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
lynn_olson's avatar
lynn_olson
268 posts
 

As Whitestix mentions above, the Japanese have a "purist" esthetic that applies to audio. But it goes much deeper than that. The CEOs and top engineers of Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, or Chinese companies are not going to be impressed by the latest mass-produced gadget. Hardly. That’s the stuff they make every day, and they make it to very high reliability standards.

What they appreciate is artisan audio made to the highest standards, by artisans of superb taste. Not 1" thick anodized-aluminum front panels with a giant meter in the middle. That only impresses naive Americans who have never worked in manufacturing,

What impresses them is genuine American aerospace-grade quality, if circuit boards are involved, or artisan hand-tuned point-to-point circuitry. And they are not impressed by magazine reviewers, since they have an insider’s view of the publishing industry, and are very aware of how American marketing works.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,235 posts
 

@lynn_olson 

What they appreciate is artisan audio made to the highest standards, by artisans of superb taste. Not 1" thick anodized-aluminum front panels with a giant meter in the middle. That only impresses naive Americans who have never worked in manufacturing

I wonder how these Japanese engineers/designers view the products manufactured by Robert Koch (Robert Koda Audio). His approach seems to be a blend of Japanese aesthetic/philosophy and heirloom visual appeal for the North American and European markets. I don’t know how well received his components are in Japan.

Charles

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,621 posts
 

Don, myself, and the team at Spatial intend to be on the straight and narrow when it comes to regulations ... we are not Tesla, Apple, or Microsoft, with armies of lawyers to smooth the path into new markets.

To gain the CE mark (which says that the product meets EU Directives) you can self-certify and no lawyers needed. Its not intended as a trade barrier.

If there are no digital or switching circuits involved, you have exemption from a good number of directives. Beyond that, if good practice for the AC wiring is observed (with a proper AC ground if a metal chassis is employed) and there are no exposed voltages, then you are 95% of the way there. It isn't required that you have a tube cage but if its not shipped with the equipment it must be available as an option. Finally the CE mark must appear somewhere: either on the shipping box, the associated owner's manual or the equipment itself.

Its a good idea to test the equipment for RFI generation, even if there are no RF sources such as switching technology. If you paid attention to Ps and Qs regarding layout and grid stoppers this is likely not an issue. 

RoHS must also be observed. For the most part this means lead free solder, but there's a percentage involved so it is possible to use leaded solder. You'll have to review the regulations on that.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,842 posts
 

a fascinating discussion… and remarkable in that blind American exceptionalism has yet to …intervene…much.

I spent much of my career working globally…for the largest exporter in the USA. 

Aerospace grade….. ;-)

Enjoy the music and i wish all well

alexberger
863 posts
 

Japan has a very good used audio stuff market with Tango, Tamura transformer; Kondo, Acrolink cables; used amplifiers and CD player,... Japanese people sell all this stuff on the internal market. A very few used stuff from Japan is sold internationally , for example, on eBay. And because Japanese people don’t use eBay, all used Japanese audio equipment sold by hucksters - prices on eBay are at least twice higher than in the local market.

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