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Single Ended or Ultra Linear the choice is yours!
Sound Quality
Most people would agree that the single ended design produces a better sound quality than any other design of valve amplifier. It is a simple clean design and you can hear this in the music. The output is beautifully clean and uncluttered, you will notice the sound is slightly more detailed than with an Ultra Linear design.
Having said this, the difference in sound quality is noticeable but not large. Our ultra linear amplifiers produce a fantastic sound and you will be amazed at the difference over your solid state amplifier.
Both amplifier designs produce a very wide sound stage and ultra clear natural sounding amplification.
The power output of most single ended valve amplifiers range from 8W to 12W per channel depending on the valves they are built around ... is this enough power?
I tend to set the amplifier at what I would call a natural sound level i.e. if you were in front of the performer at what volume would you be listening at. This is perhaps slightly false since most performers use amplification and will boost the volume much more beyond a normal natural level. But most of us listen to music at a comfortable level that is perhaps a little too loud for the neighbours but still comfortable to listen to for hours at a time.
Single ended amplifiers produce more than enough power for every day use, if they didn’t, nobody would use them!
Example
Amplifier: Separo SE88i valve amplifier
Amplifier output: 10W per channel
Speakers: 8 ohm, 90db speakers
Distance from speakers: 3m
Size of room: 4m x 4m
At a natural comfortable volume I would expect you to have the volume control somewhere between a third and half way.
If you particularly like a track and want to bump up the volume, then perhaps you would have this at three quarters maximum volume.
What the single ended valve amps lack is power beyond this or versitility.
For example
- if you like heavy rock music and like to crank up the volume so your windows rattle
- you have a large room or listen from a distance
- you want an amplifiers for parties where your room will be full of people (people absorb sound)
- you have speakers which are not so sensitive for example 86db>br>
- you want to drive more than one set of speakers at a time
If this is the case, I would recommend an ultra linear amplifier which will give you much more power in reserve.
What do you want to amplify? … Number of inputs required.
Our Ultra Linear amps have four inputs so for example you can connect, a cd player, a phono preamp and turntable, an ipod doc, a tuner all at the same time. Our Ultra Linear amps have two inputs.
So the choice or compromise is between a slight improvement in sound quality against a more versatile and powerful amplifier.
Whichever you chose we are sure you won’t be disappointed, the choice is yours.
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