Also, the fact that I auditioned Heresy IIIs in a shop but bought them elsewhere (Ebay) has interesting ethical baggage. I generally abandon that baggage in the overhead compartment in my brain (if it fits), but also like to point out that the "audio salons" around here sell everything at list price, and no pricing wiggle room is implied…that said, I like my money and prefer to keep as much in my pocket as possible, and although the dealer offered a deal that was below list for a pair of Heresys, the deal from Ebay was a THOUSAND BUCKS below list (although they sent me a higher list price "Capitol Edition" for the same cost as the regular black speakers I thought I was getting, so there’s that.). New with factory warranty. Guitar Center (sort of a musician’s necessary evil) had a thing where if you find whatever you’re considering buoying from them on the internet or anywhere else that’s cheaper, they’ll match the price (not sure if they still do this) thus they get something out of you! They had a dedicated computer in the store to facilitate this. It’s not that I expect "audio salons" to do that, but they should tell you to contact them if you get a better deal so they can counter it…if they got close at all I’d go local, but they don’t care and consequently, neither do I.
Speaker Suggestions for 300b SET Amp
I built an Elekit 8600 300b set amp recently. It's amazing. I maxed out upgrades (all Takman resistors, Mundorf top end caps, solder/wiring, etc.). It's a wonderful amp. It cost me $2k to build it and it's glorious.
My issue hasn't been the amp, but finding speakers that I want to use with it.
I started with Omega XRS 8 Juniors (~$2k). I broke them in for 300 hours and, while they did get better, they largely sounded like the top and bottom ends were just truncated off at both ends the sound spectrum. They sounded more akin to a transistor radio speaker. I feel terrible to say that and I hope others really love them and hear them differently, as the company is great and the owner is wonderful. They just weren't for me.
So, I just paired the 300b up with some inefficient speakers (both KEF LS50s and Wharfedale 80th anniversary Dentons). Both speakers were part of other systems I have. Both sets, and especially the cheaper Wharfedales, just sing with the 300b. They do not play particularly loud given their efficiency ratings, yet they sound wonderful for very close nearfield listening.
But what I'd like to do is go a bit more into the full range speaker category without buying a massive product. Or, I consider a smaller bookshelf/monitor if it were more efficient.
What speakers do folks like with their 300bs?
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- 94 posts total
- 94 posts total