Hi Victor,
My July issue of Stereophile arrived this afternoon so I had the pleasure of reading Herb’s review of the Elekit TU-8900. He spent a lot of time with it using multiple speaker models and feedback & no feedback. He referenced you multiple times. Great article/review and you must be very happy as orders will surely come your way!
Enjoy working at THE SHOW👍👍
Congrats,
Vir
My July issue of Stereophile arrived this afternoon so I had the pleasure of reading Herb’s review of the Elekit TU-8900. He spent a lot of time with it using multiple speaker models and feedback & no feedback. He referenced you multiple times. Great article/review and you must be very happy as orders will surely come your way!
Enjoy working at THE SHOW👍👍
Congrats,
Vir
Congratulations, Victor! "Most compelling sound system [..] since I had started writing for Stereophile". (Which is more than a few months, I believe...)
I'm glad I got my TU-8200R kit before the Stereophile hordes are coming knocking down your door, demanding you take their money and give them their TU-8900! If you need to borrow a wheelbarrow for the Costa Mesa show, let me know... ;-)
Are you allowed to post the full review text on your web site, maybe?
I'm glad I got my TU-8200R kit before the Stereophile hordes are coming knocking down your door, demanding you take their money and give them their TU-8900! If you need to borrow a wheelbarrow for the Costa Mesa show, let me know... ;-)
Are you allowed to post the full review text on your web site, maybe?
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300B or 2A3 ...it is a matter of individual tasteI just read the review and it was super interesting. Sounds like Herb used it a lot as a 300B amp and I was trying to discern whether he liked it more than the 2A3, sounded like he did the bulk of the listening with 300B?
What do you all think?
Of course each brand of 300b or 2A3 has different sound.
I prefer the sound of the 2A3 by a good margin on transducers that aren't held back by the 3.5W. With transducers that love a little power, the strengths of the 2A3 doesn't come through as strongly and the the 300B starts to pull ahead with a larger and dynamic presentation.I just read the review and it was super interesting. Sounds like Herb used it a lot as a 300B amp and I was trying to discern whether he liked it more than the 2A3, sounded like he did the bulk of the listening with 300B?
What do you all think?
If you google 'stereophile july 2023', you can find a free pdf.If you have Zinio, you can read from Zinio too.
do you think the Klipsch Forte I
Do you think the Klipsch Forte I would run well with the 2A3?I prefer the sound of the 2A3 by a good margin on transducers that aren't held back by the 3.5W. With transducers that love a little power, the strengths of the 2A3 doesn't come through as strongly and the the 300B starts to pull ahead with a larger and dynamic presentation.
Do you mean illegal?
Some of Herb Reichert's articles are also on his website/blog, or on the Stereophile website. For example, his musings about the TU-8600R are here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-27-elekit-tu-8600r-amplifier-kit
There are some odd statements in there though. Like, when he states
"The chief difference between an EL34 pentode tube, with its five active elements, and a three-element 300B triode is that EL34s have electron-emitting cathodes that are activated by separate heaters that warm them up to emission temperature. In contrast, 300Bs are directly heated tubes (DHTs) in which the tube's filament/heater and emitter/cathode are fused into a single element, the metallurgy of which is an important factor in determining the DHT's overall sound character. Typically, DHTs amplify signals with a liquid but also strict and überclean forthrightness. Contrary to popular myth, the WE 300B doesn't sound "sweet" or "romantic." I coined the descriptor "water-clear" to describe what I recognized as the WE 300B's dominant virtue."
Isn't that, pardon my überdirect French, simply wrong? I mean, it's hard to argue against the simple fact that the chief difference between a triode and a pentode are two electrodes, namely the screen and the suppressor. The screen reduces the grid-anode capacitance and thus coupling, the suppressor shields the screen from low energy electrons liberated from the anode. Isn't that way more important than direct vs indirect heating for the amplification characteristics and the sound? I'm a bit puzzled.
Anyways, maybe his TU-8900 review will also show up there.
Some of Herb Reichert's articles are also on his website/blog, or on the Stereophile website. For example, his musings about the TU-8600R are here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-27-elekit-tu-8600r-amplifier-kit
There are some odd statements in there though. Like, when he states
"The chief difference between an EL34 pentode tube, with its five active elements, and a three-element 300B triode is that EL34s have electron-emitting cathodes that are activated by separate heaters that warm them up to emission temperature. In contrast, 300Bs are directly heated tubes (DHTs) in which the tube's filament/heater and emitter/cathode are fused into a single element, the metallurgy of which is an important factor in determining the DHT's overall sound character. Typically, DHTs amplify signals with a liquid but also strict and überclean forthrightness. Contrary to popular myth, the WE 300B doesn't sound "sweet" or "romantic." I coined the descriptor "water-clear" to describe what I recognized as the WE 300B's dominant virtue."
Isn't that, pardon my überdirect French, simply wrong? I mean, it's hard to argue against the simple fact that the chief difference between a triode and a pentode are two electrodes, namely the screen and the suppressor. The screen reduces the grid-anode capacitance and thus coupling, the suppressor shields the screen from low energy electrons liberated from the anode. Isn't that way more important than direct vs indirect heating for the amplification characteristics and the sound? I'm a bit puzzled.
Anyways, maybe his TU-8900 review will also show up there.