patrick is very smart. He keeps his outfit small, and offers a very good
build and repair service. He has an enviable reputation, and customers
recommend him to others, and keep coming back. His amplifiers are
excellent examples of "tube-craft". He is a very nice guy too, and always
ready with help and advice when asked.

Either way, valve amp builders will have to do more to convince the buying
public that they are offering superior quality now that they are up
against stiff competition - it's possibly harsh and will probably weed out
out a few of the weaker players, but it's for the good of all,
ultimately!!

Yes agreed. The problem is one of volume. I am told that there are
ten different brands of Chinese/Taiwanese/Thai amps all almost identical
and built in the same factory. Isn't that what British Leyland used to call
"badge engineering" in the sixties, with Austrin, Morris, Wolsely, Riley
etc etc??

The Chinese buy their transformers by the ship-load. An order of
20 pcs for a European winder, is cause for celebration. So costs are
many times higher.


Warranties from Chinese dealers (eBay) are *worthless* - when my volume
pot went tits up the dealer (Edmund Lam, aka 'Zagger1' on Fleabay)
promised a replacement - it never arrived. When I pointed this out to him
after some weeks, he promised to put another in the post - guess
what....??

This is leading to an interesting new development. There is a Swedish amp
builder I know who now offers a five year unconditional warranty, extendable
to ten years for his valve amps (90 days for valves) This is an expression
of confidence in the quality of his product.

There was a whole generation that missed out on thermionic audio.

I almost did. Obviously, radios and record players (stereograms) were
valves when I wuz a kid, but I wasn't taking much notice. Maybe I have/had
deep-seated/ingrained memories of the sound quality and was trying
unsuccessfully to find it with SS gear??

Could be:-) My father was the proud owner of a mono set up in the
fifties, Leak TL12. We used to listen to Schubert. Then I used to sneak
upstairs and play Elvis Presley "All Shook Up" on the Dansette (or
whatever the thing was called)

Nothin' like a bit of culture on a Sunday:-)

Iain