300B vs. KT88 SET?

If you find yourself in Seattle Paul, just send me an email and you can come by and hear either rig. Always happy to stand around and kick tires, er, wires, and share music. Tom also suggested I try voight pipes. You can find my email link on my website. Thank you for the offer which I'd happily take you up on were I closer. I'm actually from NYC and got eight years off for good behavior in Vermont, where my folks still live. I don't think I'll ever move from Seattle though. Been loving it out here for over ten years now.

Marco

Marco, GREAT pictures - I hope you don't mind me looking there. Photography is my other hobby, Would you offer your professional opinion on some of mine http://public.fotki.com/brightonpic/my_favorite_shots/.
Back to the main topic - I really appreciate all of you sharing your knowledge - it trully helps.

Zoya,

I think, based on what you have written and your speakers, you'd be happiest with a 300B amp. But remember, all 300B amps are not equal. It's very important to get a properly designed one with proper circuitry and transformers.

After having 7 different tube amps over the last 17 years , I settled on an AirTight 300B with Tamura transformers and point-to-point wiring. The sound is superb and I get musicality, slam, dynamics, extended high frequencies, space, soundstaging, transparency, detail, delicacy, etc. However, my speakers are 87db (but don't drop below 6.5 ohms) so I don't get the best bass performance. That is why I use a good subwoofer - an REL.

Your speakers look like they'd work great with 8-10 wts and I think you'd be completely happy with a 300B SET. I think you really should go signle ended triode (which is what the 300B is) instead of push/pull (which is what the KT88 is). Remember, the simplest way of doing something is usually the best.

I have heard the Wright Sound 300B are supposed to be quite good and very afordable. And, just to give you and idea about how long 300B tubes last (they are quite expensive), my AirTight tubes are 3 1/2 years old with lots of use and the tubes spec out just fine. I expect to get another 3-4 years out of them without a problem. I have heard that 300Bs can give 15-20,000 hours of use!

I have owned 4 push/pull tube amps and 3 SETs, I will not be going back to push/pull any time soon. By the way, My AirTight is built like a tank and I expect it to last 20-30 more years at least, but I'll probably sell it before then!

Jax2, thanks for the offer. If I ever swing by Seattle, I would love to hear your rig. When the time arises, I will offer you the same opportunity, to listen to my rig in NY. Nice pics. Are you a photographer by profession? Nice pics in your website. Check my stereorig in Audiocircle, I have two albums going. One has a MR-78 Mcintosh tuner first and the other one, the Zhorn with Fostex drivers.

Bemopti123- Yes, you've put together some nice systems there. A good friend just went from a longtime devotion to Theta DAC's to a BelCanto DAC 2 and he's been really delighted with the improvements. Also, I've been very curious to hear the 47Lab stuff, as well as the Voight Pipes. I get to NYC about once a year....are you there or nearby? Yes, I've been taking pictures since I was six and haven't stopped. Yes, it is my profession. I've never done anything else, though, since you asked, I reacently delved into some graphic design combined with illustration. There is a very poorly placed full-page ad I designed running in the March 04 Stereophile that is commemorative of the 100th birthday of Paul W. Klipsch. It will be running in the April-May TAS and Absolute Vision as well as the March AudioExpress. I was pretty happy with the design, but it looses a lot in Stereophile placed against the busy page it is. Hopefully the other rags will place it better. It looks great in AudioExpress, which ironically is followed two pages later with a tribute to Peter Walker (Quad) who just passed away. PWK passed away two years ago at 98.

Zoya - My expertise is mostly in "making" pictures as opposed to "taking" pictures. I have tremendous respect for those in both specialties, but I may not be the one to ask to comment on your photography since it is so different from what I do. I did look at your site, and will consider sending you my comments if you are still interested. Probably this is not the place to share those comments though.

As far as comments thus far regarding 300B SET - I think you have some pretty good input and many valid comments and observations. As I said, the only comment that I'd take strong exception too is any that would imply one type of amplification is necessarily "better" than another. Art Dudley wrote what I thought was an excellent piece in the December 03 issue of Stereophile on SET as well as arguments pro and con, and folks silly need to make the other camp wrong. It makes for some excellent reading and may lend for yet another perspective. I do enjoy his writing. Check it out if you get a chance. I'm not sure if they run that colum in their online issue.

Marco