Vote

single ended tetrode, GTA-SE40

A simpler amplifer that just sounds and looks better period

Single-ended amps give back some of what CD players have taken away from the music.

Sound great!

Because it reproduces the sonic that is not 'over board'(not too sweet, not too pleasing!) as does the tube.

I currently listen through a pentode-mode 5881-equipped 100W amplifier that drives real-world speakers at realistic sound levels with great wodges of dynamics and detail. SE tube amplifiers may offer more purity and insight into the music, but the requirement for speakers with rather special attributes in the sensitivity department limits choice and demands the acceptance of interesting colorations (in my limited experience with friends' systems). Since converting to tubes, I enjoy music through my system more, and even CDs sound good. By the way, the amplifier currently in use is a Marshall 9200 dual-monoblock guitar amp (sub-$1k US).

Single-ended triode . . . finest midrange, period. And that's where the music's at!

I chose "Other" because I think the 7591As in my '63 Fisher 500B are pentodes. My girlfriend in college gave this amp to me because she didn't know what it was. I was immediately impressed when I hooked it up and turned it on---not only by the glorious, wonderful sound that came out of my cheap Infinity speakers, but by the mere fact that the 30-year-old amp worked at all after sitting in the trunk of a Civic for three years. It's now five years later, I have a real career, and an eye on that shiny Sonic Frontiers rig at the local hi-fi shop . . . That's right, folks, a 25-year-old Generation Xer who's not only into high-end, but tubes and vinyl as well.

Got close to the best of both worlds with a Pass Aleph 5.

I have always had solid-state because of the price per watt ratio and the unavailability of efficient speakers. But now that I am older, I am going with tubes but not single ended. The low watt, low current restrictions of single-ended triodes can handle the high dynamics of the music I listen to.

Convenience, longevity and fidelity now very clsoe to tubes makes SS the only choice for me. I get tired of trying to decide if it's time to change tubes and will the new Sovtek be better, etc. Tubes aregreat for tweakers who are never satisfied but enjoy the journey. I too love their sound but they are just not for me. Also, few tubes do bass right. Those that do cost a fortune.

With synergistic equipment single-ended triode is a hard combination to beat. My wife is now in this camp. She loves it. I love it. Female and male vocalists are there; harmonic rightness; liquid; musical; natural warmth; and they will do Hendrix and large scale orchestra with the right ancillaries.

I've been a tube enthusiast all my life, but I think that right now we can have the "glamour" of tube sound combined with sheer power of transistors on the best solid-state designs.

Tubes are like Vinyl. . Once you allow yourself to overcome the stigma of being ruled a "Non-Conformist" by the mass marketed masses, You'll understand why tubes and vinyl have both endured the attempts to kill them off by the manufacturers and their marketing cronnies! Viva La Tubes!

SE trioders has not enough power for most speakers in the market. Push-puller are the best solution.

single ended measures and sounds colored and does not have a flat response. clipping characteristics are inferior also. they don't pass ftc rules for thd and freq resp.