Wavac MD 300B Monoblocks

Hey Brian! I own the 811a version from Wavac. The circuits should be similar, and therefore the following may apply? I found that the Wavac responds immediately to tube rolling. Be ready to experiment. It seems to work best with an active pre-amp. The volume control on the 811 makes it possible to create unique sound depending on the ratio of volume from pre to amp. The bass is excellent on my unit due to the transformer coupled design? Tubes do play a roll here as well. Best of luck in your journey! Ralphdude

I heard Wavac equipment at CES a couple years ago. I was expecting something really special, from the makers of $350,000 amps, and I was quite disappointed. I think I heard 2 Wavac systems. One was in a Wavac room, their $175,000 mopnoblocks. The other was in a room with a pair of Talon's new (at the time) floor standing speaker (can't remember the name, but 2 8" woofers, ceramic mid & tweet, acrylic plates on the box). There wasn't anything particuilarly wrong with the sound of either system, but I didn't hear anything that was special. Certainly not worth more than I paid for my house.

Thanks Ralphdude and Honest1; I truly appreciate your thoughts. Of course the MD 300B monos are not in the "house" category, but certainly in the "economy car" category.

I have always wanted to hear an excellent SET on the Empresses to see if the "purity of sound" is as good as they say. Perhaps I should be looking at an 805 tube model for some increased power output and drive over the 10 watt MD 300B monos....we'll see; perhaps the dealer can arrange to have both the MD 300B monos and MD 805 monos for a side by side comparison.

Thanks again....additional opinions are certainly most welcome!

Your mention of 805 reminds me of something - have you considered the big Cary monoblocks? I also heard these at CES in Cary's room and was very impressed. I remember thinking that when I heard them, everything I had read about SET amps made sense- very vivid, clean and rich at the same time. Perhaps a touch of euphonic distortion, but I wouldn't swear to it - perhaps they were just revealing the true harmonics in the music really well. Intriguing to look at, too, with the big 845 or 211(?) power tubes. If I were to pursue the SET sound, these would definitely be on the list to audition. Hard to tell how they compare with the WAVACS, since speakers, source cables, and everything else was different, b ut the Cary system impressed me more than the Wavac systems.

hi Brian
I was wondering.
Which preamp (solid state or tube) are you using
with the Gamut D200 mkIII & the Peak Empress's.
Thanks

Hi Jjtoma:

Sorry for my delayed response. I am using a VAC Ren mk2 with the D200 mk3; actually a very good match....I may forgo the SET's, as this may require biamping to get the bass I am accustomed to...even if the mids are better with the Wavacs

Brian

I listened some time ago to a Wavac 300B, but it was a Stereo and originally built from Shisido. It was unbelievable good.
It was connected to a high sensitive speaker (8 ohms, 96 dB+).

I think, most "negative" Demos are a mismatch with speakers.

I'd agree with ThomasHeisig. Heard a couple of Wavacs today and yesterday and they had a beautiful presentation. Very serious amplifiers.

Brian. Currently I am using the wavac 300B stereo and also own cary 300B,mastersound 300B and previous owner of cary 805,art audio diavablo and many other SET amp..To my ear the wavac is in a league of it's own and out perform most other SET by a wide margin.I think it sound worse whenever I use my hovland,AR as a pre-amp..BWHITE just sent an article reviewing the wavac 300B + shindo pre.look very interesting and I am now in the market for the shindo..my speakers is the Avantgarde horn.hope this help

HI Brian- that's a great pre-amp that you have and if the Peaks have a benign impedence curve, you might want to demo Atma or Joule amps. You can get quite a bit more power for "less than the cost of an economy car" They both match very well with my Ren pre (just make sure you use the balanced out with the Atmas.

Thanks to all for sharing your opinions and experiences.....a most helpful and pleasant dialogue.

Brian

Brian:
Before spending that kind of money on a Wavac, suggest you look at Wavelentgth Cardinal X2 monoblocks which are similarly priced. They have a plain look, but the best internals. Wavac externals are glitzy, but why pay for that?