For anyone who's had tube lust in his heart for a 300B amp, this is not an entry-level way to find out despite the low price tag; it's a full-fig, real-deal, musicmaking machine. Check out the web for views and reviews on the Dared. They'll all tell you this is a pint-sized but serious amp that delivers the goods. Just IMO, but I liked it better than the pricier Assemblage 300B and, gulp, the Cary CAD300-SE. Yes, there may be some ways in which the Cary was a bit more refined or resolving (maybe), but the Dareds made the mo', bettah music. And this one comes with the very lovely TJ Full Music meshplate 300Bs and the, to me, much-preferred 6SN7/12AU7 configuration instead of the more common two-12AU7 version of this amp.
I had the following done to bump this up in both performance and usability:
1. Full Auricap upgrade.
2. In place of the 4 ohm tap, I had a second input added, with a switch to go back and forth between sources. With separate volume controls for each amp, you don't need no preamp if you have only two sources.
3. Variable feedback, which can be switched in or out. Yeah, I know, feedback is looked on like someone's idiot cousin, but here's what the modder, an electrical engineer, audiophile supreme, and past and long-running prez of an audio society, sez: "The proper and judicious application of feedback can really make a difference in the depth and clarity of the reproduced stereo image. Feedback widens the frequency response and lowers the output impedance, which increases the damping factor and allows the amp to do a better job of controlling the voice coil movement in the speaker, especially the woofer." He's right.
Now, here's your tube options:
1. For $75, you can add a spiffy tube set of chrome-dome Sylvania 6SN7s and RCA clear-top 12AU7s. (You still get the stock Chinese tubes.)
2. For $150, you can add a NIB pair of Svetlana 300Bs to vary your bee-ish pleasures. (You still get the TJs.)
