Toolshed Amps 300b Stereo Amp

This amp is amazing in it’s retrieval of small details that were never sharply defined with other amps.   Reproduction of the human voice is spooky real.   I’m still getting acclimated to it and am tweaking speaker placement a little.  
 

My initial impression is that this amp nails it with respect to projecting a believable image of the performance, especially with live material.  With bad material it is somewhat forgiving and is very listenable   With great recordings it is amazing 

With great recordings I am hearing subtle things that were masked or glossed over with previous amps   My Zesto preamp has this amazing quality with transients ,  the ability to “start / stop”  like the crack of a whip.   The two pair well and have that quality along with delivering the ambiance of where it was recorded    Decay is very realistic and it has no self noise .  Very quiet for any amp never mind a tube amp  

This was a big leap of faith for me, to buy an amp blindly , with no ability to listen first.   It is generally something I never do.  I called Matt a few years ago about one of his lower powered amps   He was straight up and said it was not a good match with the speakers I had at the time.  He could have said nothing and sold me an amp that day.   I called him a few years later and he told me he was building 300b amps .   He said this would be my last amp….  He may very well be right   
 

I am going to spend some time with it and follow up after some extensive listening  

I'm sure things will only improve as you rack up the hours. Enjoy!

called him a few years later and he told me he was building 300b amps .   He said this would be my last amp….  He may very well be right 

Strong possibly he may be right!

Charles

@oddiofyl 

I see that you use a balanced AC isolation transformer/conditioner. I find that balanced AC electrical power a very good choice for audio electronics.

Are you using copper or silver cables in your system?

Your speakers are quite efficient/ high sensitivity. Do you find that you have excess signal gain or is that okay? Not sure how much gain your Zesto has or the voltage output of your DAC? At one time In the distant past I had excessive system gain. So just curious.

Charles

I don't mean to be pissing on your sense of Nirvana, but reality is that there is nothing new under the sun when it comes to 300B amp circuit design and darned little new under the sun with implementation. I doubt that Matt and Ben have the means to wind their own trannies. All other parts have to be purchased from known suppliers too. The beautiful casework may lend great pride in ownership (though it is not to my taste-too Brooklyn Bohemian vibe for me) but it can not make the amp sound better. Yes, a well-designed 300B SET directly heated triode amp will have the attributes you describe and I applaud you for choosing them-I would too. But again, when I see a new amp from a small company with lots of shiny chrome and by virtue of small company/capitalization size no innovation (not that any is really available) I have to say, "OK, glad you like it". I am no hypocrite-I bought an Ampsandsound Nautilus a year ago that is not dissimilar though not 300B based. But I bought it with eyes wide open that the circuit design was ancient. The guy behind the amp, Justin Webber, makes no bones about it. It (the Nautilus) is all about being so basic and so well built that it will last for generations.