2. amps-preamps
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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
palasr
518 posts
 

Best thread on Audiogon in a long, long, long time.  Great information, and has me wishing I could attend the Seattle show.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,234 posts
 

@lynn_olson

The usage of 845,211,805,GM 70 and other high voltage transmission tubes have been manufactured and sold by very reputable and established brands for quite awhile now. They’ve been enjoyed by owners for years without reliability or hazard issues. So it appears they’ve addressed the real world problems you logically cautioned about.

I will say however that this new approach/design of utilizing 300b tubes in push-pull is highly interesting and frankly exciting. Certainly in terms of acquiring higher tube power (Thus expanding speaker choice flexibility). I’m really looking forward to reading listener feedback from those attending the Pacific Audio show.

Charles

alexberger
863 posts
 

The output transformer for 845 SET should be at least 10K Ohm. And it can't be as wide a bandwidth as a 3K output transformer for 300B. Another issue is that driving 845 tubes is much more difficult.

A well designed 845 SET will always be inferior to a well designed 300B SET in sound quality.  

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,234 posts
 

@alexberger

A well designed 845 SET will always be inferior to a well designed 300B SET in sound quality

I am a thoroughly happy long term 300b SET owner. However, I do know that there are excellent sounding high voltage transmission tube SET amplifiers. Do you believe that the output transformers in these amplifiers is the overwhelming factor that informs your opinion?

Charles

donsachs's avatar
donsachs
245 posts
 

To distill much of the above.  What struck me (well, Clayton and folks at Spatial Audio as well) with the first build of the circuit in a stereo box with a CCS on the plate of each driver tube was the purity of the sound.  It didn't have a sound per se. The amp just got out of the way.  The first prototype of the Spatial X4 fully passive speaker with the new crossover was there.  It was about 87 dB and 4 ohms.  The amp drove it with ease.  One of their techs, who is a lot younger than I, liked it LOUD.  I went out to grab lunch and when I came back, Ryan had it cranked so loud I could not be in the room.  No strain, no clipping, no nothing.  It just got louder.  He said it played as loud as his Schiit mono block SS amps, and sounded FAR better.   It indeed sounds like a 60-100 watt tube amp for drive, but it sounds far better than any other amp I have heard.  Of course we have spent a year improving that prototype considerably.  There are a number of reasons and they are all covered above.  Circuit, power supply topology, coupling methodology, inductance of one form or another between every tube plate and their power supply.   Real world modern production tubes, with many NOS versions available.   It all sums up.  What you hear is what you don't hear... various sorts of subtle distortion from other topologies that give amps a certain grayness.  Trust me, I have heard a LOT of other amps.  You don't even realize that it is there until it is gone.  That is what these amps sound like.  Or don't sound like....  Been a fun journey with Lynn, working out real world builds of the amp and preamp circuits.  If you can come to Seattle, please hear them and give your opinion!

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