This is my first foray into the wonderful flea-powered” world of single-ended triodes. The change came about as a result of a major event the birth of my son requiring the need for softer listening sessions without the sacrifice of dynamics.

My previous two-channel system was based around a Conrad-Johnson Premier 11A/B&W Nautilus 805 combination. It was a very rewarding pairing, but needed some volume to really sing. Given my room size (16’ x 13’ x 8.5’), I felt the “less is more” theory might be worth exploring.

After some hefty reading over on Audio Asylum and email exchanges with several inmates, I decided to take the plunge.

I contacted Jeff Korneff and had him build one of his 45-based single-ended amps. Its output is about 2 watts per channel of effortless sonic bliss. It’s extremely transparent and can deliver impressive dynamics given its minimal output.

Terry Cain, from Cain & Cain, built a pair of his Abbys (a modified Voight pipe design) for my “less is more” system. The Abby houses a single 6.5” Fostex full-range driver, and uses two interchangeable drivers for different listening experiences. A Fostex FE 166e driver is the more aggressive of the two, delivering a very forward presentation. The second of the two, a Fostex FF165K is a more laid-back, softer presentation. To paraphrase Terry Cain; the difference between these drivers is the deep and clear sound of the FF165k, as opposed to the dynamic projection of the FE166e. I like to think it’s the difference between sitting in the 10th row and being on stage with the musicians.

The room is equipped with two dedicated 20amp circuits - one to drive the source equipment and one for the amplification. Speakers are placed about 2 ½ feet from the rear wall and about 3.5' from the sidewalls. The chair is 10' from speakers, which are slightly toed-in.

I’ve found this system is capable of incredible detail retrieval and conveys the emotion of the music better than any other set-ups I’ve had in the room.