Sun Valley vs Sun Audio 300b

I strongly considered the AN Kit1, Kit1-10, and Kit1-15. Honestly for all the upgraded parts that are included with the Kit1-15 you can't really beat the price. In the end I was stuck on my own requirement of 100% point-to-point wiring (no circuit boards) and so I went with the SV. Probably nothing wrong with circuit boards and it was more a matter of personal preference than any sort of pragmatic choice. I also preferred the 12AT7 & 12AU7 tubes used by the SV as opposed to the 6NS7 & 5687 tubes used by the AN because of availability and cost when considering tube rolling. I haven't completed my SV kit yet so can't comment on its sound. Who knows, maybe in the future I will purchase the AN Kit1-15 to do a little comparison listening (if/when I have a $5K of mad money available).

Hello all to who are still following this thread. I bought a used Sun Audio SV-300BE recently from a very nice gentleman in Nova Scotia where we both live.

I like the fact that it is a simple design and there is no global negative feedback, and I upgraded all the tubes to new or new old stock. I also upgraded the two single coupling capacitors with Solen teflon caps from France. I hear they need to be burned in longer than other variations but I am patient.

This is the first time I moved to a single ended amp and I am very much a fan now of SET. The sound of the 300B amp is very sweet, and it sounds so much better than anything I have had. Voice and instruments are so articulate. The high frequencies are very clean and clear. The bass isn't profound but I could eventually get a subwoofer to handle that for me. I have no desire to go back to push/pull or Class A/B.

FYI, I can only afford to buy used but I have had some great used Conrad Johnson amps that are beautiful to look at and are built like tanks...and they sound wonderful as well. Conrad Johnson uses polypropylene and teflon capacitors in their amps. Very well regarded brand and they last a very very long time....but I am loving this 300B Sun Audio amp!

Bill in Nova Scotia

PS. I changed out the 300B tubes to PSVANE Cossor, the rectifier tube to a NOS Svetlana black plate and the two 6SN7’s are new Northern Electrics. I have some serious sound happening here now. I have two sets of speakers...Yamaha NS-1000M’s and Belle Klipsch which are out for new veneer and haven’t been listened to with the 300B amp yet. Hopefully for Christmas.

@wgs57 thanks for the info:)

I have a dozen 300 B single-ended amps. The Sun Audio SV-300BE sounded superb with the Takatsuki 300B, old stock WE300B, and the first batch re-issue of the WE300B tube and its variants ( Cetron ). The Chinese and the European variants ( Sophia mesh Royal princess, Pvsanne WE300B, EH, KR, and Emission Lab 300B XLS ) don’t have that magical tone.
I use the Tungsol round plate black glass 6SN7 and RCA 5U4G variants, which sounds wonderful.
The previous owner already modified this amp. The Coupling capacitors were upgraded to Theta Audiocap and the gain control was by-passed.
I don’t have the Sun Valley 300B so I can’t comment on it. Based on the ones I have heard from YouTube channels, the sound is a little more flat and less three-dimensional versus the Sun Audio sv300BE I have. I feel that OPT of the Sun Audio has a better lower bass frequency response.
Off-topic,

My other favorite 300B circuits are the WE91B circuit-based Japanese DIY with a single WE310a. It has enough drive ( at least to my ears .) I have two sets of these wonderful-sounding monoblocks ( 3.5K and 5K primary Tango FW-50 OPT .)


Other favorite DIY amps:
three stage 6922, 6v6 triode strapped 300B SET with Tamura F2007 OPT
The CAD-300 SEI factory upgraded version that I replaced with coupling capacitors to the Audyn copper max with bypass cap. This enhances the lower frequency response and gives a better sound stage and musicality than the original Mundorf MCap EVO SilverGold Oil Capacitors.