WE-91E single ended amp
- Thread starter Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
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There is a thread somewhere of a guy who bought one and they could not get the hum out of it.
Replaced complete unit no help, Company owner went to customers house still no help.
For that kind of money I want a pure tube piece. No Solid state IC's.
Replaced complete unit no help, Company owner went to customers house still no help.
For that kind of money I want a pure tube piece. No Solid state IC's.
ogodei
Active Member
They presented this at Axpona in 2022, I believe? Around the same time the new 300Bs started shipping. Having ordered a couple of tubes I got email marketing for it.
Very pretty but I was not / am not interested at that price point. Ive never seen a review of its performance.
Very pretty but I was not / am not interested at that price point. Ive never seen a review of its performance.
I love the flag at the top warning of USPS delays. As if that's the big issue for a build-to-order amplifier that costs $15,000. 
FWIW Tube Depot's USPS delay warning shows on every page of their website.
I know, but it makes sense for products like that. In this case, it's kinds like offering layaway. Or maybe a $50 off sale. Or a referral coupon. Really, these aren't in stock, and I assume it takes at least 60 days to fill an order. USPS delays seem totally irrelevant. Just my take on it.
at that priceI love the flag at the top warning of USPS delays. As if that's the big issue for a build-to-order amplifier that costs $15,000.
they can hand
deliver it
The thread was over on HiFi Haven.
hifihaven.org
Beyond the frustrating hum problem the customer experienced, there some skepticism about the circuit, a sort of SS "booster" circuit that appears to hover somewhere between SE and PP. There's a reference to a John Broskie thought experiment that he posted years ago at Tubecad.
My .02? There's an awful lot of "sand" and gizmos in an amp made by proponents of the "original" WE 300B.
Western Electric 91E 300b integrated amplifier
Hello all… New to HiFi Haven …I didn’t see a thread about this, but I have a question about the new WE 91E. Has anyone had any issues with or have you heard of any issues with the device? Since the day I got it, I have had a buzz in the left channel that I can hear from my seating position...
hifihaven.org
Beyond the frustrating hum problem the customer experienced, there some skepticism about the circuit, a sort of SS "booster" circuit that appears to hover somewhere between SE and PP. There's a reference to a John Broskie thought experiment that he posted years ago at Tubecad.
My .02? There's an awful lot of "sand" and gizmos in an amp made by proponents of the "original" WE 300B.
They let him return the amp but only gave him store credit ...
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Yeah, that's someone who can't afford to return your money...
My question would be what qualifications would make it the "The Absolute Sound - Product of the Year"?
You would think of all the audio gear manufactured during that year they would find one that doesn't have to be returned due to an issue they couldn't resolve.
Was it just that one amp, or is it present in every amp they produce?
You would think of all the audio gear manufactured during that year they would find one that doesn't have to be returned due to an issue they couldn't resolve.
Was it just that one amp, or is it present in every amp they produce?
IIRC they claimed it was something with his system or house because both amplifiers worked fine for them.
I wasn't there, so I don't know. Definitely a frustrating situation for the customer.
I wasn't there, so I don't know. Definitely a frustrating situation for the customer.
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The returned amplifier was the second one!
Ken Boyd > "What qualifications would make it the "The Absolute Sound - Product of the Year?"
This is how you get product of the Year >>> $$$$$$$$$$.
From the manufacturers circuit description It sounds like the inside looks like this...
Ken Boyd > "What qualifications would make it the "The Absolute Sound - Product of the Year?"
This is how you get product of the Year >>> $$$$$$$$$$.
From the manufacturers circuit description It sounds like the inside looks like this...
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I'm skeptical that there ever WAS a "second" amplifier. With a 60-day lead time? I think they just recycled the original one and hoped the customer would accept the blame and live with the problem. The fact that no other amplifiers, including another brand of SE amp, produced any hum in the customer's system seems like a tell...
First - It is possible it was the same amplifier, I don't know since I wasn't directly involved.
The owner lives very close to the headquarters so they could have an extra amplifier.
Second - If someone tried to give me one of these amplifiers I wouldn't take it and I will never be a customer.
I just felt it only fair to at least present the other side of the issue since there is very little information here, some of us read the other thread and have more of the story.
Several years ago I sold a solid state integrated amplifier and the new owner said it was noisy. I took it back with a full refund even though I never had a problem and had a tech in St Louis check it, he found no problem. Later the same person was selling the same integrated that he bought brand new because it was noisy in his system. In this case it is pretty obvious the manufacturer (Sonneteer) was not to blame. It does happen.
The owner lives very close to the headquarters so they could have an extra amplifier.
Second - If someone tried to give me one of these amplifiers I wouldn't take it and I will never be a customer.
I just felt it only fair to at least present the other side of the issue since there is very little information here, some of us read the other thread and have more of the story.
Several years ago I sold a solid state integrated amplifier and the new owner said it was noisy. I took it back with a full refund even though I never had a problem and had a tech in St Louis check it, he found no problem. Later the same person was selling the same integrated that he bought brand new because it was noisy in his system. In this case it is pretty obvious the manufacturer (Sonneteer) was not to blame. It does happen.
I'm skeptical of someone that joins a forum to complain about a company the same day, the Internet gets used all the time to spread positive info and negative info. It also doesn't all sound credible, that after being sold sold a B-stock amp, whatever that specifically means, the company will build a one-off custom preamp for them. Either it has a warranty or it doesn't. If it does there is clear legal recourse, if it doesn't that should imply that they are making no claims of successful operation, and the price should be considered accordingly. Building a new custom product for them seems like a strange offer for a company that is not in the business of doing that.
I'm not a fan of the new 91E, mainly because it seems silly to use an existing product number on a product that has only the vaguest relation to the original. But there does seem to be an online effort to spread bad news about WE.
I'm not a fan of the new 91E, mainly because it seems silly to use an existing product number on a product that has only the vaguest relation to the original. But there does seem to be an online effort to spread bad news about WE.
I DM'd the buyer and went through his entire diagnostic procedure, Double checking every test.
Am confident the buyer did everything in his power to figure out what the problem was.
Edit: Now it turns out there was something wrong in his house?
But all other pieces of electronics were unaffected?
Am confident the buyer did everything in his power to figure out what the problem was.
Edit: Now it turns out there was something wrong in his house?
But all other pieces of electronics were unaffected?
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B-Stock is typically a showroom floor sample or possibly a product that was returned and only in the possession of a customer for a very brief time and returned "as new". These products are "new" but open and/or used and that warrants a discount.
The entity who owns or operates the Western Electric brand should have known how big of a shoe it was to fill. I have no stake in the company, but from working at a global corporate company myself for 20 years, I do know the suit types who buy these old brand names and try to keep them alive or revive them and they are typically incompetent in knowing what it takes to build a brand and succeed. Not all suits are like this, but most are. A lot of engineers try and do the same thing and fail too. Most engineers should stay engineers.
