OTL amps with Wilson Watt/Puppy 6s

Chris, please keep us informed. I would love to hear your comments on this comparison. Thanks much.

I agree with you completely Will about sticking with the OTL sound once you have heard one with the right gear. I have never felt so strongly about any other amplifier I've owned or heard thus far as I feel about the ZH270. I'll bet the Joule's with the Merlins would be great indeed, I would like to hear that combo sometime.
I will report about our experiences in Chicago with the OTL's as soon as we return. It should be an audio day to remember, this is certain :)

Chris

I used to have 5.1's. Like I said, they dip to almost a short circuit in the critical midrange, and are VERY resistive in the bass. I've never understood why speaker designers do this kind of stuff. I played with OTLs before, but have moved on to low powered SETs and horns. I find DHT's to have much lower inherent distortion than any other amplification device ever made. Other designs get good measurements with negative feedback. Same goes for horns for speakers. I used to laugh at 'em, now I love 'em (with triodes).

Wow, great idea - using an autoformer to match impedance. I would guess that without these things, OTL's on the WATT Puppies would have a frequency response curve that looked horrible. Thanks for the post!

Through the generosity of Chris, I received a Berning ZH270 to audition in my system. I must say that my first impression was, "Damn it's small". Don't let the "small" matter fool you.

I read the manual and it is evident that the engineering of this amp is completely different from other OTLs. It is an all out effort to bring out the benefits of OTL design and overcome some of the shortcomings including heat and current limitations. There are three settings to adjust the feedback so one can tailor the sound to the system and taste. The late Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg gave the design a thumbs up and so do I. It is one of those special innovative products that take a back seat to the mainstream way of thinking. It also has the sonic attributes unique to OTL designs. Then there's the bass...it almost defies belief that a 10 lb amp can put out this degree of well defined natural bass with power. It never ran out of gas although I have efficient speakers with no impedance dips. I'm sure it would work very well with the Wilson's.

Bryans I would encourage you to add this amp to your audition list regardless of your budget.