My 300B amp is on the way. If everything goes well, it‘ll be with me on Friday. And if everything goes even better, I might find time to check it out this weekend
Alright..! I heard so much good things about those amp. Let us know your impression and congrats with the fine amp... By the way.. This original LP or even the original best of Gino Vanelli is a drop jaw listening on a 300b. The streamer is good, but if you have an amp with the sound you really like, you will always go for the best.
I took me some time to get to know the ANK amp better. I will update you with a short first opinion on the amp in the coming days. It‘s definitely very exciting to discover the character and abilities of this 300B amp!
Sexy! But considering how long this has taken you owe us more pics and detailed comparative listening impressions.
Hilarious... I'm on a break-in with my other amp too. Today I am so tempted to plug in some of my vintage tube collections to hear the sound. I'm trying to hold myself back, really wait till I get so familiar with the amps sound back to back before I start doing something and changing including tubes. In the end that will lead to confusion... and end up selling the amp, buying another one and going to the same revolving door process.... NEXT...!
So far I got my 300b amp setup perfect in the way how I want it. I probably have about 10 to 12 different preamp tubes for it just to change the sound. Since I'm so familiar with its original sound, I was able to pin point that will light my fire. Its been over a year now since I haven't change any preamp tubes beside tube rolling the output tube every 6 months just to check and balance everything. If I'm gonna upgrade for a better tube, 99% I'll get an original WE300b. But I might get struck by a lightning twice before I can even afford to buy a quad.
So, now I want to say a few first words about the new ANK 300B amp. It quickly made the pilgrimage across the pond and arrived safely with me. Admittedly, it took longer than I expected/hoped for the amp to ship. But I was in constant contact with Brian from ANK and I told myself: Good things come to those who wait. But whether that would be the case remained to be seen. The 300B amp from ANK has been playing with my Unison Max 2 for a few days (2 weeks?). It is connected to a Schiele (German) tube preamp. The signal from my SPL Director Mk2 DAC and that from the turntable (the Schiele preamp also has a phono preamp) flow into this device. The first contact with the ANK was ... let's put it this way: interesting. I had two 300B amps here before that. The Mira Ceti 300B, which conjured up voices I had never heard before but could do almost nothing around it. A magic device for songs that really only build on a voice or an instrument. Barely usable for anything else. Second, the Air Tight 300B. Expensive and perfectionist. So perfectionist that my feet almost fell asleep listening to it. Nothing really moved me. And since music has to do with emotions for me, it quickly became clear that the Air Tight would not be an option. So how did I feel about the ANK 300B? First of all, I immediately noticed that it played more cleanly than, for example, my Unison Simply Italy. Based on the price, one might say that the Unison cannot be a competitor. But one must not forget that the Unison is very good (because it plays very nicely and musically) and that, for example, my Max 2 and also the Max 1 were developed on this amp. The attempt to tear this perfectly coordinated team apart has failed several times before. Now for the ANK. If I had to describe it in one word, I would say: control. The device has everything under control, anytime, anywhere. No passage, no matter how difficult, that would overwhelm this AMP. I've noticed in parts that I now understand songs for the first time listening to the ANK 300B that I've heard many times before with my old chain and which previously only impressed me. Sometimes I listened to songs that were longer (sometimes around 20 minutes) from beginning to end for the first time wiht this ANK 300B amp because they made sense for the first time. The composition suddenly made sense in its parts and nuances. Next: The bass is sensational. Again, I would say that the bass was good for me before. That was also said again and again by visitors who had been listening ot music here at my place. But what the ANK offers is in a different category. Dry, crisp, precise, precise, precise. Contoured. Colored. The latter in particular is more or less entirely new. If I previously only perceived the bass as such in many songs, I now hear tones, notes, and patterns. To give you an idea: in some songs, I saw the bass "apple-shaped" in front of me as it spread out. Somehow I hear with different senses since this amp has been playing here with me. And that's exactly what fascinates me. I have embarked on a new journey. It never overdoes it, it doesn't exaggerate. And it doesn't do it boringly right but really right. For example, I listen to Katie Melua with her Georgian women's choir from Gori. Before that, it was ONE women's choir. Now it's a choir with women. I.e. I hear a choir and hear different female voices. But without it becoming analytical and unmusical. That's the big plus of this amp. It is transparent. It is detailed. But it's always incredibly musical (which for me is the be-all and end-all of listening to music). My foot always taps. It doesn't matter whether it's a quiet, slow song or a groovy one. If I had to choose an image for the three amps (Air Tight 300B; ANK, Unison Simply Italy), I would try the following. With the Air Tight amplifier, it's like being given the recipe for a great Italian meal and now you can imagine how it might turn out if you did get it. It remains theoretical. With the Simply Italy you walk in the door after a stressful day at work and the food is ready on the table and you devour it and it tastes good. With ANK, on the other hand, the chef takes you into the kitchen and you watch him cook. The table is right in the kitchen nexts to the cooker and you can enjoy it there. While you enjoy the Italy and maybe don't miss some ingredients because you don't even know that they should be there, nothing remains closed to you with the ANK. It shows you which ingredients were used and you can taste them without affecting the overall result. When I say the ANK is control, that also sounds a bit like the Air Tight. But control means that things are presented as they should be, so that they can have an effect according to the artist's intention. It can unleash, it can take you on a travel, it can touch. And it does it so to the point that it's just great. Another plus for me. It doesn't tire. If I'm not mistaken, I've often read that 300B amplifiers don't have their strength in the bass range. So that's definitely not the case for the 300B from ANK. On the contrary. I can imagine that the quality of the materials used by Audio Note is one reason why it is so versatile and not, as is sometimes rumored about 300B devices, one-sidedly gifted. It delivers on voices as it does on other things. And I definitely enjoyed listening to rock music as well. Right, there might be amps that excel more at playing rock music. Might be. But this one definitely is up to the task as far as I understand rock music. Two things I would criticize: 1. The copper plate mounted on the top front looks battered. But it was taped, so it was probably new. That's probably why they didn't see it. I don't know why it looks the way it does but Brian promised to send me a new one to exchange. Can be exchanged in a few simple steps. I'll let you know when the replacement plate arrives. 2. I ordered my model with a remote control. Actually, this is not intended for the device. It works. But unfortunately only if you point straight to it. 5 or 10 cm deviation up, down, left, right and the thing no longer works. This means that if you have the amp right in front of you exactly at the height of the armrest or so, it's okay, as soon as it's higher, lower or to the side, it's no longer possible. I'll have it checked by a technician. I've also ventured a bit into tube rolling. The device definitely responds to it! NOS tubes etc. More on that in the next post. I will include some pictures soon.
Congrats Z, you have many great listening sessions ahead. The way you describe this amp is how I would describe the presentation from my Decware SE84UFO3 Monoblocks with the 25th Anniversary mods, which has become my favorite amp and the best to listen to that I have ever had. I'm perhaps four or five months away from receiving the Decware version of the 300B amp, the SEWE300B amp. I'm eager to hear it (no customer has yet received one) and anticipate an experience similar to yours.
Oh, how excellent that it's taking you deeper into the music! This must be the best result. And, as you are hearing with that iron, there's still "no replacement for displacement". Think V6, V8, V12... LOL. It's a mature design, and this shows in how well considered the parts upgrades have been over time. Thank you for taking us in this journey with you. I'm glad our collective recommendations have brought you more pleasure and opened a few new ultra-fi doors for you.
@zeitlos - congratulations on your new amp. Thanks for the detailed summary of your listening impressions. It sounds like it's a great fit for your system.
Very nice writeup zeitlos you conveyed what you've been hearing very well. And glad the music has you too engrossed to take pics.
That was a good read. Someone save me the legwork, apologies if already covered too (thread is 35 pages) - but what are the price tags respectively of the AirTight and ANK 300B's? Retail.
I think the AirTight 300B retailed for about $17K, but is no longer available. The ANK Kit1-15 retails for $4500 as a kit or $5400 assembled.
