

What I did hear was a sampling of the best out there in single-ended (and some push-pull) triode designs, along with a couple of OTL jobs. I had hoped to see/hear the Cary/Audio Electronics SE-1 300B amp kit (or better yet, its Signature version), but never did. It all started when I attended the Philadelphia Triode Exposition a few months ago. Well, I had to do a core dump on this piece sooner or later.

This is a 5-star amp stock, and even better with some easy changes, so it gets another 5 stars.īe a Tissue and Organ Donor and Tell Your Parents to Make It Happen. While I find Robert Harley laughable at times, his review in Stereophile was fair and justifiably praiseworthy.Ĭertainly it is far more than a simple drumming surface for an idle mind and unemployed fingers. Another area of possile improvement is the power supply, which seems to use common diodes that are unbypassed.Įven with all of this, as stock, the OTO SE is nothing to sneeze at, especially when considering the alternatives out there in manufactured single-ended integrated amps with respect to price. It will expose your source for what it is, as will all good amplification equipment.įurthermore, the Signature version, which I do not have, has Blackgates in the cathode bypass position and Elna Cerafines in the power supply filtering positions. That's the extent of my upgrades, and among the 12 or more amps in my arsenal, it's the cleanest among them, and sounds excellent driving either Tannoy D50's, Spica TC-50's, Electro-Voice Marquis (16-ohm speakers on the 8-ohm taps), and JBL 4312A's. I replaced them with WIMA MKS-10's at the same value, and again, heard a marked improvement. In addition, the stock OTO SE uses EYO coupling caps.
#Audio note soro se signature review driver
I've changed all the linedriver and driver tubes to Telefunkens and the phono stage to Bugle-Boys, and the improvement is dramatic. The Pnono version uses (in mine anyway), a Sovtek 12AX7WXT and a unmarked Russian 6DJ8.
#Audio note soro se signature review drivers
The fact is, the OTO SE is built to a price point, as as such, uses (in its stock form) Russian Military EL-84M equivalents which I like, Sovtek 12AX7WXT amp drivers and an ECG Philips ECC82 line driver. I doubt that he's had more than a short listen to the OTO, and supplies no information about ancillary equipment used in his "evaluation" (Look, I'm a Reviewer!). I didn't win the OTO SE Phono in a raffle, I bought it used for $1295 at Stereo Trading Outlet in Jenkintown, PA, which he would know if he read my review. Semi-Humorous to correct his misrepresentation of my review (see dedicated review section on this amp).
