Gordon Rankin has pioneered the development of the
single-ended triode (SET) amplifier, and his latest designs showed off SET technology at
its finest. A pair of $25,000 Wavelength Cardinal monoblock amplifiers, with pure
silver-wired transformers, produced 12 watts each, while his $7500 Royal preamp controlled
the volume. The source was an Apple notebook computer driving a Wavelength Crimson DAC
($15,000 for the all-silver version).
Of course, 12 watts of even the sweetest SET power
won’t drive many speakers satisfactorily, so it was a pleasure to get acquainted with
Jim Jordan’s Vaughn speakers, whose sensitivity is high enough to work handily with
the Wavelength amps. The $7500-per-pair Zinfandel speakers boasted a 97dB sensitivity.
Jordan runs a "full-range" Fostex driver up to about 8kHz, where it’s
crossed over to a 5" ribbon driver. On the low end, a 12" woofer handles the
bass down to 80Hz, where it’s rolled off. Covered with a substance called Marmoleum
(a type of linoleum) resembling alligator hide, the reasonably priced Zinfandels make it
possible to extract nearly full-range sound from a low-powered SET amp. Standard veneers
are also available.
The sound of this system was fast, detailed, and sweet,
with the palpable midrange typical of the best SET amplifiers. However, there was also
deep, powerful bass and extended high frequencies quite unusual for high-sensitivity
speakers.
