Longdog Audio 300B SET amp

[da2222]

Hi Guys

Just taken possession of my new Nick G 300B SET integrated.

A bit of background...

Massive (!) amorphous core trannies supplied by AI
Structure: cherry wood sides with treated copper top and bottom
Tubes: 300b (Psvane), Tung sol 6SU7GTY, Tung Sol top getter 5U4g and tung sol "d" getter 5687s.

This is a BIG amp and weighs in around 30kg and at 48cm wide just fits my rack :)...

Specs over with, a few initial comments... I have owned numerous valve push pull and SET amps in my time: Ming Da KT88, 845SET, 845 monos, KR audio Antares 300B hybrid and the cream of the bunch, NAF 845SE integrated. All had their pros and cons and were never quite satisfactory to curtail the itch of upgraditis... My room has never been perfect: quite small, reflections, kids toys etc and at the back of my mind was the main culprit in the way of audio nirvana. No matter what I bought I feared it'd be a like having a flash car parked in a garage. This could be great, but...

Last year I bought a pair of Colin Topp's Edingdales and though they had a range that my QUAD 63s could only dream of, I had a feeling that they were not the ideal match with the NAF 845. Perusing this forum lead me to Nick Gorham who who agreed to build me a 300b integrated amp, giving me the opportunity to contribute to both cosmetic and component input. The photo is a crappy Iphone one which I'll hopefully update soon but it gives an idea of the level of workmanship involved...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y115/da111/amp1_zps81ee4fdf.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/da111/media/amp1_zps81ee4fdf.jpg.html)

Even bearing in mind my brand new 300Bs require 150 hours+ of recommended breaking in time, my room sucked, a Wendy house swayed between the speakers and an armchair sat in front of the bass driver, it was evident after 10 minutes warm up I was listening to the best amp I had ever heard. Utterly marvellous top to bottom with a liquid midrange and a kick like a mule. Soggy, pedestrian 300B sound? Not in a million years. This amp is a gem and I've only just switched it on. Kudos in spades and then some Nick G.

[Ali Tait]

Very nice. AI trannies are the biz.

[Tony Moore]

Fantastic looking amp!

[Marco]

Nice one, Drew. It looks (and no doubt) sounds fab! As they say, enjoy the music and the fact that you own something truly special :)

Marco.

[da2222]

Yep...Don't wish to speak too soon but the elusive synthesis might just have arrived!

[synsei]

Now that is something a wee bit special, Nick is an artist. It is so good to read that a member has finally found the sound they have been looking for, enjoy the music Drew ;)

[Toppsy]

Hi Drew,
I somehow knew you'd you pleased with the combo of the 300B SET amp and my Edingdale speakers. After all the speakers were designed and developed to work with my NickG designed 300B SET monbloc amps.

As you are probably aware Nick brought the amp over to my place to try them out on my original demo pair of Edingdales to see if they needed any fine tuning. From the off it was apparent they were a perfect match though we did find one thing we had to change - the speaker cables. I had a pair of TQ cables hooked up to another pair of speakers when Nick came over that I was trialling but thought they sounded very poor in my system with not a very nice balance of sound. I have found this with other high cost commercial speaker cables with my designs. Scott and I don't use the same cabinet alignments as commercial speaker manufacturers and perhaps the reasons these cables just do not sound right with my speakers. Anyway with the TQ's hooked up into your new amp and to my Edingdales Nick was not happy with how they sounded - bloated bass, muddled midrange and harsh treble - so he asked me to change the cables to my usual cheapo Monster XPHP cables. This brought a smile back to Nick's expression and I have to agree the magic was back.

So enjoy your new acquisition but I cannot recommend you use any the TQ cables with this amp and my speakers combination. I know lots on here highly rate these speaker cables and I can only think it is down to perhaps they were developed with commercial speakers and perhaps monitors at that which the Edingdales certainly are not. For whatever reason they did not work in my system.

On another note. Drew, did you ever get around to doing the XO modification I sent you? If not do it now, it will bring an even bigger grin to your mush.

[da2222]

Hi Colin

Just the person I was about to email :-)
My speaker cables are currently the 4mm Van Damme Hi-fi UP LC-OFC which appear to be a rather good match. However, I think I may try out the monster cables just to see if further improvement transpires- must contact Mr Mark Grant again! The XO mod is something I've delayed for far too long and must get round to soon. I'll drop you a quick mail this evening. Cheers,


Hi Drew,
I somehow knew you'd you pleased with the combo of the 300B SET amp and my Edingdale speakers. After all the speakers were designed and developed to work with my NickG designed 300B SET monbloc amps.

As you are probably aware Nick brought the amp over to my place to try them out on my original demo pair of Edingdales to see if they needed any fine tuning. From the off it was apparent they were a perfect match though we did find one thing we had to change - the speaker cables. I had a pair of TQ cables hooked up to another pair of speakers when Nick came over that I was trialling but thought they sounded very poor in my system with not a very nice balance of sound. I have found this with other high cost commercial speaker cables with my designs. Scott and I don't use the same cabinet alignments as commercial speaker manufacturers and perhaps the reasons these cables just do not sound right with my speakers. Anyway with the TQ's hooked up into your new amp and to my Edingdales Nick was not happy with how they sounded - bloated bass, muddled midrange and harsh treble - so he asked me to change the cables to my usual cheapo Monster XPHP cables. This brought a smile back to Nick's expression and I have to agree the magic was back.

So enjoy your new acquisition but I cannot recommend you use any the TQ cables with this amp and my speakers combination. I know lots on here highly rate these speaker cables and I can only think it is down to perhaps they were developed with commercial speakers and perhaps monitors at that which the Edingdales certainly are not. For whatever reason they did not work in my system.

On another note. Drew, did you ever get around to doing the XO modification I sent you? If not do it now, it will bring an even bigger grin to your mush.

[Gazjam]

Have to say I agree with Colin's assessment of the TQ cable with the Edingdales.

Next lottery win a set of Nicks 300B mono's. :)

[SLS]

Share you feelings, had the same when I got a 300B-XLS amplifier made by Tom Willis (using Emission Labs valves).

I too changed out from TQ UB speaker cables, to positive effect (with Harbeths). Using solid copper from Origin Live, cost just over £100.