Building the Audio Note Kit 1 SET amp...

Yes, Charles, thanks, I believe the amp does have lots of potential. Better 300B's and an upgraded power cord are possibilities. Then there are also the Audio Note Copper Foil caps that could easily be swapped in for the Mudorf Gold/Silver/Oil caps I now have.
Brian said that the Audio Note C-Core output trannies are amazing, but you really need to live with the stock trannies (which are custom designed and build for ANK and of which he is clearly very proud) for awhile in order to appreciate what the C-Cores are about. They are also jaw-droppingly expensive, but I think he buys those directly from Audio Note UK and doesn't have much wiggle room on pricing.
Charles, you are so right about the qualities of a good SET amp. I was listening tonight to HD Tracks downloads of "Paul Simon Live In New York City" and was just transported by the sense of "almost attending the concert." It's wonderful.

Rebbi,

Thanks for all the time and energy you shared with all of us. It was a wonderful ride with a very happy ending.

Rebbi,
So happy that all is finally settled and your problems with the amp are over. Now it's time to enjoy!

Charles,
Now is as good a time as any to update you on my experience with the Black Treasure 300b tubes that I bought a few weeks ago.Yes, they are breaking in and changing a lot, and I am much happier than I was in the beginning. It is apparent that this amp can sound very different depending on the tubes which are used.
What threw me off at first was the entirely different presentation of the Black Treasures. They are more forward, while at the same time having more solidly defined and powerful bass. When I say forward, I should be clear that the stock Shuguang 300b tubes were recessed somewhat in the midrange, but made up for that with a crystalline clarity.
The Black Treasures are not too forward, just overall more linear from top to bottom. They sounded flat and lacking depth and dimension, and that is surely changing now. Timbres, microdynamics and the general flow have all improved, and I am not near 300 hours yet.
These tubes are more "modern" in sound in that they are somewhat "drier" than the somewhat more liquid and romantic stock tubes. The payoff is that there is more body on the bottom end of saxophones, and pianos are more precisely portrayed, with faster stops and starts, and without the slight "ringing" I was hearing with the stock tubes.
Overall, I am really beginning to enjoy these tubes, and like some others on this thread, I have certainly come to respect the emotional as well as the intellectual insights that SET amplification can bring to reproduced music.
One more comment about the stock 300b tubes...I still like them. Even when I had nothing to compare them to, I could recognize their deficiencies, as I will with the Black Treasures when they are fully burned in; but like a friend or lover who is imperfect or quirky, there is still a personality in those tubes which offers a lot to love, and is very communicative.
I am glad that you, like myself Rebbi, had such a positive experience with Pete. He indeed does beautiful work, and I could not have done the same for myself, so the modest extra charge was money well spent.
Again, I can't make any comparative comments about the C- core transformers, but my amp sounds great. How much of that is down to the transformers I don't know.
Time for you to have fun now,
Thanks for the narrative, All the Best, John

Hello John,
I felt comfortable recommending the Black Treasure (BT) given my success with them a few years ago. For their current cost they are an exceptionally good value. I'm pleased to learn they're coming around for you(they'll continue to improve progressively). Each 300b tube has its own sound character as you're discovering. Your amp seems similar to mine in that the "modern" type 300b tubes sound better(IMO) than the "romantic" softer traditional type 300b. I find the modern 300b is more natural, linear and realistic without the romantic coloration effect.

The really good SET amplifiers don't need the gratuitous warmth/coloration because these amps innately provide a pure and natural sound to begin with. they will pass along the full true tone, timbres and harmonics without artificial assistance. Well anyway that's been my personal experience with my particular amplifier.
Charles,

Thank you Rebbi for sharing your experience with us. In all the threads over the years on this forum this one and the SET thread have really opened my eyes concerning my prejudices of SET amplifiers. What both threads have singularly done is recognize the fact that there is a wide variation in these designs and when matched with the proper speaker these amplifiers are capable of realizing a musical experience of the highest order, which to me is a real emotional connection to the music. The AN seems like a superb value an a great place to start given the support you've received from them and the seeming quality of the Kit. I'm still not totally convinced that the AN or any 8 watt DHT amplifier is going to be an ideal match with the Decapo speakers but this isn't the point really is it? It is the journey of discovery and new realizations. Most importantly that one doesn't have to spend tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to put together a music system of the highest order. I recently had an SET experience of my own that put to place many of my earlier prejudices which is to say when done right, carefully chosen, SETs can offer an experience that is really magical. I would also say SET amplifiers CAN do bass and CAN reproduce orchestral music at a very satisfying level. Thanks again!