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If they work properly they don't tick.

More seriously the real question is 'how much better can it get?'

To sort out what SETs do and what they don't do, the first thing, IMO/IME is to compare them to other amps. To do that with PP tube amps you really need to level the playing field.

PushPull tube amps have output transformers too and to a lesser degree they are sensitive to how much power the transformer is asked to pass. SET output transformers are really sensitive; PP outputs a bit less so.

So to level the playing field so you can hear what the difference really is, you have to do one or more of several things.

You could have the PP amp use the same power tubes as the SET. Or you could simply have the PP amp be rated the same power. Its also helpful to use the same quality of parts and construction technique.

I've found those things are difficult! Most PP amps make a lot more power; PP amps based on DHY (Directly Heated Triodes) are rare. Low power PP amps of good quality are rare too. This caused me to build both types.

What I found is SETs have no musical advantage at all. If you have a competent PP amp of the same power or using the same power tubes, the so-called advantage of SETs is simply erased. IOW, the 'magic' is still there in lower powered tube amps if they are built well.

But it gets better. There are class D amps that can take on SETs just as easily. I really don't think there's any advantage to SETs at all and the reasons they went away 70-80 years ago are just as valid today as they were back then by any metric audiophiles value.

So IMO this is really just about the small sample size SET lovers have heard and nothing else.

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