The best from price!

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Beautiful sonics. Keeps you warm on a cold night and looks cool too! Upgrades improve reliability.

Upgrades require some knowledge of soldering and a leap in faith. Stock se-40 is unreliable. Bias is a pain in the a$$ but the upgrades makes it more precise.

I purchased a used se-40 after owning nothing but ss amps. I like tube amps, but really good ones are expensive. The se-40 has a rich and smooth tonal quality I find pleasing. The cheap cost of buying one on the used market is also pleasing. I like the stock se-40, but could not live with its rolled off highs, lack of dynamics, and less than acceptable resolution. I knew Soniccraft offered upgrades for this amp, so after owning a se-40 for a month I made the call and ordered all the upgrades. Installing the upgrades is not technically difficult, even I was able to get through it with a little help from Soniccraft. I was hesitant to perform surgery on what was a perfectly good amp, but the process was well worth the cost and effort. 3 upgrades are available. I did each upgrade with only a day or two listening between each one. I will only comment on the three upgrades as a whole, not individually. The difference was night and day. My initial impression was how quiet the amp was, with a totally black background. It also added some grunt to what was a slightly anemic amp. The top end suddenly appeared and there was a huge improvement in resolution and detail. All the little nuances in a recording are audible. The upgraded amp is faster, smoother, dead quiet, and offers killer resolution. Soundstage deepens and widens and the bass tightens up. The overall sound is rich and detailed, not overly syrupy sweet and fuzzy like cheap tube amps. The upgrades take a couple of weeks to break in, but when it hits its stride the music comes alive. I compared the upgraded se-40 to my upgraded McCormack. I know that is comparing apples to oranges, but that is what I had on hand. The McCormack has better dynamics, a slightly more extended top end, and slightly better mid-bass. The little se-40 is more coherent, has a smooth and liquid mid-range, and overall more polite. Both have outstanding detail, but the se-40 throws a slightly bigger soundstage. The se-40 won’t rock your world, but it gets the mid-range right, and that is where my ears are most sensitive. If you love tube amps and are on a budget, buy one used and upgrade....if cost is no object, buy one used and upgrade. With a little money and work you can transform the se-40 from a good amp to world class performer. The upgrades are a totally honest no Bs product, unlike most of what I see in high-end audio. I have not affiliation with Soniccraft, and I don't like writing overly flattering reviews, just gotta be honest.

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The sound for the price is incredible, especially with the se40BB kit.

Some of the parts used in the se-40 are running at or near there max rating which causes failures over time.

I've owned a se-40se for a couple of years now; then the problems started to arise. The se-40 suffers from tolerance problems with several of its parts. I wanted to let everbody know that a company on the internet named Sonic Craft (www.soniccraft.com) offers a couple of kits to fix all the problem areas in the se-40 and some to improve upon its already good sound. I used the se40BB kit which contains all the replacement parts for the problem areas plus new soniccaps for the coupling capacitors. I must say the sound went from good to amazing. Every aspect of the sound improved especially the imaging as well as the dynamics -highs and lows, you name it. The se40bb kit runs for $99.95 and believe me you can't source these parts for that cheap. I also want to say that I have no affiliation with Sonic Craft. I'm just an electronic technician who knows a good deal when he sees it.

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none

The sound, sound, and sound. Dependability like McIntosh, but sounds like there may be build variations among units.

None with mine.

After almost ten years of enjoying this fine product, I think it''s time to spread the good words around. For the past ten years or so, there has been frequent changes in my system, but one thing always stayed with me: Golden Tube SE-40. My SE-40 is from the very first batch the company produced, and I remember having to return the first one due to transformer noise, but I immediately got the replacement from the dealer, and since then, I have enjoyed it so much that my entire system evolved around it. My current system consists of: CAL Delta CD transport CAL Alpha (original) DAC with Mullard NOS low noise output tube Kimber Select 4040?: all Silver digital coax cable Conrad Johnson LF2 Solid State Preamp Golden Tube SE-40 with RCA NOS black base input tubes and matched Sovtek 5881s (factory recommended version) B&W Nautilus 805 with matching stands Velodyne HGS 10 Homegrown Audio''s Pure silver interconnects throughout (better than cables five times its price BTW) I don''t know if I have been lucky or what, but I have never adjusted the bias since my purchase 10 years ago. I basically ignored the whole thing about turning it over and opening it up, etc. I never had to. The amp always performed flawlessly, and I just had to replace tubes every few years or so. Whenever there was a noise, it was due to tubes and once I replaced them with new ones, the amp became as good as new. I just love the sound of SE-40. It has continued to sing regardless of what speakers I have mated it with: KEF Q75, B&W DM601, and finally the current Nautilus 805. Its sound is simply gorgeous. Slightly rolled-off some say, but to my ears well-extended highs (you have to use pure silver cables to get great highs though), and awesome midrange (its major strength), and surprisingly fast and well-defined bass. My sub definitely helps when I want to go loud but I rarely use it for normal real-life listening. In order to take the fullest advantage of this baby, you need faithful monitor type speakers. Good quality front end input as well as an excellent preamp is a must. When I graduated from my old Denon CD player/Audio Alchemy DITB to CAL Delta/Alpha combo, the sound turned from good to breathtaking! My CJ preamp gave me more extended highs, too. Basically, SE-40 will reproduce whatever you got above and below it. The best investment I''ve made so far!

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Auditioned several around its price: Parasound, CJ MV55(great, but not single-ended), Krell integrated amp(beautiful to look at, but sound quite disappointing), etc.

Exceptionally well integrated sound with very few weaknesses

Nothing considering the reasonable price

We purchased the Golden Tube SE-40 & SEP-1 power/pre amp combination today from our local friendly hi-fi store (Audio Connection, in Leichhardt, Sydney) after spending the last few months looking for a significant upgrade to our previous system. We have just now spent about 12 hours listening to CD after CD (many styles of music from Bach to Front 242, John Martyn to Fila Brasillia, Vaughan Williams to Miles Davis) and enjoyed every minute of re-discovering our collection.

In two words - beautifully musical!

We own a pair of Alon Lotus SE speakers (a model specifically designed to work with single-ended amps) and the Golden Tube amp/preamp is the answer to our prayers - an affordable, power-plant with no significant faults and all the right sound.

I would not describe them as perfectly neutral, but the colouration which is present is sweet, subtle and pleasant. My wife (a professional oboe player) particularly liked the non-fatiguing nature of the Golden Tubes as opposed to the Audio Note amps (which she described as "hard and clinical") whilst I found them detailed, spacious and forgiving of less than perfect recordings (I used to be a recording engineer).

They perform very well against competition costing up to three times the price and provide a seamlessly integrated window onto music. Choose any parameter - frequency range, dynamics, speed etc. - and you can probably find an amp which does it better, but what we liked was that ALL the aspects are present in good and balanced measure in this equipment.

The only word of caution that I would offer is that the SE-40 amp REALLY likes to be partnered with a pair of efficient speakers, or with speakers such as the Alon Lotuses which are optimised for valves. It will still give great results with most speakers of at least 86bB sensitivity, but to hear it truly shine you need to give it a friendly load to drive.

In its price range, highly recommended, and a great start into the world of vacuum tubes.

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An amazing amp which I NEARLY sold to the local Audio NOte shop to help pay for a mediocre AN 300B amp just because...

...the GTA dealer here in Singapore virtually made the amp sound like crap! (SEE FULL REVIEW BELOW)

Okay. Here is what "finally" happened when I brought my SE40 to a)a general
tube audiophile service centre("Audio Note" shop in Adelphi, Singapore) and
then to the (ex)GTA dealer who I bought the unit from...

Recap...recently, the output tubes on our SE40 blew and I decided to bring
it down as I do not know how to bias the tubes. As I did not want to bring
it down to Kingsley, the ex-GTA dealer I bought the amp from (due to their
unethical selling methods), I brought it to audio note (also an audiophile
service center)

Now: when we brought it there, Audio NOte manager Cecil Tan sold us his
sovtek 6L6 tubes(which I requested).

However, when his tech was biasing the tubes, several of them glowed
ridiculously FIRE-red even after the bias was turn all the way to minimum.
The first thing the Audio NOte maganer, Cecil Tan assumed
was that the AMP's the problem (haha..riiight...as we *all* "know" that
"SE40 is so unreliable and always breaking down" don't we?).

So he suggested we send it back to the original dealer (who has by now
dropped and killed the brand) THe I-don't-give-a-damned style Desmond Tan of
Kingsley over there just asked us to dump
the amp somewhere and will get back to us. When my gf(who loves the SE40)
called them 2days later, the first thing they told us was "6L6 cannot
use"(???)that was apparently all the answer she was going to get. She called
the technician and he told her that the Sovtek TUBES were the problem!

By now, we were beginning to have a feeling that both the shops were giving
us the runaround. As they claim, 6L6s cannot be used on an SE40 unless it's
biased VERY accurately and it's a high-bias tube that _cannot_ be used on
SE40. THEY ALSO SAID: EL34s are able
to handle the SE40 better than both the 5881s and 6L6s!(!???)they should
tell us that again since mine blew in a month)

When we send it back to audio note to swap the 6l6 with 5881s, the Audio
Note manager refused to believe HIS tubes were faulty. However, when we
swap to the 5881s, one or two of them were still glowing red hot so we
strongly insisted the guy change to other 5881s (to see if it was really
faulty tubes!) and indeed, the whole problem was solved.

Now, my SE40 has never runned cooler and less like an volcano waiting to
burst. However, I had to spend more than a $160+++ to FINALLY get back the
original tubes on my amp!

Now get this: when we tried to test the amp at the Audio NOte showroom
one channel was down. No, tried as he could, the Audio Note manager
Mr Cecil could not find fault with the SE40...it was his pre-amp or
flimsy overpriced AN interconnects that were faulty...(hmm..bad Audio NOte
quality control???)

Then it happened. Hooked up to Totem Staffs, the $1000 GTA SE40
trounced all the Audio Note amps in that room including the $3000+ OTO SE,
the $5000+ 300B SE amps...

I couldnt believe it until I had heard it myself. Liquid, tangible,
dynamic, warm...you name it. The SE40, with only Sovtek 5881s were making a
mockery of the pompous Audio NOte manager's claims to his
products superiority. He had even claimed that his cheapest 300B amp
killed Cary's 300B Signature monoblocs at 3 times it s price!(Yeah,
suure....)

An Audio NOte customer was there jaw dropped and exclaimed how great the amp
was. He kept asking us about the price and he couldnt believe it. He wanted
to know if there was another one at Kingsley for sale!
Right about now the Audio NOte manager must ve regained his composure(after
being shocked by how good his hated non-customer lil amp was
sounding)and began to loudly sing the praises of...

his OWN Totem speakers! HE attributed the glorious musical sound we were
hearing to only his speakers! I couldn;t believe this guy.

You know, I was *seriously* considering before that day that I might
trade in the SE40 for a "better"(HA!) Audio Note 300B amp...but on the day
of reckoning-the day I finally got the SE 40 retubed properly,
and after Cecil Tan finally made my mind up earlier by warning my gf and I
about how he "black lists" potential customers who just go to his showroom
and do not buy from him.....

To be fair, Cecil trolleyed our SE40 down with us, me rolling the thing
actually, and saw us off. What can I say? He's a "nice" guy
who gives "good trolley"? I don't know. I just shook his hand for
accompanying us down and we left.

I don t know if I ll ever deal with these two shops ever again: Kingsley and
Audio Note. Maybe to lodge complaint with Kingsley for
selling a 3 pin(Leading us to believe it was a grounded AC cord) home brew
AC power cord w/out telling me it didnt have a ground.
We found out on our own muuch later after I opened the plug cos the amp was
sounding unsteady.
It could have contributed to the loud pops that occurred when switching off
the unit, that might ve contributed to early tube failure. I now use a stock
cord and when I switch the SE40 off, there are NO clicks or POPS!

In summary, it is an AMAZING amp! Im not selling it now! Haha! Deserves every accolade lauded on it on this site! If you want an even more sophisticated and musical rendering of all your recorded music, you might not wish to go the Audio NOTe or the CJ upgrade ladder. It is too costly and you ll end up burned financially and spiritually.

Only Cary betters this beautiful amp. Enough said. Go buy it!

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sound, build quality, cosmetics, price

biasing the amp can be tricky

First off, I'd like to say this amp can't do everything, and at its price point it should be expected to. I've heard a lot of people complaining about the amps low end. This amp will not shake the foundation of your house, it is after all a 40 watt tube amp. The bass that you do get though is very decent. Unless you listen very loud, or are a headbanger the bass you get should be satisfactory for most music. What you do get is great midrange, depth, imaging, and detail. The way this amp portrays vocals is amazing. It has a very natural, easy sound.

I've had some luck experimenting with NOS driver tubes. The stock Sovtek 6sn7's are a little noisy. Try TungSol or Brimar driver tubes. They should make a worthwhile improvement. I've also heard that RCA red base 5692 sound very good.

My only real complaint with the se-40 is how it is biased. You have to flip the amp on its side to attach a wiring harness to the bottom. You use the wiring harness to take readings with a multimeter. You will need a long plastic screwdriver to adjust the pots in the amp. it can be a little confusing the first couple of times you do it. I blew a tube the first time I did it. It was very frustrating. The upside is that you should only have to bias the tube once or twice a year.

Overall I've been very pleased with this amps performance. It can't be beat in its price range. I bought mine used for $500. Even at its new retail price it is a bargain. Just when I think I'd like to upgrade I'll spend a day listening to Miles or the Beatles and realize I'd have to spend a lot more money to get better sound. If you are thinking of getting into or back into tubes the se-40 should be on your short list of amps to audition.

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Rotel RDD-980 transport
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Crystal clear Highs and mids,totally embarrassed a $3,000 Cary tube amp!

Bass is satisfying but not at the solid state level

Purchased in early 1997 as a demo with time on the tubes - this gem served the family well until 2000 when it was retubed (no problems though) and the magic returned! I am convinced that I would have to spend more than $3,000 to obtain a substantial difference! I dont mean slight edge - I mean a difference worth the extra $3000!!!! Dont waste your money on names, go and listen for yourself.

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To many to name

Glorious midrange, Top end great for CDS's, build quality, Very good detail

Bass a little weak, Biasing is a pain, at first they only recomended sovtek tubes (now others are ok)

Ok here is the strait shot on this amp, for the money, your not going to get better. For more money, of course you can! I auditioned this amp about five years ago, with the GT SEP1 preamp. I had the dealer pull off the preamp, and drive it with a passive preamp, then a CARY preamp. The difference was outstanding. One can here the quality of interconnects (or differences if you prefere), speaker cables, and cartridges on a turnatable. As a whole this amp is everything tubes are about, great midrange, excellent detail, and a "living presence". It does not do bass as well, go with powered subwoffers, this helps alot. The bass rolls off fasr below 40 Hz and below about 150 Hz is soft and a bit untidy. At 40 watts, and in this price range, this is not bad. The top end is not bright, so CD's that are edgy or bright are tamed very well. They do however cary a very good rythem and timeing, they will get your toes a tapping when matched with some good fast speakes.
I think biasing is the biggest disappointment, turning the amp over and the like. It is very heavy, and like all tube amps run a bit hot ( get a tube cage if you have young ones around). At first the manufacture only recommended useing Sovtek 5881 tubes, which limits the fun of trying different brands of tubes. They have lightened up and said Svetlana 6l6 tubes are ok (I will assume all 6l6 and 5881, the miltary spec 6l6, are ok). You can roll the input driver tubes, trying various brands and even 2 different driver tubes, one with higher gain. I have not tried the higher gain driver tubes, but they may be just the ticket for someone doing passive preamping.
After a break in period, this amp sings very well. I can not afford the VAC's or ARC tube amps, they sound excellent in comparison, but at 5-20 times the price, they should. I enjoy them on rock, blues, and instramentals like Mike Oldfield and Jan Michael Jarre.

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value for money, good sound, good power, looks, my wife is impressed.

balance control is almost impossible to detect

who needs big money to get a good sound.THE SE40 sounds great, i sold a CLASSE fifteen amp,MARTIN LOGAN SL2 electrostatic speakers & picked up 2 golden audio SE40,s a set of acoustic energy ae109,s its just as good in a small room, it doesnt sound cheap and nasty, looks like a million dollars,and most of all my wife loves it, from FRANK ZAPPA jazz to STEVIE RAY VAUGHN blues the SE40 plays it all, now i need a good set of cables & it will sound even better . Now i can get back to the music i love, instead of listening to components,GOOD WORK SOLO its a credit to you.

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