Toolshed Amps 300b Stereo Amp

Very cool.

A very cool, steampunk kind of vibe.

I have some premium NOS tubes,  Mullard and Amperex E180f for the input ,  and a couple of CRC JAN RCA 5r4gy Rectifiers.   Output tubes will be new Western Electric 300b

I have been interested in their amps for a while. Looking forward to your opinion.

Oz

@oddiofyl 

Congratulations! This seems to be a very high quality 300b SET amplifier.  I believe that you made a wise decision to choose top tier 300b tubes. You may as well use this level of tube to get the most of an amplifier of this caliber. This SET would no doubt sound good with the lower cost 300b but not to its fullest sonic potential.

Curious that the reviewer made no comparison with his Border Patrol 300b amplifier.  I'm convinced that both sound fabulous but wonder how they differ in their respective presentations. 

Charles 

So I had called Matt of Toolshed to ask him a question about rectifiers and he told me he just ,became an OEM dealer for Westerm Electric so I didn't hesitate ...  NO shortcuts with this one.    

Although those were pricey, NOS E180F and 6688 tubes are cheap and easy to find.   NOS Mullards for $6 ?   Thank you,  nice not getting raped on input tubes.  Also picked up some nice Amperex for $20 ea.    

Pretty excited for this amp.....mine is similar to the review unit....  Bolivian Rosewood front and rear, Figured Cherry sides , Bronze Hammertone transformer covers.

Genuine Western Electric wiring throughout,  silver foil coupling caps, stepped attenuators, silver/wet tantalum caps,  .05% tolerance resistors....  high quality in and out.   Will  kick ass....

Genuine Western Electric wiring throughout, silver foil coupling caps, stepped attenuators, silver/wet tantalum caps, .05% tolerance resistors.... high quality in and out.

I’m strongly inclined to agree.😊

I look forward to your listening impressions and what changes you’ll hear compared to your Quicksilver amplifiers. Fun times lie ahead.

Charles

Nice read on PTA. 

I enjoyed this in particular:

>> "What I hear is what I might describe as “fast bloom.” Have you ever seen one of those time-lapsed videos of a flower bud transcending into a full-on blossom? Think that, but speed it up about 500-fold and hear it rather than see it."

Thanks, I'll be sure to follow up once I receive it...

You know those Quicksilvers are hard to beat, especially for the price.    I'm keeping them for a second system I'm putting together.    I have enjoyed them for 7 years ,  that's a long time in this hobby !!!

I wanted an all out custom amp and that's what brought me to Toolshed.

I ordered back in July.    I was the last slot in his build queue for 21 .   I have seen several photos of it's progress and it should be ready soon.  I told him at the beginning I wouldn't  ask him when it will be ready and I intend to keep that promise.

I should have it in a month or two....  

If you are interested give Matt a call, he is the only one that can estimate wait time.   He has been great to work with.

Matt mentioned on Instagram he will be doing a small run of non commissioned amps that he will offer .  So for some , the timing may be right and there won't be a wait.   

I didn't REALLY need a new amp,  my system sounds great as is  so not in a hurry , but  I really think this will be worth the wait though

I wanted an all out custom amp and that's what brought me to Toolshed

Mission accomplished. 

Charles 

Oh, yeah !    I'm 54 , now is the time to do something like this.   Kids are adults, no debt....  

Matt texted me on Monday and said my 300b would be shipped by the end of the week.  Really looking forward to this amp.

Nice !!!!    Mine was on the bench with yours in one of the pics he sent me.....  they're brothers!!!  Enjoy !!!!    I can't wait to hear mine as well,  should be done shortly.

Did you order his pre as well?  It's a big number.

No...    I was using a CJ Classic 2SE and while nice I thought it would be a bottleneck with Matt's amp.   I got a good deal on a leftover Zesto Leto and it's incredible.  Should pair well.   What will you be using for a pre?

Be sure to follow up once you get everything dialed in.   

For the moment I'm going straight from my dac into the new amp.  I have a Don Sachs model 2 that was just upgraded.  I'll try it and see what's producing better sound.

The Zesto is something I'm not familiar with.  I'll take a look.  

Right, that's the great thing about this amp, it can handle two sources so you can try direct and with a pre.  You can A/B two dacs, or two preamps.   Pretty sure I'll be using the Zesto for a while, it's THAT good.    When I first started looking for an amp I thought $3500 or $4500 would be my budget.  That I think would have only been a lateral move as my Quicksilvers are pretty damn good.    And of course once I committed I added options so I'm a little over  budget......   just a little.  

Look forward to hearing how you like it.

I had a pair of VR4s I lost in hurricane Irene.  Very nice amps.  This one was more than I wanted to spend as well but I'm 62 and I decided I'm tired of the upgrade carousel.  I dropped a bundle on a DAC as well.  I'll definitely post my impressions once the amp has some time on it.

I can relate , I’m 55 and wanted an amp that would make me stop looking.   I had Matt do a few upgrades and it still came in less than other amps I was looking at and I think it will be much better.   There are a lot of man hours that go into this amp , it’s not made on a sheet metal brake…..
 

@oddiofyl 

I got a good deal on a leftover Zesto Leto and it's incredible.  Should pair well.  

I believe that the Leto will pair beautifully with your custom 300b SET amplifier, good choices. 

Charles 

Charles,

Yes, it is such a great piece of equipment.   I sent it to Zesto a few months ago.  It had a bad tube socket.  George and Carolyn are awesome to deal with some of the nicest people you will meet in audio circles.  The repair was super reasonable, couldn’t have been happier.  While it was there I had them do the ESP torroid power supplies that are in the latest models.  It has the blackest background.   There is absolutely no noise.  Explosive dynamics ,  perfectly voiced.  It’s a great piece .  These are a good value if you can get find one used.  
 

The rear panel is what sold me, I bought it sight unseen.  It can drive two stereo amps via RCA and two via XLR simultaneously, balanced transformer coupled inputs and outputs.   

REALLY looking forward to Firstgrowth's impressions, maybe some pics.  Enjoy !

I've heard of them but never seen one.It's really beautiful! Looking forward to both of your impressions.

I really excited about this one…. I need to create an account to host pics….  

I heard from Matt today.  My amp is done.   He was doing a final test on the circuits and then will run it in for about 100 hours before boxing it up and shipping.  He said it will need a good 500 hours to fully break in and the tubes about 1000 hours.  Once it's in my rack I'll post initial impressions and then update them periodically.

Thats awesome !   I hope you enjoy it.   He was starting  the wiring on mine this week,  so I think it won't be long .....   

Looking forward to your impressions 

If I could post the pics he sent I would.  The dialog box keeps asking for a URL.  WTF?

You need a photo hosting account and then you paste  the photo's "URL"  in that dialog box.   Its basically a link to the image on the photo host's cloud

I tried sending you a PM with my email but it got censored.....hopefully you can just link one of Matt's pics that he is sure to post on FB or Instagram 

I just took delivery.  Matt packed this thing to withstand a nuclear blast.  I'll post something once I drag it down to my listening room and get it set up.

That is awesome !!!!     I’m excited for you.  Mine is on the bench being wired so it won’t be long.  Enjoy!!!  

My 300b is burning in now on Matt's bench .   Should have it in a week or two.

@firstgrowth 

I just took delivery.  Matt packed this thing to withstand a nuclear blast.  I'll post something once I drag it down to my listening room and get it set up.

what are your listening impressions?

Charles

The amp has it all.  As you would expect, the midrange is to die for.  Very solid bass and a massive soundstage.  Players are positioned as they should be.  

In my system the amp lacks a little gain going direct from the DAC.  I have ordered a DHT Supratek pre amp to match up with it so we'll see how that plays out.  

I'm very happy with my purchase and can see living with this for quite some time.

@firstgrowth 

I'm very happy with my purchase and can see living with this for quite some time.

I understand perfectly. When you acquire a truly superb sounding audio product/component you cherish and appreciate it. There’s no desire to flip it for something else (Essentially it pulls you off the merry go round). Congratulations!

BTW I believe that you will love your Supratek preamplifier paired with the terrific Toolshed 300b amplifier. You have chosen an excellent signal pathway for your audio system.

Charles

Thank you Charles.  That and I'm expecting the new Pro-ject spinner along with a Nikola power supply any day now.  Hopefully I'll be done for a while and can focus on the music.

Nice to hear....    I can't wait to fire mine up.   

Did you get it yet?

@firstgrowth

Wow! You are developing a marvelous audio system. Are you getting specifically the Pro-Ject RS2T ? If so an excellent CD transport choice (Nickola II as well LPS). What DAC will you be using? You’re going to be a very happy listener for many years.😊

Charles

I have a Weiss 502.  Yes, it's the RS2T and the Nikola 2.  Seems the more money I make the harder it is to spend.  There's never anything in stock I want so I wait like everyone else.

@oddiofyl I took similar path in procuring my 300B monoblocks, custom build is nice way to go. Especially like to choose build off menu of options, looks like you made some good choices, like that amp.

RS2T-Weiss 502-Supratek DHT-Toolshed 300b. Great links in that signal chain @firstgrowth.

Charles

Firstgrowth, Matt is letting it cook right now. He sent me some great build pics , but I’ve only seen the inside and early metal work. He sent me a vid of it lot up yesterday but I think he purposely had low lighting…. Can’t wait to see the finished product. Should have it in a week or so I would guess.

Stay tuned