What are some great 300B SET amps $5-7K?

[Fishfood]

Looking to upgrade. Need 8-12 WPC, minimum.. Really enjoying a Sun Audio 300BE as my first SET experience but wondering where to go next?

 

[bonzo75]

Looking to upgrade. Need 8-12 WPC.. Really enjoying a Sun Audio 300BE as my first SET experience but wondering where to go next?

Hi, how do you know it is 8 to 12 watts you are looking for? Did you try amps below and above that?

 

[Fishfood]

I should have said minimum 8-12 watts. Original post edited!

I have only tried the Sun and also Herron 150W SS amps so far.

 

[rooze]

You might catch a pair of Allnic Audio A6000 monoblocks in your price range, though they’re pretty rare. These output 50 or 60 watts per channel depending on what type of 300b tube you use.
They’ve selectable negative feedback (on or off) so can be matched to different speaker types/loads.
They sound fantastic. On the downside, they’re big, heavy, and generate a lot of heat. They’re also expensive to retube if you go for a premium tube like the EML 300b XLS.

 

[godofwealth]

I love my JJ 322 300B SET amplifier, which produces about 20 watts per channel using a paralleled pair of 300Bs. For driving my Quad ESL 2905s, it beat every amplifier i have tried over 5 years, including very pricey tube and solid state ones. Best of all, I got it for around 2 grand from The Music Room with new tubes. Steal of the century. If you see a used version, pounce. It’s a beast, about 95 pounds. Looks nice too.

 

[morricab]

I love my JJ 322 300B SET amplifier, which produces about 20 watts per channel using a paralleled pair of 300Bs. For driving my Quad ESL 2905s, it beat every amplifier i have tried over 5 years, including very pricey tube and solid state ones. Best of all, I got it for around 2 grand from The Music Room with new tubes. Steal of the century. If you see a used version, pounce. It’s a beast, about 95 pounds. Looks nice too.

Had one for a few years and it is a very good value amp.

 

[deadhead]

I recently took delivery of a Toolshed Amp that's 300b. Sound is incredible with my Spatial Audio X3s (97db efficient). Mine was fully tricked out and came in around 10k but Matt can build it for less.

 

[charles1dad]

For the requested price and power range I enthusiastically suggest The Canadian made Coincident Frankenstein MK III 300b SET mono blocks. Exceptional built quality and ultra-reliable. They provide exquisite sound quality, tonal purity and very natural and transparent presentation.
Best wishes,
Charles

 

[bazelio]

Had one for a few years and it is a very good value amp.

Criticism via faint praise?

 

[Fred Crane]

There are a few other output tubes I would consider in and around that power rating. First and foremost, I like the GM70... then there is the 572B the 520B and if you can find them, the 813. Of course the 211 and 845 would be great as well. The aforementioned tubes allow for the power you want without moving your circuit to PSE or PP. Of course there are some excellent PSE 300b tube amps available, though with retubing they may not stay within your cost envelope.

 

[Mr. Analog]

If money is no object: Silbatone

If budget is limited: Roeder El Mago

Regards

AnalogTom

 

[godofwealth]

Over the last 6 months, I’ve explored a range of SET amplification and find in my experience the “best” SET amplifiers are ones that don’t use 300Bs. Don’t get me wrong: 300Bs are indeed lovely and a bit lush sounding, but my favorite SET amps are those that use the 45 tube or the even more esoteric Western Electric 421a tube. There’s no free lunch: you have to give up quite a bit of power, and I realize this is probably unacceptable to you. I use a Klipsch La Scala horn speaker, and even a 1 watt SET is plenty.

So, my current favorite SET is the Oliver Sayes 421a, which is a model of simplicity. One 421a power tube drives both channels at 3 watts. One 6SL7 driver and one 5BY rectifier. The NOS Western Electric 421a is not as pricey as the 300B, but to my ears, sounds even better. But half the power.

 

[Fred Crane]

Over the last 6 months, I’ve explored a range of SET amplification and find in my experience the “best” SET amplifiers are ones that don’t use 300Bs. Don’t get me wrong: 300Bs are indeed lovely and a bit lush sounding, but my favorite SET amps are those that use the 45 tube or the even more esoteric Western Electric 421a tube. There’s no free lunch: you have to give up quite a bit of power, and I realize this is probably unacceptable to you. I use a Klipsch La Scala horn speaker, and even a 1 watt SET is plenty.

So, my current favorite SET is the Oliver Sayes 421a, which is a model of simplicity. One 421a power tube drives both channels at 3 watts. One 6SL7 driver and one 5BY rectifier. The NOS Western Electric 421a is not as pricey as the 300B, but to my ears, sounds even better. But half the power.

View attachment 105097

Jeffery Jackson made a beautiful 421a amp. Great sounding if you can get away with the output. Not a problem with our horns at all. The 45 is still hard to beat.

 

[godofwealth]

Yes, I agree 45 tubes are possibly the purest sounding SET tube, but only 1.5 watts. I have a pair of Triode Labs 45m, which use Emission Labs mesh plate 45s. Really lovely sound, but you need very efficient 100+ dB speakers.

 

[NickMimi]

It’s just below your wattage desires but I am enjoying a brute of an amp built by Radu Tarta, his Shiny Eyes. At 6wpc my K-Horns, Spatial Audio‘s and Omegas pair wonderfully.

I will also second the wonderful 45 tubes but at much less wattage, usually under 2wpc. I have a pair of simple Allan Eaton monblocks which punch with much authority and heft, well beyond what their wattage suggests. Good luck in your search.

 

[Gregadd]

Western Electric 91e 300B Integrated amp

 

[godofwealth]

This looks nice, but how I wish they had designed it as a simple integrated amplifier and left out the substandard digital input etc.

 

[Dimfer]

try surfing Ottomon, I’ve listened to one of his 300B amps in my system, sounds as good as it looks.. you can still specify Tango transformers I think. Ken does very clean job.. my friend who has ordered a number of stuff from him said Ken is very collaborative as well, with some parts upgrade, Ottomon can compete with the elite.

 

[bonzo75]

He had a 45 here that wasn’t that good though there weren’t any upgraded parts, only the basic

 

[Cellcbern]

Looking to upgrade. Need 8-12 WPC, minimum.. Really enjoying a Sun Audio 300BE as my first SET experience but wondering where to go next?

FYI:

Melody Valve AN300B Integrated Tube Amplifier Review

[W]hen I reviewed the Melody Valve PM845 mono block amps and Pure Black 101 preamp, I was knocked out by the build quality and no-holds-barred approach to amp construction. Just going by weight, appearances and parts count, they are seriously impressive products. My final conclusion was that...

www.dagogo.com

Melody AN 300B Integrated Amplifier Reviewed - HomeTheaterReview

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