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I keep receiving emails from visitors asking me about my views regarding the GM70 vs. 6C33C. I am clearly not in a position to provide any EXPERT opinion because of two reasons. First, I never had a properly built GM70 in my disposal. Second, I hate DIY people, along with their BS interests…

From time to time the GM70 idea comes to me but there is always something the turns me off. The most important is power. People who read my site know that I do not believe in SETs but rather in the DSETs. To have 30W-40W is good but what for?

To use high voltage, 150kg pound monster-amp and to use it with a 20dB voltage divider is probably not a good idea. If a person is stupid enough to use low sensitively speakers that would need those 30W-40W then the person is juts stupid and a “better” amp will not help him…. The only thing that left are usually lower sensitivity LF sections of DSET but still… Mass, heat, cost, high plate impedance, huge transformer for LF section and it is only 40W. Not a lot of reimbursement for the efforts.

Sound? I do not know. I heard 4-5 amps around the GM70 and all of them were crap. I do not think that it was problem with GM70 but rather the amps were not serious.  There are some interesting private, “no holds barriers” implementation around GM70 about wish I have heard but I personally did not hear those amplifiers and the most important those installations.

6C33C is cheap, flexible, easy implementable, very good sounding with fix bias and a proper driver, low voltage and low plate impedance. I find the 6C33C is a quite nice nice for ~9W-12W SET.

Is 6C33C better then GM70? I do not know. I defiantly know that to implement the GM70 and 6C33C at the same level of max performance for each tube would requite very different level of affords. Would the result be justifiable? I do not know. I hope to learn about it sometimes.

Still, following my unavoidable rule:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/TreeItem.aspx?PostID=432

I would like to be able to identify what the 6C33C or the GM70 does wrong before to consider anything else, though I know that I usually do not like sound of the “large” high voltage tubes: they work “somehow OK” only with the initially dead speakers.

I personally do not look at the GM70 direction but would be happy to audition somebody else’s efforts. The only tube that I might be trying in Melquiades would be YO186 for MF DSET but my motivations are very-very low and so far what 6C33C does perfectly satisfys me. If you have any “special” experience with GM70 (not with 211/845) then let me know.

Rgs,
Romy the Cat

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