|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
160.62.7.250
In Reply to: RE: Is this 300b too good to be true? posted by rebbi on November 27, 2014 at 17:41:59
and: A) it was parallel single ended, B) truly dual mono, c) has very nice, made by JJ, double C-core output transformers, D) weighs in at a beastly 42Kg (big output iron) and, E) Sounds very transparent and open once warmed up.
Oh yeah, it looks better than just about every other amp ever made.
Granted, the new price was $6K but it has been on the market since about the year 2000 so older ones can be had for reasonable prices.
Follow Ups:
The best price I've seen for this item used was more than double the price of the amp discussed in this thread.........
4x300B will also be a bit pricy when tubes need replacement.
Got it off Agon for under $2K...
Morricab,
Good golly, that is one gorgeous amp - wow, good for you!
I didn't realize that Divergent in Canada imported those to North America. My speakers are Reference 3A De Capo's and Divergent, of course, is the parent company of Reference 3A. Their lower cost line is Antique Sound Lab, and I took at look at the AQ 1005 DT, which is an integrated, 300b unit with a volume remote, but decided to take a pass.
Yeah, it works GREAT on my Ref 3a Master control MMCs. That is the system I use it on but it also sounded pretty amazing on my big Odeon "La Boheme" horn speakers.
I use the NAT on the horns most of the time though.
Morricab,
Good to hear because I am running Reference 3A De Capos!
Jeez, does everybody have those speakers? You are like the fifth person I've run across in a week who have those.
Jamie
Big speakers and little amps blew my mind!
I had three pairs of Reference 3a speakers! All are older than the Da Capos.
i had the the small floorstanding La Veritas (by Innovac in Holland)
i have the larger floorstanding L'Integrale (by Innovac in Switzerland)
I have the bookshelf sized Master Control MMC (Reference 3a, France).
All three were designed by legendary Frenchman Daniel Dehay. The company started in France then moved to Switzerland and then to Canada where they are now. All of mine use the crossoverless Carbon Fiber mid/bass (rolls off smooth without breakup modes).
I still use the MMCs regularly and the L'integrales sparingly. I now use Odeon horn speakers as my main system.
The Ref 3as are very open and uncolored sounding and at about 92db they work fine with 8 watts and up. I use the JJ on them and they play loud and clean/clear with this amp. Do not confuse CF with kevlar that has nasty breakups...this woofer's "cone" profile is actually shaped more like an exponential horn and is designed to avoid breakup.
Then they must be very good speakers indeed to deserve that kind of brand loyalty, and I mean that.
I think we both know that speaker manufacturers usually, but not always, use CF so it can handle more wattage. If in this case it also leads to better sound, then that's great.
I would only want rebbi to at some point check out paper cones, and other natural fibers. Then he can make up his own mind.
Glad to hear 8 watts will be enough.
Jamie
Big speakers and little amps blew my mind!
Well, I have heard good paper cones and bad paper cones...they are not color free in any case...the rigid CF cones seem to be more devoid of color than most paper ones I have heard.
My Odeons use a big 10 inch paper cone but since it is horn loaded it barely moves even when playing loud so the paper cone "cry" is basically non-existent.
Well said. :-)
rebbi, see my reply to morricab. Glad to hear 8 watts will be enough.
J
Big speakers and little amps blew my mind!
Cool.
I am going to blog about my build process and will post the link here.
Of course, Rebbi, if your room is huge and/or you regularly play really loud then 8 watts might not be enough. That said my room is fairly big and I listen at moderate levels and the magic eyes on the JJ barely "blink".
Morricab,
Not very large at all: 11' x 16' with an 8' ceiling. And I tend to listen "into" the music rather than blasting it, so I think I'll be alright.
Yeah, for real!
Well, that model's been around in one form or another for a very long time and - while nothing pleases everybody - it is awfully good (given the right room and associated equipment).
Edits: 11/30/14
Man, they are just not cut out for SET amps though. They have freaking carbon fiber diaphragms. I can't think of anything more antithetical to SET amps than CF dia.
I think you have two options. Get a FET based SS amp to go with your speakers, like Dennis Fraker suggested, or you get new high efficient speakers to go with your new SET amp. I know that's not what you want to hear, but there it is. You can try to play your 300b on the di capos until then. I would say extreme near field.
Gotta go do yard work. Check you later.
Jamie
Big speakers and little amps blew my mind!
You know, it will be very interesting to see about that. As far as I can tell, the driver material is not the only or perhaps even primary consideration here.
The speakers are rated at 92 dB efficiency – not super efficient, but fairly so. They have no conventional crossover – that means, the carbon fiber driver is coupled directly to the amplifier. And the tweeter is only protected by a single capacitor. Thus, there are not a lot of crossover parts sucking up power and dissipating it as heat. The impedance curve is supposed to be quite benign, as well.
All told, the owners manual says that "low-power, purist amplifiers of only a few watts are known to give very good results" with these speakers.
So, we shall see!
That's badass.
How cool is it to have an amp with magic eye tubes? Do you ever come close to clipping your amp? Ever try?
Jamie
Big speakers and little amps blew my mind!
Most of the time the eyes barely move...with 92db or 98db sensitivity speakers and moderate listening levels it is probably a watt or less I am using. However, I will on occasion pump it up and can make the eyes almost touch on peaks but I do this rarely as it is then pretty loud.
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: