300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?

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doggie

300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« on: 26 Jan 2015, 10:34 pm »
Hi,

I have a pair of Super 6 Alnico floorstanders that I am enjoying with my Pass First Watt J2. Sometimes I wonder how they would sound with a little DHT romantic midrange goodness. A 2A3 amp might be a little low in power for them but I am thinking a 300B might be just right.

Have any of you tried, heard, or are currently using a 300B amp with Omegas?

Thanks!

Paul

Canada Rob

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #1 on: 26 Jan 2015, 10:45 pm »
Hi Doggie,

A 300B would be wonderful with the Alnicos.  Moot, on another thread is in bliss with his Alnicos hooked up to a Bottlehead Stereomour 2A3, and mine are running with a Decware Super Zen Select with V-Caps & stepped attenuator and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.  My 2 watts aren't struggling at all.  The key with any flea powered amp is to have 2 VRMS minimum input.

doggie

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #2 on: 18 Feb 2015, 12:49 am »
I tried a friend's AES 1 2A3/6SL7 amp today. It is an older amp made by Cary. Puts out a nominal 2.5 watts. It sounded great and I did not find it lacking for power in my 12x20 room. It had some of that DHT magic however it was not a detailed as my First Watt J2. It is probably not a fair comparison since the First Watt is really in a different league however I could easily live with it.

Next week I have a Tube Audio Labs 300B amp coming. It was hand made in the US for a guy in Korea who is now selling it back to me. A well traveled amp. It uses the classic WE91A circuit with some nice parts including the better quality Sophia 91-03 OPT's.

Really looking forward to seeing what 8 watts of DHT magic can do.

jbtrio

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #3 on: 19 Feb 2015, 09:02 am »
Doggie, I think you're going to love a 300b amp with your Omega's.
I don't have Omega's, but had a J2 running with my Druid V's. The pairing was very nice until I purchased my Frankenstein 300b's.The 300b's are so much more engaging, liquid and organic sounding, now my J2 is collecting dust.
Believe me The J2 is an excellent amp, but the 300b combination is special!

Joe
« Last Edit: 19 Feb 2015, 04:25 pm by jbtrio »

doggie

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #4 on: 24 Feb 2015, 06:37 pm »
Still living with the AES 2A3 amp and am amazed at how good it sounds. To be honest with these speakers I like it better than my First Watt J2 . No problem at all with 3.5 watts.

My Tube Audio Labs WE91A 300B came but it needs to be converted to US voltage as it had been originally sold to a Korean buyer.

Beautiful in a retro industrial way :-)

...Will report back.


doggie

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #5 on: 2 Mar 2015, 01:47 pm »
So for those of you waiting breathlessly for the outcome of my purchase here it is.

The short version is that these work wonderfully with the Omegas. I can definitely recommend them and also a 2A3 amp given a reasonably small room. My room is about 14' x 20' with my speakers placed at one end.

The longer version is that you get what you pay for and that below about $2000 used or $4000 new there are going to be trade offs. The Cary AES SE-1 2A3 amp I listened to goes for $800 to $1000 on the used market and my Tube Audio Labs WE91 clone was $1300 (used) plus shipping from Korea where the seller lives plus about $100 for have it switched back to US voltage. Tube or capacitor rolling moves you into another category both sonically and financially.

One thing about Omegas is that they scale up well as you play them with better equipment. They also will tell you if any tweaks you make upstream were successful. In my case I had to tube roll a bit to get to the sound I was hoping for. I dumped the PSVane 300B's and RCA  5963's that came with the TAL in favor of a pair of Sophia Royal Princess 300B's and some Sylvania 6SJ7GT's. The amp went from Ho Hum to magic.

That's all for now for fear of transgressing the thread boundary but I though that I would report back on good amp choices for mySuper 6 Alnicos.

Best,

Paul

PS. There is an SE-1 for sale on AC right now and a TAL 2A3 WE91 based clone on Audiogon also, both at reasonable prices.

Canada Rob

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #6 on: 2 Mar 2015, 04:03 pm »
That's all for now for fear of transgressing the thread boundary but I thought that I would report back on good amp choices for mySuper 6 Alnicos.
Doggie,
Not sure what you're referring to regarding transgressing "the thread boundary".  I yanked the "rules" thread down awhile back, as it was creating more problems than helping.  I think your posts are great, not to mention informative.

doggie

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #7 on: 3 Mar 2015, 07:11 pm »
Thanks Bob.

pstrisik

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #8 on: 3 Mar 2015, 11:52 pm »
doggie,

I've sung the praises of my Dennis Had built SEP amp (my avatar).  Tube roller's dream and under $2000 new.  Some models closer to $1000.  They are starting to show up used under $1000.  Well worth it.

He just built a new SET that uses Type 45 tubes that looks intriguing as well.



doggie

Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #9 on: 4 Mar 2015, 12:38 am »
Single ended 45's are my favorite but maybe a stretch for an Omega at 1.5 watts. I've always wanted to use one in a headphone amp.

Canada Rob

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #10 on: 4 Mar 2015, 06:41 am »
45 should be no problem with any current Omegas.  If the Decware Zen works well, a 45 should too.

dodger4

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #11 on: 11 Mar 2015, 07:11 pm »
using cary 300sei with the omega super alnico 6   musical bliss  is all I can say

Good Times

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Re: 300B Amp with my Super 6 Alnicos?
« Reply #12 on: 13 Mar 2015, 09:53 am »
Using Manley 300Bs with mine and loving the midrange bliss. Bass is full bodies, soundstage is absolutely huge. And yes, definitely go for graded tubes (usually only a small premium for A-grade valves) for the utmost quiet noise floor!