300B vs. KT88 SET?

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

You can read the Art Dudley piece I mentioned online here

Marco

I am also interested in the difference between 300Bse vs. KT88se at some point the conversation seems to have jumped to 300Bse vs. KT88pp not sure why. I know more KT88pp amps exist then then do KT88se amps. But there are a few nice looking KT88se and EL34se out there Decware's model SE34I.2+ (www.decware.com ) and www.hifiandaudio.com has a fine looking KT88 se as well. In all of the se KT88 / EL34 amps I have seen the the KT88 / EL34 are interchangeable.

From the examples I have seen you can get:

5watts from KT88se with a 5K opt running with no nfb
12watts from KT88se with a 2.5K opt running with nfb
8watts from 300B running 3k with no nfb

I am sure other operating points are possible.

I had been running a cheap se 6N8P / 6P13P (the 6P13P is very smiler to the EL34 ) which I won at an headfi auction for $150. After 3 hours the output transformers get very hot. It's rated at 12W per-side. The opt are 2.5K load and they are run in UL (it's an ultra-linear se amp) to the 6P13P and it uses NFB (don't know how much).

Now just yesterday I picked up a 6J4P/300B it is a Jas Bravo 2.2. I have not looked inside so I can't tell you anything about the 300B other then what tubes it uses.

Now comparing the $150 se 6P13P to the $1700 300B, these two amp sound totally different it would be easy to pick one out in a side by side test. The 6P13P is not really a HiFi amp, it can't really do rock, lacks base slam and what base you do get is kind of lose.

The 6P13P does well with high/mids where the 300b jas does well with low/mid. Its like there is a window and each amp does well with a different part of the range. The 6P13P is more smooth and the 300B is clear however the 300B is dark I believe this is a trait of the 300B others will agree with.

I watch a lot of British Mystery movies (Inspector Morse mostly) with my amp. With the 6P13P when Morse is interviewing suspects the presents of a clock in the room ticking away is really clear his voice is better with the 6P13P. Deep background music is better with the 300B. For most of the episodes the 300B is more well rounded. But there is one episode called “Death Is Now My Neighbor” where I like the 6P13P better. I can site one seen where an organ and quire are playing in an Oxford college and the academics are filling in to take there seats for mass.

Before I got the 300B I had assumed it was going to be the sweeter sounding of the two set amps, I was wrong. That said, I would be interested to hair a KT88 se in a 5k opt non-feedback arrangement.

Leve
Long Island, N.Y.