300b lovers


I have been an owner of Don Sachs gear since he began, and he modified all my HK Citation gear before he came out with his own creations.  I bought a Willsenton 300b integrated amp and was smitten with the sound of it, inexpensive as it is.  Don told me that he was designing a 300b amp with the legendary Lynn Olson and lo and behold, I got one of his early pair of pre-production mono-blocks recently, driving Spatial Audio M5 Triode Masters.  

Now with a week on the amp, I am eager to say that these 300b amps are simply sensational, creating a sound that brings the musicians right into my listening room with a palpable presence.  They create the most open vidid presentation to the music -- they are neither warm nor cool, just uncannily true to the source of the music.  They replace his excellent Kootai KT88 which I was dubious about being bettered by anything, but these amps are just outstanding.  Don is nearing production of a successor to his highly regard DS2 preamp, which also will have a  unique circuitry to mate with his 300b monos via XLR connections.  Don explained the sonic benefits of this design and it went over my head, but clearly these designs are well though out.. my ears confirm it. 

I have been an audiophile for nearly 50 years having had a boatload of electronics during that time, but I personally have never heard such a realistic presentation to my music as I am hearing with these 300b monos in my system.  300b tubes lend themselves to realistic music reproduction as my Willsenton 300b integrated amps informed me, but Don's 300b amps are in a entirely different realm.  Of course, 300b amps favor efficient speakers so carefully component matching is paramount.

Don is working out a business arrangement to have his electronics built by an American audio firm so they will soon be more widely available to the public.  Don will be attending the Seattle Audio Show in June in the Spatial Audio room where the speakers will be driven by his 300b monos and his preamp, with digital conversion with the outstanding Lampizator Pacific tube DAC.  I will be there to hear what I expect to be an outstanding sonic presentation.  

To allay any questions about the cost of Don's 300b mono, I do not have an answer. 

 

 

whitestix

Showing 2 responses by songeraudio

Hi @carlsbad2, thanks so much for coming to see us at the show! The amp was only pegged like that so that we could then easily control the volume from software - but you were hearing it at a fraction of full output, less than half. It just helps so much with running the room smoothly. Cheers, come see us in Seattle in a week or so! We’ll be paired with a Whammerdyne statement 2A3 amp, it should be pretty special...

Best,

Ken

Wow.

I’m just seeing this thread, and I just want to take just a moment to thank everyone for spending time with us over the weekend, and for sharing these lovely comments. We loved doing the show.

@lynn_olson @donsachs Meeting you and the immense praise you’ve offered for the driver and loudspeakers... it really is indescribable. I won’t even bother attempting it here. I’m so grateful to you both.

And, your room with Team Spatial was absolutely astonishing.  Incredibly clean sound, unbelievably deep and wide soundstage, razor sharp imaging...  Between the two of us, it's hard to say which I felt was subjectively better.