Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp...

Rebbi,
The more comments you post, the more evident it seems(at least to me) that you love what this 300b SET is doing. Your reference point is the formerly owned Manley el34 push pull. Based on your clearly written comments the SET is an obvious step above and has taken you to another sonic level. It seems the vast majority of your music is presented beautifully. A small niche of music causes a problem.

The Manley is a very good push pull el34,is the AN Kit el34 going to be that much above the Manley? It's possible. I just strongly suspect that your 300b is the more musically satisfying and "special" amplifier. Anyway I look forward to reading part two of your listening sessions. I believe the SET has made the all important communication, emotion/involvement/soul reaching level that your Manley couldn't give you(otherwise you wouldn't have notice such a difference between them).
Rebbi I base this conclusion solely on what you've written. Am I wrong?
Best Regards,
Charles,

Rebbi, for the sake of De Capo owners in the future looking to experiment with SET it may be beneficial to explain why this thread took the turn it has. Earlier in the thread you commented that the power issue had "been put to bed".

As a fellow De Capo owner I can relate to what you are going through now. I had a similar experience pairing the DC's with SET. Ultimately I decided it was the DC's that I couldn't part with and found a PP that has made me very happy. Best of luck in the next chapter.

P.S. Take a look at Omega, particulary the Super Alnico Monitor. Affordable and they offer a 30 day return if not happy.

Rebbi,
There is a reason why Enjoy the Music, Stereomojo, Tim Smith, 6 Moons and his Wall of Sound review have given the Tektons (various models) high praise and Awards. Scott Hull in Part-Time as well, amongst many others. Those synth bass tracks would not be clipping with the Tektons, they would sound glorious; the mids and highs too.

There was a few years back an extremely long thread about the Tekton Lore, with many different A-gon members singing Tekton praises with over 10-14 pages of mostly positive comments. That is where these speakers came to my attention and I decided to take a flyer on them. So, now I own 3 models, the 4.5 monitors, M-Lore and Lore. They are very good, well balanced and would likely sound great with the An Kit-1 IMHO. You must read the various reviews and comments on these speakers, they reflect the truth(s) about these speakers. The Awards and positive comments are not hyperbole, or due to large ad budgets, but word-of-mouth praise by the knowledgeable audiophile.

The above mentioned reviewers have listened to the best equipment out there. They have given the Tektons high praise. I hate saying it this way, but so have I. I've been fortunate to have owned or listened extensively to some great speakers, starting with my parents big Tannoy, KLH9s, Bozaks, JBLs. Since college, Dynaco A25, Advents, more KLH, Yamaha, Heil, Walsh, Spendor, Magnepans, Quad 57s, Rogers LS3/5, Kef 104, C30 and C40, I believe, Vandersteen 1Bs, 2CE, Sound Dynamics 300ti, Infinity, Harbeth, Fried, too many to list. My point, the Tektons with 93-98 db efficiency, easy 8ohm impedance, great bass down to 34hz with the Lore, lower with some other models, low relative cost, is an astoundingly great gift to the audiophile, especially those with a moderate budget or low-power SET amps.

mik have you heard each Teuton model with a low power set? Some Teutons extend lower than others I read. I have no doubt those that extend only to 50hz or so would have much problem but I am less certain about those that extend into the 30 hz range. A lot more power is needed for those lower frequencies than down to only 50 or so. Efficiency ratings might not reflect the lowest frequencies as Reb suspects is the case with the decapos. Just wondering. I would be concerned myself going in with any low power amp and moderate efficiency speakers that are not big but extended

Mikirob,
I know you and your wife have extensive musician backgrounds. How is the tonality/timbre of acoustic instruments? Does the Tekton sound natural?
Thanks,
Charles,