2013 saw me successfully exorcise an SET obsession with the happy acquisition of the BorderPatrol S10 EXD stereo amplifier. Delightfully retro in looks and stunningly modern in its full-bandwidth linearity and deep, muscular bass response, this 300b amplifier has completely redefined what a tube amp can do and what an SET amp should be. Quite simply, I’ve never heard anything like it. Matched with the Volti Vittoras or the DeVore O/96, I found my audio happy place and I’ve been rolling around in that sound like a pig in a poke ever since.

That is, right up until RMAF, when designer Gary Dews finally released his upgraded PSU, the EXS. These new external power supplies are physically twice as big as the ones they overtop, and probably weigh 3x as much. And there are two. Which makes the stereo amp they’re attached to pretty much a monstrosity of epic proportions. It was the introduction of these power supplies that so stunned the crowds wandering into Volti/BP room, and what earned that room a “Best Of RMAF” award. Yowza. Trust me, you’ve never heard an SET amplifier make sound like this. Ever.
Scot Hull Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile. January 2014