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donsachs

Responses from donsachs

300b lovers
No, the comparison isn't really fair.  The little Chinese amp is a nice value for the money, but it is a single ended design made of, shall we say, "cost effective" parts.  It probably makes 7 or 8 watts per channel.   The mono 300b amps are built... 
300b lovers
The regulated filament supplies for each 300b can deliver 3 amps, and the tubes draw 1.2 amps, so they are coasting along, like the B+ supplies.   As Lynn described, the amp is lightning fast.   I would love to audition the Elrog 300b in it.  I ha... 
300b lovers
Charles, I am not sure what Meyer would think of the Blackbird!  There are some elements of it that are aligned with his thinking and others that are radically different.   I would be interested to hear some amp of similar power that he has built ... 
300b lovers
Thomas Mayer builds seriously good amplifiers:)   I have his octal phono circuit saved, and one day I will build myself another phono preamp with my power supply and his signal circuit.  I bet it will sound very good.  His tube blog is wonderful.  
300b lovers
@alexberger   Spatial Audio Lab will be in charge of presentation at shows.  I know we are returning to the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle again next summer.  Beyond that I don't know.  We are focusing on getting the preamp and amps into production... 
300b lovers
I managed to update my ancient website with the beginnings of 300b project page.  There is a photo of the final prototype of the Blackbird 300b monoblock amp at the bottom of this page.  Spatial will change the look a bit, but dimensions and layou... 
300b lovers
Yes, we are pretty much back to an updated Karna circuit with more modern power supply topology, and custom wound iron everywhere.  I listened to every possible variant of the circuit and it is obvious that removing all coupling caps and going wit... 
300b lovers
@atmasphere First off, this thread was started by a fellow who has a rough first prototype of a zero feedback push pull 300b amp, so of course we are discussing that.   I agree that in that circuit you hear everything.   I will tell you that even ... 
300b lovers
As I said above, there are little tricks to regulated DC filament supplies on DHTs....  
300b lovers
We all apply sound engineering practice.  We overbuild all power supplies and over spec all parts.  But there are choices that affect the sound.  If you need a 1 watt 1K resistor you can use any type on a cathode, but different types have differen... 
300b lovers
There are a lot of little tricks to DC filament supplies that make them sound better too.  It isn't rocket science, but you can get a bit more performance and noise rejection by connecting them properly:)  
300b lovers
@alexberger  Hi.   I just tried schottky diodes maybe 5 or 6 years ago and I liked the sound.  They have a fast recovery time.  They also have very low voltage drop so are good for small filament supplies, but the main reason is the fast recovery.... 
300b lovers
Regulated high voltage supplies are also a very hot button issue.   I know what I prefer from having built the same circuit with multiple power supply topologies and critically listened to each.  The way I do it costs more money and certainly has ... 
300b lovers
@charles1dad   Well, let's just say I have experimented and know which I prefer:)  The 300b amps have a dedicated 5V regulated DC supply for each 300b tube and a 6.3V DC regulated supply for the drivers and input tube.  The preamp has a 6.3 V regu... 
300b lovers
The preamp and amps use regulated DC filament supplies in all positions.