Physics limits the 300b SET to about 8 watts.
Switching to tubes often means you need to switch speakers.
Jerry
High powered single end 300b recommendations
I would like to try a se 300b integrated to find out what the famed sound is like. However, at 86db, my Harbeth S-HL5 are not very efficient. They need more like 25-30W to drive them.
Any recommendations on an 300b amp that will work with these speakers?
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@moofoo I’m very impressed with Vlad at AUDIO MIRROR......I may look into his amps because of how musical his Toubadour IV SE DAC is.....that I own. |
A 300B SET is going to give you 8-10w. You can step up to a 300B XLS and get about 13w. the 520B which is in the same family will get you to 16w. A parallel SET of 520Bs will get you to about 28w. This is simply based on the specs of the tube. What you can do is get a Push-Pull which will deliver between ~32-40w in power. A good option would be KR VA830 which runs four 300Bs. If you research KR Audio, there is a site KRAudioUSA.com which is run and maintained by someone claiming to be the US Importer for KR that has an axe to grind with KR. They do not have access to KR and never have. It is a good company that makes nice amps. |
You are married to high efficiency speakers if you plan on getting a 8 watt SET or even a PP 300b won’t be enough for a lot of speakers. I’ m driving a pair of Forte IV in a small to medium size room and it sounds great but push it too far and it falls apart. It will play moderately loud. I don’t listen loud so for me I’m using probably less than a watt. These amps are not for people that like to play music loud, that is not what they are all about. |
There is some misunderstanding between amplifier power and speakers sensitivity. The combination of these two parameters plus listening room acoustic characteristics like the Critical Distance give the maximal listening volume. |
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