Talon Loudspeakers

You are kidding yourself if you think that a 2A3 can power the Talon's effectively. Yes you will get sound from them, but you will not discover what the true SET sound is all about. The Talons are not efficient enough. Most dynamic speakers are not. Add in a big ole guitar woofer, inefficient X-over and you will kill the SET sound. You need horns to make a SET sound good. A 845 based SET might be a good match as they provide 20 - 40 watts and can handle a wider impedance load. You are better off looking for a better speaker to use with a SET amp. Actually a better speaker, period. Fred

Fred: Respectfully you have no idea what you are talking about! I'm doing it and the sound is remarkable in my room. I prefer it to their sound even on 400W Rowland Stero Amp that Tierry uses. Granted I am limited to 95 or 96db but the combo on the Talon's is absoulutely magical. I suggest you compare the impedance swing of Talon Khorus' to most other audiophile speakers. It's pretty Damn stable. So no I don't need an amp capable of handling a wide impedance swing. I have some quite hardened audiophile friends who have dropped their jaw and messed their pants bassed on the quality of sound I'm getting. (Emphasie on the bassed). Yes the bass is more correct to me in terms of speed harmonic and air then big solid state. Chew on that for a minute and dump the genralizations about what will and what won't work. Fred I suggest you head to bottlehead and look at Doc B's Straight 8's a non-horn design that is killer with SET's. I don't know what your game is Fred, but I know what I hear. Don't you get tired of being so negative. James W.

Sorry, but I have had over 35 years of experience with audio gear, mostly SET amps. I know from experience that dynamic speakers do not work well with SET amps. I also can tell by your extreme bias towards the talons that you will not listen to fact or reason. Take a trip over to the SET forum at the Audioasylum. Tell them what you are doing with your SET amps and they will laugh you out of there. Like I said earlier, you will get sound but not the magic SETs can produce. Even your beloved talons can't break the laws of physics. I don't expect you to understand. You seem to quote the specs from the brochoure as if they were facts. 17Hz to 25Khz indeed! I bet the impedance curve and rated sensitivity are also bogus. Fred

he fred, if james & his buddies tink he's getting good sound w/set's on his talons, so be it. it's prolly wery nice. i tink, unless yuve heard *his* set-up, ewe can't make a judgment that it's not working. *everyone* knows the generalized limitations of set amps & dynamic-driver-speakers. i mean it's not like he's saying he goes skydiving every weekend w/o a parachute, & enjoys it! regards, doug

Sedond: (just in case your reading Fred I'll throw a few more thoughts your way in the third person!) A voice of reason! Thank you. How does Fred know the specs are bogus? Has Fred heard The bottlehead Paraglows? Has he really heard the Talons? Granted he may have 35 years of experience,but not with my setup. And it's not like I am some boob who fell of the turnip truck just yesterday. I have owned a ridiculous amount of stuff in the 30 some years I have played with audio. Basically from early teenager to adult. Yes SET's are new to me. I have been playing with them for just over a year now. But I can assure you that the bottlehead stuff is not typical SET and does in fact work remarkably well with the Talon's I wonder if Fred really even reads or thinks before he reacts. Reminds when my dad said you know son I used to walk 30 miles to school in the snow and you kids want your own car to drive. He is so biased based on his experience that he is not open to the possibility of anything but his own experience. Okay so I'm deluded and off my nut. But the truth of the matter is that I have not up to this point heard a system that I prefer to my own. Happy Listening, James W.