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.
They all had a different "house sound". Marantz was crisper and more resolved, a more hi-fi sound, and Fisher sounded like a really good console. Not sure if the H.H. Scotts had a consistent sound or not ... they were mostly known for their FM tuners. Dynaco was always the "value for money" brand, like a VW Beetle. |
The HK Citation gear was the most razor flat sounding, and the Fisher receivers were actually quite good. The Scott gear was also quite good, and my favorite small integrateds were the Sherwoods. Their little EL84 based integrated was quite good if rebuilt. None of these are as good as the really good modern tube amps, but only the really good gear. The transformers in the much of the old gear were really good, but they didn't have the quality signal path parts we have today. Also, they had all sorts of features that robbed signal quality, like miles of wire in the signal path to support things like stereo/mono and phase reverse switches, and of course tone control circuitry. Very long signal paths in many of the old integrated amps and preamps. The Dynaco ST 70 had good transformers, but the driver section was barely adequate and if you replace it with one of the more modern boards, especially the all octal tube ones, the amp is greatly improved. The small chassis limited the quality of the power supply you could fit in there though. Still, if modded, the ST70 is a great little amp for the money. |
Playlist Here’s what I’ve been listening to for the past year. Probably zero percent overlap with Don Sachs, and only 10% overlap with the folks at Spatial. It’s a mix of dense heavily-produced rock, London Sound, and German techno. Joywave: Traveling At The Speed of Light (7:34 version) Joywave: Smokestacks Big Data: Unglued Big Data: Put Me to Work Disclosure: Help Me Lose My Mind (featuring London Grammar) Soul II Soul: Keep On Movin’ (demo quality) Elderbrook: Inner Light Elderbrook: I’ll Find My Way to You Ulrich Schnauss: Far Away Trains Passing By (whole album) Phosphorescent: Song for Zula Tears for Fears: Elemental Tears for Fears: Woman In Chains (demo quality) Preferred Listening Format: * Shadow Vector, Surround Master, or DTS Surround system * Open-back planar headphones * DHT triode system Probably half these songs would get me thrown out of most hifi show demo rooms ... certainly the first four, for sure. They’re all really emotionally intense, which is why I listen to music. Both "Keep On Movin’ " and "Woman In Chains" have an unworldly beauty unlike anything else, and Ulrich Schnauss’ "Between Us and Them" is quite a sonic excursion. I’ve been lucky enough to have several experiences that changed my life ... when I was ten years old and heard stereo for the first time, and heard a live performance of The Messiah the same year ... fifteen years later, hearing Shadow Vector quadraphonic for the first time ... twenty years later, hearing the Ongaku and Reichert DHT amplifiers on my new Ariel speakers ... and ten years after that, my own Karna amplifier. Profound, deeply moving, out-of-body experiences. That’s why I find audiophile discussions of "accuracy" to miss the point. I don’t listen to music to sip a single-malt whiskey, smoke a Cuban cigar, scratch my chin, mark up a twenty-point checklist, and write long reflective essays about this or that subjective aspect of the sound. That’s silly. What’s the point? Who cares what XYZ critic thinks? It either gets me flying or it doesn’t ... and if it does, how high?
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@lynn_olson They were quite stable and reliable. But the circuit is carefully designed around some serious issues with phase margin, which is why you really don’t want to try any serious mods other than updated coupling caps unless you do the math and think it thru.
@donsachs The real weakness of the ST-70 is the rectifier. Its not got enough current and so is the most likely tube to fail in the amp. If you replace it with solid state the B+ will be too high. It is possible to use dual rectifiers but you have to replace the power transformer to do so. Triode Electronics of Chicago makes a power transformer that drops into place. You can use the filter can location for the other rectifier; the power supply caps can be installed beneath the chassis. There are adapter sockets on ebay that allow you to run a 6GH8 in lieu of the 7199; that gets you a far more common tube that also runs the amp with a bit lower distortion. |
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This is such a great thread. Oh! And hi @eddie138 ! Nice of you to drop in! |
