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2A3 SET amps. Desire sets in..

They sure are and like most everything, you get what you pay for.

But...I read once it's hard to make a 'bad' sounding 2A3 amp and so far, all I've heard considered, that tends to be true.
 
The ol' original Paramour was (were, given that they were monoblocks) a great value - the Stereomour has gotten rather more expensive :-(

The JE Labs/Angela "Simple 2A3" circuit can be built inexpensively from scratch - my daily driver in the 'real' hifi is a modified version built by AKer Redboy, as most folks here well know.
 
The Stereomour has a lot going for it that justifies the cost. Custom built iron is one thing. It is admittedly built to a price point, but so far the PS seems very robust. It is a proven product and you can easily upgrade parts later if you want. Caps and tubes can be played with and there is a decent fan base with mods on the Bottlehead site. My amp fired up right off, which is almost a first for me.

There was/may be still a nice Quicksilver monoblock set on Bartertown recently that looks very tasty for the non DIY types out there. I came to the conclusion I would just have to live with 2A3s for a while to see for myself. I haven't been disappointed. I will agree the speakers have to match for SET to work. 3.5 watts is 3.5 watts.
 
friarmac207 said:
My SCA-35, volume straight up at noon, is about as loud as I'd want it in the room. Do you use the Altec 19s with your Stereomour?
Click to expand...

I presume you know different amps have different input sensativies so the preamp might be at 12:00 to reach a certain level and a different amp might require 10:00 or 2:00 to achieve the same.

Aside from that, as someone said, keep your current stuff until you try it.

I had a pair of Khorns and.... turn things up every now & then.

I tried a pair of Wright 2A3's, a pair of Transcendent SE-OTL (bridged to 4 watts each), pair of Quad II's, a Viva 300B SET.

They all sounded nice enough & sweet enough but, had no balls (for me). I ended up selling all of them (and some others) and went back to solid state.

For what I'll call "dinner music" listening levels, they were find & dandy. Anything beyond that and in my opinion, they simply didn't have enough gas.
 
My 2A3 PS is pretty stiff. It uses a Hg vapor 80 rectifier to a choke input filter. I've been considering trying a WE274B just for the hell of it, but have not done it yet. I just wonder what in the hell can make a fancied up 5U4 worth 1700 bux. My luck I'd put mine in the amp and the filament would burn in two on power up.:D
 
jaymanaa said:
My 2A3 PS is pretty stiff. It uses a Hg vapor 80 rectifier to a choke input filter. I've been considering trying a WE274B just for the hell of it, but have not done it yet. I just wonder what in the hell can make a fancied up 5U4 worth 1700 bux. My luck I'd put mine in the amp and the filament would burn in two on power up.:D
Click to expand...

Hi Jay Did you mean an 83 with the mercury vapor , and constant voltage drop .
http://www.nj7p.org/Common/Tube/SQL/Tube_query.php?Type=83
http://www.nj7p.org/Common/Tube/SQL/Tube_query.php?Type=80
 
The Bottleheads are solid state rectifier circuits, aren't they? What's a good 2A3 or 45 SET kit with a tube rectifier? Winter's nearly here.

So far, the longevity of my tube amp collection has been measured in hours or days. I guess building them myself will be the next step.
 
Yes the Stereomour is a ss rectified amp. I am on the fence on this. I was die hard tubes all the way until I got a Fisher 500c working, then built two Marantz 7 pre circuits with ss power supplies. Life is full of tradeoffs and I'm becoming more open to non tube circuits and hybrids. Like my ongoing dilemma with carts, I like aspects of many designs.

Had I gone for a scratch build with high priced iron, I would have gone tube rectified for sure. May still do that. The blend in the Stereomour works very well and I'm sure holds costs down. I'm not a fan of modern rectifier tubes either.
 
Don't forget about OTL amps. The Transcendent OTL amp bridged to 4 watts was felt by myself (and my wife) as probably the most natural sounding of all the amps I had.

Too bad it didn't have more power or, XLR inputs.
 
I'm currently enjoying the Bottlehead 2a3 Paramours and Seduction III with upgrades. I've had some nice examples of vintage tube gear including Dynaco, HH Scott, HK, Fisher and Rotel/Martel but with HE speakers the Bottleheads are in a different league.
 
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