SET guy's

NOSValves

NOSValves

Super Member
There is a thread on the Klipsch forum where a guy is looking for a cost no object USA made 2A3 based set of amplifiers. My mind came to a blank. Mind you he is not looking for run of the mill like Wrights and I personally don't care for what I have seen come out of the Cary camp. Welbourne discontinued his 2A3 DRD. Who else is there with top notch gear using 2A3's?

Craig
 
I wouldn't hold your breath on that one :guitar: I'm listening to a pristine Marantz 8B right now and there is only one way to better that amp!

Craig
 
He should get an Axiom 300B built for him. The sockets have custom isolatation with sorbothane or something. With all those custom chokes and everything else you shouldn't be able to tell what kind of power tube you have in there.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31469

Can you imagine a pair of these with every transformer and choke custom wound and lammed? Maybe someday I will get to hear a pair.
 
I never see Dennis Boyle get excited about anything. After he met with Dr. Bob Hoekstra and listened to these he was convinced they were the best SETs made in the world, no matter the tube.

I am sure this guy can get someone to build him some exellent 2A3 mono blocks, but if he wants the best SET he needs to hook up with Hoekstra and give these things a listen. Bob, if I am spelling your name wrong, sorry.
 
If he is looking for a cost no object USA made 2A3 then he could take a look over at http://www.wavelengthaudio.com/

if that is too much money then I think he can still get a Welborne 2A3 DRD, it's not in the lineup anymore because of low demand but I think he can still set up customers with the 2A3 DRD.
 
Moth if their still in biz ?
 
I think Moth has gone tits up. I'd agree with Timoteus, if I wanted to buy the ultimate completed amp, I'd look to Wavelength.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Don Garber's Fi 2a3 monos. Reviewed at 6moons. I have a pair, IIIIIIIIIIIIII like em. Also, Vu from Deja Vu Audio sent me one of his custom push-pull 2a3's with vintage transformers. When he heard I had Duetta Sigs and Maggie 3.6's, he wanted to know how it drove them. !!!?? No obligation. Well I'm no reviewer so this is kinda fun to get this stuff. I've heard these speakers humble many a 100wpc amp and I would have bet a nice sum on NO WAY. I would have lost a nice sum. I never thought a 2a3, even in pushpull, could stand up to these speakers. With the of course volume level never getting close to the " this one goes to 11 ", it was one of the nicest sounding weeks I've ever had. Thank you Vu. BTW if anyone cares, the Fi's are 3000 and Vu's are 5200.
 
Y'all have mentioned some nice nice amps, but cost-no-object makes me think of nickel or amorphous cores, silver wire, ... I think you'd have to commission it, from some expert builder. But I think you'd get the most for your money that way. And there are some terrific builders out there. I'm partial to Larry Moore's amps, but there are others doing absolutely top-notch work too.

I can't figure why the 2A3 though, when there is the glorious 801/10Y and so many others...
 
The 2A3 is what has me confused too. Unless he is sitting on a mountain of the best ones ever made what is the point?

Don't get me wrong, I like 2A3s but they are not what I would be thinking of for a cost no object SET.
 
Thatch_Ear said:
The 2A3 is what has me confused too. Unless he is sitting on a mountain of the best ones ever made what is the point?
Click to expand...
And I guess BEST might be the monoplate RCA's from 1933 (or whatever). Or maybe some of the new production ones that are more like a 300B in plate structure but with the 2A3's lower filament voltage... Great tubes, but... the very best SETs? Hmmm....

I wonder if the buyer ever heard a great 845 amp? :naughty:
 
2A3s are nice tubes-one of my favorites. Great tone. Unfortunately they have fallen out of favor lately in the SET world. As others have already stated, Wavelength is probably the way to go. What confuses me most, is the insistance on US made. That cuts one's options down a bit. Don't Audio Note and a few others(loth-X?) make good 2A3 amps? Custom jobbies like from April Sound are feasable I guess.
Jack
 
Jack G said:
Custom jobbies like from April Sound are feasable I guess.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would consider Steve Berger of April Sound for a job like this. And Larry Moore. And JC Morrison. I've seen and heard amps built by these guys -- ALL FIRST RATE.

But if I could, I would politely ask the buyer if he had considered other SET's. Even on very efficient speakers (>100db), there is a difference in dynamic possibility between 5 watts and 15-30 watts.
 
tubino said:
Personally, I would consider Steve Berger of April Sound for a job like this. And Larry Moore. And JC Morrison. I've seen and heard amps built by these guys -- ALL FIRST RATE.

But if I could, I would politely ask the buyer if he had considered other SET's. Even on very efficient speakers (>100db), there is a difference in dynamic possibility between 5 watts and 15-30 watts.
Click to expand...

I personally agree but its his money! He is going to do 2 systems so he will have both to an extreme is his planned approach.

Craig
 
Electra-print still makes 2A3 DRD amps, resonably priced too. They'll also customize them for you if you have specific needs.
Jack
 
"2A3s are nice tubes-one of my favorites. Great tone. Unfortunately they have fallen out of favor lately in the SET world."

Boy, that really hurts my feelings.....
 
I'm still wet behind the ears regarding cost-no-object American 2A3 SET manufacturers (BEZ of Hong Kong makes an inexpensive 2A3 amp that he could mod the hell out of with top-flight US of A parts...but I digress).

I think I read somewhere that Cyrus Brenneman can build a custom amp to your specs; surely he could design and build a righteous 2A3 SET (I would guess).
 
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