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SET Shootout China VS The USA

2A3 SET from china arrives any day now.

The tech who loaned me his UX250 (aka 50 Tube) amp, with a  12AU7 in front + a  6BH7 (??) , has incredible pure Cobalt out trans. ($1k+ each back in 2000, now no longer in production). . he will help me set up the  2A3. 

Has a  AX+AU my 2 fav front tubes anda   quad of 2A3's. 

My speakers are pure neutrality, no coloration, no distortion,. 

So whatever amp/ source you plug in, will register the nuances inherent in the circuit.

Will be very interesting. 

USA has pure cobalt out trans which gives the edge in power, but the china 2A3 has a 2 tubes per channel.

Gonna be interesting and will post a  YT upload with comments,

AFTER TESTING IS COMPLETEED.

Hand on to your horses at the OK Corral. 

Grab a  beer at the saloon, 

sundown shootout at the edge of town. 

 

mozartfan

Showing 3 responses by mikem

mikem
260 posts
 

I had a pair of Cary PP 2A3 monos back in the mid 90’s that were great sounding and fairly energetic..  Too bad the reliability/quality wasn’t a priority with them. 
I found Cary had some real gems in their product lineup..  but I had problems with almost everything I owned by them.. They rushed one design out the door and started on another.. Just the opposite of what a fine company like Pass would do..  

I went through 3 Cary 306 SACD players before I found one that was half way reliable.. even that one skipped and stopped loading properly a year later..  They’re just up the street from me, but I got tired of their lack of quality control and never looked back.. 

mikem
260 posts
 

@mozartfan 

”

Again its my opinion 

the 

2A3 PP is superior to

the EL, KT series PP amp.”

+1  Totally agree!  I also prefer the 2A3 over a 300B in a pure SET amp. 

mikem
260 posts
 

@charles1dad 

My preference for the 2A3 SET has more to do with horns/lowthers . In my experiences, these “shouty” type sensitive speakers can often be too bright and harsh. The 2A3 seems a bit more unforgiving, albeit with less drive too. 
On cans, they both show their strong points. the 300B sounds faster with more drive, the 2A3 is less energetic with more mid bloom..  

for years I tried to scale out the SET sound of these tubes, to achieve their sound on a more conventional speaker/setup. They are magical indeed..  it’s their simplicity that makes them so special. 
 

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