Posted by Thermionic [ 66.233.143.127 ] on September 05, 2004 at 17:59:26:

In Reply to: Re: Poll - SE / PP posted by Frank Echols on September 05, 2004 at 15:06:48:

A hearty second to Frank Echols' opinion here. Though I love the weight, slam, and sparkle of a good PP ultralinear amp, for normal listening I still prefer the free spirited openness and musicality of a single ended amp.

I have a very nice PP EL84 ultralinear amp using one half of a black plate Raytheon 5687 as a driver, with the other half as a current source for the 6922 phase inverter. The circuit is a winner, very clean, open, and dynamic, and uses zero negative feedback. I built it with loving care and the best of everything, including some very fine vintage Chicago Stancor iron, and it sounds fantastic (to me anyway!). But, I still prefer my DRD 2A3 SE amp.

The EL84 PP amp (and to my ear, PP in general) has better bass slam and weight, very good high end transparency and clarity, and owns the definition of "high speed." While it is MILES away from sounding flat and uninteresting, it still doesn't have that living, breathing quality of a good, directly heated single ended triode. IMO, nothing does. :) I love the flavor of those 2A3s!

Thermionic

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