Where Have All the 2A3 Amps Gone

I believe the 2A3 has long suffered from looking bad on paper.

The 300B that audiophiles hold in such high esteem gets most of the attention, and making twice as much power likely explains a lot of that. Give the tube a chance, and it would likely win over many a tube lover. It often subjectively feels more powerful than the 300B, has a distinctly more emphatic bottom end, and can even beat the 300B in the midrange. In my experience, the 2A3 does not make a good candidate for SET use. In a parallel single-ended or push-pull topology, it can drive most reasonably efficient loudspeakers to sound pressure levels most any audiophile demands.

Mdblank, "Deja Vu Audio in Virginia sells a 2A3 amp. But I don't know if it's an SET or push-pull."

It is push-pull, about 15 watts, true (required two power cords) dual mono. Vu used vintage transformers in them, along with a level parts through most of it that you will not find in most high-end audio components.

I had one in my system. The only nit I could ever pick with it was the solid state rectification did not provide the same level of romance as tube rectification would. Of course, that's a choice every tube amplifier manufacturer has to make, and was balanced by the very tight and powerful bottom end. The Deja Vu drove all of my loudspeakers to very (110 - 120dB at the listening chair) high SPLs across the entire frequency spectrum without any sense of strain. Overall, it was an absolutely spectacular amplifier; one of, if not the best I've been around.