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Yes. Charles, the two make a great pairing. I have a set of early 50’s RCA 12ax7 and 12au7 , some holy grail stuff! I have been holding off on using them. I am going to get everything dialed on and maybe install those
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Thanks Charles ! Due to Covid , two years of doing nothing allowed me buy a few nice toys. Also , I'm very fortunate that my company pays for my car, insurance, gas , repairs , and phone. It allows me to have a little play money.....
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Hi Charles ,
it will use a 101d and a 84 rectifier. It will use an encoder / relay volume with LED display. and remote
I was talking to Matt earlier this year about a preamp project he was working on…. This is the one.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Be sure to follow up once you get everything dialed in.
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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
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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.
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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....
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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.
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Thanks, I'll be sure to follow up once I receive it...
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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.
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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
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Oh, yeah ! I'm 54 , now is the time to do something like this. Kids are adults, no debt....
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Nice to hear.... I can't wait to fire mine up.
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REALLY looking forward to Firstgrowth's impressions, maybe some pics. Enjoy !
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That is awesome !!!! I’m excited for you. Mine is on the bench being wired so it won’t be long. Enjoy!!!
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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…..
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I really excited about this one…. I need to create an account to host pics….
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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
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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
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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
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My 300b is burning in now on Matt's bench . Should have it in a week or two.
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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
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Thanks Charles ! I'm pretty excited. I should have it in a week or two... will post some high quality pics and impressions once I spend a little time with it.
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It sounds excellent. I will eventually get a dedicated streamer but the Vault has been great. The Lab 12 really surprised me, it has great tone and awesome bottom end. No sub necessary except for movies. Midrange is great , nice extended highs. Smooth and listenable for long periods of time. Nice change of pace .
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I was just talking to Matt and he has a 300b that he built as an un-commissioned build that has all the goodies including unobtainium James Output transformers
It is a beautiful amp and will be complete this week for anyone interested …. no wait list, ready for sale.
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Hi Jeff, I don't know.... those pics are from Matt's bench. He says the amp sounds great with Psvanes in it. He is burning it in with those, I sent him a pair of Mullard e180f and RCA 5r4gy which I would expect him to use when he fires it up tomorrow or Tuesday with Western Electric 300b. He wanted to log all the burn in hours on the Psvane , then he will run it in a little with the WE. He plans on shipping it out later this week.
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Thanks Charles.... this is probably my most anticipated toy ever.... Matt is a master artisan, no doubt .
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Visit Matt's site , some amazing amps. Mine is shipping this week, I can't wait
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Thanks !!! Can't wait to fire her up. If it sounds half as good as it looks I'll be happy !
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Cool ! Be sure to post yours as well.
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That Beauty on USAM is gone!!! Someone will definitely be enjoying that amp soon
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Just received the 300b. It is frigging awesome .!!!!!..... I will post some pics soon.
I unpacked her , made my connections and she fired right up.
I'm using a pair of Amperex 6688 drivers, Raytheon ceramic base 274b. Shout out to Craig Ness at Nesstone on that one ! Power tubes are Western Electric 300b.
First thing I did was switch on my tuner and did some casual listening while cleaning up the 300 pounds of Styrofoam , wood , and cardboard.
I have only spent about an hour listening , had some Mullards in there and then decided to try the Amperex and there were much more to my liking.
I will say this about Matt Formanek, he is a no BS guy and delivers exactly what he promises you. Plus he loves nothing more than building music machines
Happy listening
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Thanks Charles. It sounds phenomenal and the build quality is off the charts. I would not hesitate to do another project with Matt , he was great to work with. He delivered exactly as promised. It’s awesome
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Thanks Ozzy, be sure to post a thread with your new toy
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