Audio Amps with We 300B tube?

I have been reading, with great interest, the history of the Western Electric 300B tube.

I'm wondering if there is a moderatly priced amp that uses this tube?

Anyone know?

 

Thank you Steve!! I was hoping you would chime in.

That does look sweet. Knowing what I know now about the WE 300B, I have to think that amp would sound utterly fantastic.

Pretty decnt price too, for a stereo amp. I will have to look at this VERY Closely.

 

Steve, would you be kind enough to post a review of this amp after you have had a chance to listen?

I am drooling over this.

Can you imagine "Die beatles" on this amp??

 

Pacific Creek....I wonder if it is made in China?

Not that is bad or anything because the Chinese manufactured electronics have come a long way(Shanling for example). I'm just curious.........

 

Thanks, Steve, that would be great.

My feeling is that ANY amp that uses this tube would have to sound "good" at the very least. I mean, the 300B Is the worlds best sounding audio tube!!!!!

 

Hi Mikey,

Unfortunately, I would say that not all 300B amps are created equal.

I've tried out a pair of Jadis 300b amps($12,000, with original Western Electric 300b tubes) recently, and frankly, they sounded way too warm and flat, not clear, detail or dynamic enough.

 

Mike, that is really odd. A 12,000 amp that didnt sound god.

Could it have been that the tubes were shot?

 

You know, I guess my reasoning is that anything with a 300b tube will beat the solid state Denon amp I have now. And at least from a "nice midrange" point of view it certainly should.

 

If you are into diy, there are a host of amps which use a 300B. I'm a bit biased toward Bottlehead products [my phonostage, headphone amp, preamp and 2A3 monoblock amps are all Bottlehead products that I made]. The ParaBee sounds great for very little money, about $1500 and you can fine tune the sound to your heart's delight. Of course, this costs a bit but even stock they sound amazing. They are SET (single ended triode) amps and deliver about 8 watts per channel which provides more than enough volume if you have relatively efficient speakers.

There is also a truly amazing community to help you through any problems.

You can check out the forum at http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/bottlehead/bbs.html

and there is a link at the top of the page to the products.

the usual disclaimers apply - not connected in any way - just a very satisfied customer.

Bryon

 

Pacific Creek amp and Bottlehead

Hi all:

Say, been reading this thread with interest. Finally have the Pacific Creek
amp broken in and it sounds very good.

http://www.pacificcreek.com/

Also have some Bottlehead 2A3 amps,
but the cheaper ones. Doc at Bottlehead is a pal, and he makes great stuff too.
If you like to use a soldering iron, his stuff sounds really good, especially for the
money. I have one of his phono preamps that is also pretty good.

(have a preamp, but haven't had the time to solder it up....)

But this Pacific Creek amp is really nice for the $$. Sounds great with stock
tubes, but am going to do some substitutions. I know Steve was talking about swapping
out the 12AU7's and possibly the 6L6's. I have a set of Western Electric 300B's
coming my way, so will try that too.

Really want to see if it makes as big of a difference as it does with the Wavac.

The best thing about this amp, is it is very neutral and smooth. Also has pretty solid
bass, as you all know, some of these amps are a bit tubby. The nice thing about it
is it has a lot of the great qualities of the Wavac, but does not have the ultimate level
of detail that the wavac possesses, that makes half of your record collection sound crappy. This would be great if Steve had the time to remaster all the CD's in the world!

 

Here's a thread about 300B's: http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=34455&highlight=300b

 

May I bring up another contender? Based on my listening experience with the Welborne 45DRDs, they should be pretty good as 300B amps as well - though you'll need a preamp and so they don't really fit the bill as moderately prized anymore (unless your budget looks different to mine )

 

I would like to hear your pair of 45 DRD's. I built a pair of Jack Elliano's 300B DRD design
utilizing a 6AN4 driver tube and enjoy the wonderful sound given to acoustical instruments.
Currently using with the older Sophia/TJ meshplates and a Foreplay II I built to match the amps but I like running it CD direct very much as well. Final cost was 1100. in parts using Electra Print transformers and One-Electron chokes.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/1201/aachapter28.htm

Carl

 

Carl,

that's a sweet looking pair of amps. I am sure they'll sound accordingly .
On the other hand to my ears there was/is more SET magic (i.e. transparency) the lower the wattage. Okay, it's been some time since I last encountered the 300B (and in an amp like yours I might find it difficult to part with them), but I found the 2A3 more balanced and the 45 I like even more. But then, as long as it it's tubes, I won't complain .

Wolfram

 

Agreed dubai2000!
The opportunity I had to put these together as part of a group could not be passed on. But the 45 is such a sweet sound, it would be nice to hear them in a DRD design and maybe get to own one sometime. With a 76 based pre.
Somebody stop me!

Carl

 

What makes you say that? I do think that single-ended directly-heated triodes are the best sounding output valves, and the 300B has a great reputation, and its reasonably high output makes it useful in situations where lower powered output tubes can't be used.

But there are a number of more esoteric, lower powered tubes than the 300B, and if you have really high efficiency speakers you can use these.

Here are 8 output tubes that some consider better than the WE 300B:

• RS241 Telefunken
• UX-210 RCA/Cunningham
• UX-245 RCA/Cunningham
• VT-52 Hytron
• 45 (ST) RCA
• UX-171A RCA/Cunningham
• 31 RCA
• 275A Western Electric

On this list, I've only heard the 45. These tubes are all pretty rare; so score one for the 300B, especially with assistance from the Chinese Full Music factory. But Full Music make a 2A3, a 45 and a 50.

Every tube afficianado has their favourite, so to come out with a blanket statement "the 300B Is worlds best sounding audio tube" is rattling the cage.

 

Not my words, Geoff. Thousands before me feel that way. You obviously dont, but thats ok.

 

Come on Mikey. I have one of the last pairs of Welborne Lab Laurels made. Mine have the Ultimate Upgrade kit and were assembled (and signed) by Ron Welborne. Originally they came with KR Enterprise 300Bs which I replaced with Full Music "meshies". I'm thinking of putting a new pair of tubes in them - I have another unused pair of the TJs.

I love 300Bs and think they are a legendary tube. I just cannot say that they are the "worlds best sounding audio tube".