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300b lovers

I have been an owner of Don Sachs gear since he began, and he modified all my HK Citation gear before he came out with his own creations.  I bought a Willsenton 300b integrated amp and was smitten with the sound of it, inexpensive as it is.  Don told me that he was designing a 300b amp with the legendary Lynn Olson and lo and behold, I got one of his early pair of pre-production mono-blocks recently, driving Spatial Audio M5 Triode Masters.  

Now with a week on the amp, I am eager to say that these 300b amps are simply sensational, creating a sound that brings the musicians right into my listening room with a palpable presence.  They create the most open vidid presentation to the music -- they are neither warm nor cool, just uncannily true to the source of the music.  They replace his excellent Kootai KT88 which I was dubious about being bettered by anything, but these amps are just outstanding.  Don is nearing production of a successor to his highly regard DS2 preamp, which also will have a  unique circuitry to mate with his 300b monos via XLR connections.  Don explained the sonic benefits of this design and it went over my head, but clearly these designs are well though out.. my ears confirm it. 

I have been an audiophile for nearly 50 years having had a boatload of electronics during that time, but I personally have never heard such a realistic presentation to my music as I am hearing with these 300b monos in my system.  300b tubes lend themselves to realistic music reproduction as my Willsenton 300b integrated amps informed me, but Don's 300b amps are in a entirely different realm.  Of course, 300b amps favor efficient speakers so carefully component matching is paramount.

Don is working out a business arrangement to have his electronics built by an American audio firm so they will soon be more widely available to the public.  Don will be attending the Seattle Audio Show in June in the Spatial Audio room where the speakers will be driven by his 300b monos and his preamp, with digital conversion with the outstanding Lampizator Pacific tube DAC.  I will be there to hear what I expect to be an outstanding sonic presentation.  

To allay any questions about the cost of Don's 300b mono, I do not have an answer. 

 

 

whitestix
alexberger
862 posts
 

I have had a DIY 300B integrated stereo amplifier since 2006 built by one guy.

But in all this long period of time I did dozents upgrade myself.

The amplifier has 6sn7 input, 6f6 (in triode mode) driver and 300B. Cathode bias and C coupling between stages.

I upgraded: output transformers, power supply choke, interstage capacitors, power supply capacitors, resistors, driver and input tube idle current...

My experience shows that big value power supply capacitors (after the choke), big value cathode capacitors, correct driver idle current gave me much better improvement versus change of output transformer from James Audio to Hashimoto H30 3.5 (3 times more expensive!).

Coupling capacitor quality and sound signature are very important too and cathode resistors as well. Also the quality of power supply capacitors is very important. To get big values and quality without spending too much I use a mix of electrolytic, polypropylene film and vintage German oil capacitors.

I don’t understand why producers put such small capacitors after a choke in 300B amplifiers (typically 100-200uF per channel). My experience shows x10 value gives huge improvement in bass control, transparency, focus, soundstage.

I don't have as much experience as @atmasphere @donsachs have. I also don't understand how audio designers make decisions. Probably a much cheaper change of schematics can lead to great sound improvement without spending too much on parts and size of amplifier.

donsachs's avatar
donsachs
237 posts
 

Or leaving conventional power supply topology behind, and using multiple independent supplies in the proper way😀

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,230 posts
 

@alexberger 

You make salient and pertinent points. This is why there’s such a price discrepancy/spectrum for 300b amplifiers. They range from 500.00 to 50,000.00 USD. Implementation and quality of the power supply/driver stage and output transformer has so much do with what you get and hear.

@donsachs 

I wish you much success with your new 300b PP amplifier at the Seattle audio show. It sure seems it is a winner.

Charles

whitestix OP
689 posts
 

The sound of these amps continues to blossom by the day, providing the most realistic sound presentation I have ever heard in my room.  The images are palpably real with a pure tonal correctness to the music.  I forgot what Don sourced for the stock tubes, but he recommended much better, but yet still afforable, 300b Linlai tubes, which is tells me will be even more revealing.  I have rolled a boatload of input tubes in gear over the years, but will be happy to rely on Don's recommendations for affordable 300b tubes.  By all accounts, Emission Labs also makes excellent 300b tubes, but they are nearly twice the cost of the Linlai tubes I ordered.  Honestly, I could easily live with these stock 300b tubes, but Don assures me the Linlai WE300b tubes will provide a significant SQ improvement.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,230 posts
 

@whitestix

It is so good and refreshing to read how much you are enjoying your Don Sachs 300b amplifier. I’m on my 2nd pair of the EML XLS 300b tubes. They are superb! However, I’d trust the Lanlai 300b recommendation from Don. I am lucky in that I only need one pair of tubes for my SET amplifier. Your PP amplifier obviously requires 2 pair of 300b. Things can become expensive quickly.😊

If he said the sound quality further improves, I believe it based on my experience with various 300b tubes. Keep us posted.

Charles

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