@oddiofyl Thank you! Cheers, Aric
Aric Audio Custom 300b PSET
Hey guys. I just wanted to share my initial impressions regarding Aric Audio Custom 300b PSET I just plugged in. Posting here because of the numerous discussions regarding Aric’s equipment I read that convinced me to take a chance on a small company’s, handmade amp.
I’m coming from 25 years of solid state and very recently a Synthesis el34 50 watt push pull amp. The Synthesis sounds great and I didn’t buy the new amp because I was displeased in any way. I’d purchased it while waiting for some Decware gear, which after 7 months couldn’t do anymore. I wanted a handmade, point to point amp, so I researched around and came across Aric Audio here. Gave him a call, discussed what I was looking for and Aric gave his recommendations. I was a bit nervous when he suggested the 300b. I’d never heard them before and those tubes are pricey! Many good reviews later, I decided, F*ck it! I’m in. Placed the order and added some upgrades.
After 4 or 5 weeks, got the call and picked up the amp. It sat for a day and I plugged it in today. I stream through a Cambridge cxn v2 and Topping d90le dac. Speakers are Audio Note-e/lx, AN Lexus speaker wire, Black Dragon interconnect and xlr’s.
Listening was really surprising. I’m amazed how different the sound is from the Synthesis with el34’s. The sound is much more powerful. You feel it more. The vocals are a bit more forward. Staging is far better. Probably the weirdest is the blackness. Just so quite and yet I hear so much more. Texture to instruments, if that’s a proper way to explain it. I’m new to this world so proper words escape me. Fullness, sharp instrument strikes and naturalness come to mind. The clarity of the music is striking. I almost feel like I’m hearing things I shouldn’t in the music, like feet tapping and inhalations for example. Very cool. 😀
I look forward to hearing how the amp improves. I do hope the cymbals settle just a bit. They don’t glare and aren’t bright, just very clear and more prominent compared to previous amp/tubes. I’m sure my brain and ears need an adjustment period as well. Each equipment change I do freaks me out! I look forward to sharing developments and hope to hear your comments.
Showing 12 responses by aricaudio
@earthbound Posting from the white mountains before breakfast! Hey, thanks for posting about the amp and I'm glad you're enjoying it! Regarding the highs, I would suggest giving the amp about 200 hours to fully flesh out as there will be significant breaking occuring during that time. I think you'll find it settles quite a bit during that time, and of course tube rolling will make a very substantial difference in the sonics! Thanks again for having me build you the amp! Cheers, Aric |
@earthbound I've got to agree! I wasn't aware this album existed until now- so I decided to take a listen. I think I nodded off a few times and so I skipped a few tracks and the same thing happened! Lol. Best, Aric |
Some nice cuts and taste in music there! I'm usually all over the place, but have been on a Woods Brothers kick for the last couple of days. Next day it might be Indie/Alt or maybe some classis Metal I used to listen to in the 80's. I hope you continue to enjoy the amp and have a great Thanksgiving! |
@earthbound Hope you enjoyed some good grub! You got it- in SET vs PSET mode there is half the current passing through the output transformers producing 9 watts per channel instead of 18, so the amp will definitely run cooler! Also, I'm not sure if you did, but I would move the speaker connections to the 4 ohm taps when running in SET mode as the impedance ratio is changed with only one power tube per channel. I find this mode very useful if a premium (expensive) pair of power tubes are used and you don't want to purchase a quad (yet). For most music, SET is all I need with my speakers, but if you really want to drive some current to your speakers, then PSET allows the amp to punch above it's power/weight. |
@earthbound For the other tubes, I really like the Sylvania 6V6GT black plate / smoked glass that are in there now, I find them to be completely grain-less and overall nicely detailed and neutral. I’ve tried using some RCA and GE grey and black plates and thought they sounded a bit coarse in the midrange. Another extremely high quality 6V6GT equivalent that several customers have reported they loved, are the Bendix 5992s- supposedly the holy grail of 6V6s! I've not listened to these myself though. For the input gain stage, the 6SN7s included are Hytron black plates, which are a nicely balanced, non-offensive tube. There are better out there however, they are nice. I really like the Sylvania "Bad Boy" 6SN7GTs with either 2 or 3 hole plates. They are extremely detailed and neutral without exhibiting any harshness and are probably my favorites in the amp. Another great sounding tube are the Linlai Elite 6SN7s. They’re new production, and I’ve purchased 6 pairs of them with excellent consistency and reliability across the board. Probably a bit less detailed than the Bad Boys, but very nuanced and add a nice subtle "flavor" to the mix. For 300Bs, I’ve used Emission Labs 300BXLS with excellent results, and excellent reliability plus they come with a 5 year warranty from the manufacturer. I hope this helps! Aric |
@charles1dad +1 I have three customers that can attest to that as well. One of them became a dealer after buying his first pair. He firmly believes in the sonics and quality of the WEs. |
A relatively inexpensive quad I have running in a 300B Push Pull (I’ve also tried them in the PSET albeit briefly) are the Linlai 7300Bs. Sort of a KT150ish looking egg shape (which you’ll likely either love or hate), and a titanium coated plate structure. I paid $660 for a quad, and have about 100 hours on them, and they’re fantastic for the money this far in. They're very balanced and detailed without any bloat, raggedness or roll-off on either end. Somewhat "fast and detailed" sounding, without being analytical or sterile. So far I have not had any Linlai tubes fail on me- 6SN7s, 2A3s, 845s, 5U4GBs (and too soon to tell, but so far the 300Bs as well). YMMV, but so far they’ve all biased up consistently with no ticks, pops, or any other noises. Very consistent in sonics across tubes. My early impressions are very positive with Linlai’s tubes thus far.
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I would try swapping the WE's left to right and then powering the amplifier back on to see if now the other meter is one line higher. If the same meter stays higher, then you can use a small flathead screwdriver to adjust the small set screw at the bottom center of the meter. They're only measuring cathode current, more or less to give an indication of a bad tube and whether the amplifier is in PSET or SET mode, but it's not abnormal for there to be a small variance. Alternatively, if the slightly higher meter follows the tube, then it's likely that they simply need to settle in for a bit. Cheers! Aric |
@earthbound Are those the 6V6GTs? Let me know and I'll get another pair en route to you, they should've lasted much longer than that. I usually see these tubes last at least a couple of years in this amp.
Best regards, Aric |
That's the thing with tubes- usually if you're going to have a bad one, you'll find out right away (too bad not within the first 20 hours!). In any case, I stand by my offer to replace them if you've cleaned the pins and found it still emits the same "hash". I'm very glad you're enjoying the amp as well, and appreciate you posting your comments here :-)
Cheers, Aric |