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Anyone prefer EL34 over 300B?

Trying to decide if I'm likely to like a 300B tube amplifier more than the EL34 I have now.  I really like the EL34 but if there was a good chance I'd like the 300B even more I'd buy one. I listen to audiophile test recordings such as  "Chasin the white line down" by Dave's True Story, and "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" by Dead Can Dance along with the likes of Pink Floyd and Supertramp.  I tend to focus on the vocals and the soundstage.  I use only Tidal Premium. 

Any information would be appreciated.  
chinook9

Showing 2 responses by atmasphere

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,116 posts
 
The thing about SETs is that if you really want to hear what they are all about, you will want to use a speaker that is efficient enough that the amp is never run past about 20% of full power. Otherwise the amp will take on a 'dynamic' character caused by higher ordered harmonic distortion masquerading as 'dynamics'.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,116 posts
 
@chinnook9   Sensitivity is 2.83 volts/1 meter. Since your Tekton is 4 ohms, that means that 2.83Volts is 2 watts. In turn this means that the efficiency is actually 92dB. That is a medium efficiency and far too low to hear what a 300b amp is all about unless you have 4 power tubes (in push-pull) per channel. A lot depends on the room of course; I'm assuming an average size room maybe 17'x21' or so.

Put another way, you need about 60-100 watts in most rooms. I'm a big fan of triodes but most 300b amps are SETs and simply won't make the power. Another issue is that any SET that does make the power stands a very real risk of having less bandwidth than your speakers.
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