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

@whitestix 

I didn’t know that you are getting Cube Audio speakers. Which model?

A good friend has had their Nenuphars for about 4 years and he absolutely loves them. He’s driven them with a Pass Labs  XA 30.8 as well as a T+A amplifier to very good effect.  However, his favorite choice and main amplifier is a custom built (Found Music) 2A3 SET mono blocks.

Cube Audio speakers will unequivocally sing with your 300b amplifier. Excellent move by you.

Charles

 

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@oddiofyl 

I sincerely hope that you receive the same tube longevity from your new production Western Electric 300b as I’ve gotten from the EML. 

Charles

 

@ffzz 

Just look at Viva, their flagship model uses 211 as driver of 845. Thomas Mayer does the same. It’s not a show and dealing with filament for 211 (845 too) is no fun - it’s simply because 211 can share the same B+ and drive 845 well.

Good examples . I really like the Viva 845 amplifiers I’ve heard. Here’s what is interesting to me. A friend owned the Absolare Passion PSET 845 mono blocks for several years. They sound simply fantastic! The 845 was driven by the 6SN7. How ever they accomplished this, it worked.

Charles

I heard that Sakuma used 300b driver tube for 300b. He always used transformer for coupling.

To get 27 watts from the 300b push-pull it should be class AB.