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300B which way to go?

Hi,

I have never heard any amp with this tube before. But I have been doing plenty of reading on tubes. So I'm curious. Can anyone give me some pointers about 300B tube amps? How many watts do I need to run a pair of 89db speakers? I'm leaning heavily in the direction of Meadolark. I'll be running a Rouge 99, or a Cary SLP-88 pre to start, and upgrading when I get rich (**)

I see these amps for sale all the time at Audiogon, with the watts ranging from 8-40. I don't know much about single-end vs. push-pull. Also is " class A " push-pull a quality way to go with a 300B amp? I am also interested in a integrated 300B amp perhaps.

Can anyone give me some ideas? I was thinking of a starter amp, but I see people dumping these things for 30 cents on the dollar, so might as well jump right in! But it does cause me some concern about the performance.
theseeker
bemopti123
303 posts
 
I vouch for SET 300B amplifiers. Lower wattage, but the midrange is nothing but magic. How it has been well said, you need to have efficient speakers. I myself have an Assemblage 300B Platinum circa 2001 (a DYI division of Sonic Frontiers, before closing shop.) I use a pair of WE 300B matches tubes with a horn loaded Fostex speakers Sigma 208 drivers 8" with an efficiency of 96.5db. I have these speakers spiked up and for the great majority of recording, I was pleasantly satisfied, but because I have been used to bass, I added a powered subwoofer ( a very fast one with enough amp power) now, I enjoy SET midrange and highs with SS low end slam. Still not quite like a gigantic speaker set with a hugue Amp behind it, but the magic in all different types of music is simply wonderful.
Can easily fetch a decently parted 300B amp like mine for about $1200 without the Western Electric tubes, which will run you a good $500 per pair, used
PAUL
antos's avatar
antos
3 posts
 
Check out Coincident speakers,(Isrial Blume) , At 97db. the "Victory" and the "Total Victory" allows the use of any amp from flee power SET on up.
http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/speakers.htm.
These are well designed multi driver speakers with high impedance (good for tubes) that can reproduce large scale music or lite jazz with ease, and can do it with 8 watts.
No need for a seprate sub ether.
Here is a website review if your interested.
http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-Speakers.html
Regards,
Tony
theseeker OP
5 posts
 
Thanks for the tips! Sounds like I can get away with maybe a 40 watt amp, with 89db speakers, but I might miss a little bass. But perhaps it doesn't matter as 90% of the sound comes from the midrange.
ejliu
109 posts
 
The impedance curve of the speaker will matter more than efficiency. Efficency determins loudness but impedance curve can determine the amount of distortion.

Most SET amp have high output impedance that will interact with speaker impedances. So you want to look for for a steady speaker impedance > 6 Ohms through out frequency range with low phase angle. Every speaker manufactor should be able to furnish you with this information.
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