Opinion on Elekit 8300 300b


I am thinking of building this kit. I would like to get into SET's and expand my DIY. Currently have Green Mountain EOS HDx's with Ayre QB9 and Ayre AX7e. The GMA's are only 90dB but a very simple xover and easy to drive.

I tried a MiniWatt Pentode SET with 3.5 watts and it sounded very nice for guitar, voice and violin. The 300b kit has 8 watts and would be sufficient for the kind of listening I intend to do with it. I will def keep my Ayre for R&R, dub step etc.

I have built computers (in the old days) and soldered chips so I know how to solder and know digital well. Just am not so familiar with analog stuff and power.

I am interested in trying lots of mods over time so may be investing money in it.

Questions are:

1. Is it worth the money as a starter kit?
2. Is it an upgradeable platform or does the use of PCB's negate that?
3. Would I be better off using a wired platform from the start?
4. Anyone know about the Elekit kit that has interchangeable 2a3 and 300b? Sounds interesting but maybe the tradesoffs are too great.

I know about Audionote and Bottlehead but these kits really almost double the cost and I would prefer to try different mods and upgrades. Also want to build a set of Single driver speakers soon too.

Thanks for you opinions! Oh, really not trying to stir a debate about tubes vs SS. I like em both really and want both of them in my audio quiver!

Drew.
drewh1
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I know, the Miniwatt is not much of an ammp but a friend had one laying around. I was interested in just getting a baseline around output.

The Bottlehead looks very nice and is not based on PCB's. Definitely a contender. So I guess I really need to decide whether to go 2a3 or 300b as a starting point. I do really want an upgradeable platform for caps, volume control etc.

Thanks alot for your input!
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Just pulled the trigger and ordered the 2a3 Stereomour. I have the manual but the kits are awaiting transformers.

Viridian - Thanks for your input. The Bottlehead Forum is really helpful too.
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Hi Veridian - I'll let you know how it goes. It is supposed to ship this week. I am taking everyone's advice from the forum - build it stock then upgrade!

Might make a goldpoint the first upgrade - love the way they look and right in the signal path. I will be only hooking up one input and will eliminate the cheapo selector switch in the initial build. Should be fun and educational at any rate.
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Oops - Viridian it is! I will definitely let you know and will likely have questions about caps as I get more deeply into it. Thanks for the tip about the Hammerton paint.
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