Ypsilon SET100 Ultimate Mono Block Class A Hybrid Power Amplifier (pair)
The SET100 Ultimate is a 120W single-ended class A hybrid amplifier. It has the magic midrange of a small S.E.T amplifier with the scale, authority, macro and micro detail that no S.E.T amplifier has ever achieved until now. It uses a specially designed S-E mosfet output stage directly coupled at the output using a double C-core amorphous choke as the DC current path.
With only 2 gain stages in the signal path, the level of immediacy and transparency is unequalled by designs using more than 2 gain stages. Having no overall feedback, the distortion is kept comparably low while the output impedance is sufficient enough to drive real-world loudspeakers.
The first stage uses a high transconductance triode, the SIEMENS EC8010 selected for its sonic capabilities and reliability. It is powered by a separate power supply with tube rectification and choke regulation. This stage is transformer coupled with the output stage. This inter-stage transformer is a state-of-the-art component which uses a proprietary double c-core material and an optimized unique winding design. Sonically it is an invisible component.
The power supply is designed as a system paying attention to every smallest detail that could affect the sound quality. A low noise E-I power transformer, a big size power supply choke and 4 pole electrolytic capacitors are used in this design. It is also hard wired with silver wire. Mechanical, magnetic and electrical noise is extremely low which contributes to the quiet operation of the system. The low noise floor is extraordinary. The output stage and all internal wiring are hard wired with silver wire extruded to Ypsilon’s specifications.
Many experienced audiophiles believe that the perfect amplifier would have the immediacy, delicacy, tone and realism of a SET along with the power and drive capability of a large solid-state amplifier. Achieving those attributes in the one amplifier has been thought of as being impossible so the ‘perfect amplifier’ remains a dream. Until Now!
The SET 100 is an amplifier that produces music in its true natural scale, but above all it brings you as close as possible to the musical event or artist’s message, to feel the music rather than hear it, to be touched and overwhelmed by a deeper, more intimate feeling. Compared with conventional amplifiers, the SET100 it is more direct sounding, more musical, with more instrument body, more ‘chest’ in the voice, a lower frequency extension, frightening dynamics and most of all magically three dimensional. These sets of qualities place the SET100 at the pinnacle of amplifier design and performance.
Reviews
Dagogo, Constantine Soo, 2009
It is no longer of any consequence whether you are a SET aficionado or not, or if your beloved loudspeakers are efficient enough for SET amplification. With the Ypsilon SET 100, music via single-ended triode is the ultimate endgame – the solid-state output stage is merely a means. The ends, in this case, justifies the means, and the unorthodox presentation of the Ypsilon SET topology in the most muscular implementation to date signifies a most worthy new turn in our pursuit of audio nirvana.
Product Specifications
Output Power (Before Clipping)
120 W RMS @ 8 Ω, 130 W RMS @ 5.6 Ω, 100 W RMS @ 4 Ω
Bandwidth
5 Hz–80 kHz (-3 dB)
Output Impedance
0.22 Ω
Input Impedance
47 kΩ
Gain
×30 (29.5 dB)
Inputs
Balanced, Unbalanced
Power Consumption
400 W (Constant)
Dimensions (W × H × D)
240 × 610 × 672 mm
Weight
100 kg (each)
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