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Visit Matt's site , some amazing amps. Mine is shipping this week, I can't wait
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It is a very attractive amplifier and I understand the sound wonderful too.
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There's a brand new one for sale on USAM right now from the manufacturer at a discount.
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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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Very nice Steve. How are the Psvane tubes?
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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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Aesthetically, audio art.
Charles
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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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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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@oddiofyl
Steve,
How does that Bluesound Vault sound with the Lab12 DAC?
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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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@oddiofyl
Congratulations!
I look forward to your initial listening impressions.
Charles
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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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RS2T-Weiss 502-Supratek DHT-Toolshed 300b. Great links in that signal chain @firstgrowth.
Charles
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@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.
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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.
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@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
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Nice to hear.... I can't wait to fire mine up.
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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.
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@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
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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.
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@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
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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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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 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.
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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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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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If I could post the pics he sent I would. The dialog box keeps asking for a URL. WTF?
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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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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.
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I really excited about this one…. I need to create an account to host pics….
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I've heard of them but never seen one.It's really beautiful! Looking forward to both of your impressions.
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REALLY looking forward to Firstgrowth's impressions, maybe some pics. Enjoy !
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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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@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
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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 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.
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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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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.
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Be sure to follow up once you get everything dialed in.
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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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Did you order his pre as well? It's a big number.
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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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