Music First Classic V2 Pre-Amp With Audion 300B Mono Blocks & Harbeth 30.1 Speakers

[topdogya]

Hi guys,

I am going to be making the move back to valve’s very soon, this time I am thinking of the 300B‘s set or pse mono blocks.
Can anyone help me on this one? I am thinking on the lines of using a Audion Silver Night 300B PSE Anniversary Mono Blocks, with a Music First Audio Classic V2 Pre-Amp.

I have heard the Audion with different speakers but not my own and liked the amps alot , My question’ is, Has anyone used or heard the Audion 300B with Harbeth 30.1 speakers? As they are 86d/b I am not sure if the amps will be able to drive the speakers to well.

Has anyone heard the Music First Pre-Amp with the Audion 300b’s before? Any help on this matter would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.

Steve.

[khapahk]

I would suspect from your kit list that you have used and/or visited Deco Audio before, who are Audion stockists. Have you thought of taking your speakers to them for a demonstration using the Audion amps ? They have three demo rooms (of differing sizes) at their "new" premises and Peter Empson is a very amenable dealer. Deco also stock Music First so you may be able to get him to set up something pretty close to your proposed system, to which you can add your speakers.

I have no financial connection with Deco Audio, other than having spent a fair bit of time (and money) there over a number of years !

Bob

[topdogya]

Hi Bob

Yes I use and visit Deco Audio and know Peter quite well, very nice guy and also to deal with, like you I have also spent a lot of time and money with them.
It was at Deco Audio that I first heard the Audion brand and liked them very much, some people say that Audion Amps lack Bass, I am not to sure on that. ever Audion Amp I have heard has had a nice tight bass,anyway Peter seem's to think that the 300B mono blocks will be more then able to drive my Harbeths and says that when I am ready I can take them home and try them in my own set up, and this is what I will do.

I thought I would put this post up to see if anyone has tried the Audion 300B's with Harbeths

I did not know that Deco Audio stock Music First, I will have to have a word with Peter,What do you think of your Audion Silver night's ?

Steve.

[khapahk]

Hi, Steve,

I heard the 300B mono blocks in the demo system he set up recently for one of his open nights (http://www.decoaudio.com/deco_audio_bespoke_event_17.html). It's difficult to make a judgement when the rest of the system is so different from my own ! There certainly didn't seem to be any lack of bass or loss of bass definition in that system.

I use the Silver Night Anniversary stereo power amp, as opposed to mono blocks, and have no issues at all with it in my system. The speakers are quite sensitive anyway so the 7 wpc are more than adequate in a modest sized room. Again, I don't have an issue with bass, if anything it occasionally needs tempering. The amplifier is just about modded out as well; Deco did a complete replacement and upgrade of caps/resistors/silver wire earlier in the year, which certainly improved it quite nicely !

Good luck with your trial of the mono blocks; I'll be interested to know how you get on.

Bob

[hifi_dave]

A lot depends on how loud you like to play and the size of room.

The Audion 300B amps are not really powerful enough for Harbeth speakers or many modern speakers. The Harbeths are not particularly efficient but are an easy load but still, the 300B has a very low output.

Best bet is to try the 300B in your room and hear if they can do it for you.

[topdogya]

Hi Bob

It sounds like Deco Audio have done a good job and update on your Audion Amp,Did you buy your amp from Deco Audio?

I was also at the Bespoke Audio Company evening, They do seem a very nice Pre-Amp but at a very not so nice price, I don't know what my wife would say if I came home with one, Lol.

Yes I will let you know how it goes with the Audion Mono Blocks ,

[topdogya]

Hi Dave I hope your well, I did buy my Harbeth 30.1 speakers through you after hearing them at your place and just love them.

After Hearing the Audion 300 B they were just so musical they got me thinking would they be able to drive my Harbeth 30.1's, as you say try them and see, I thought I would put up a post to see if anyone has tried them before.

Steve.

[hifi_dave]

I have tried only an Audion integrated but it really didn't do the Harbeths justice. It was too low in power for my tastes and a bit fat and lazy. It looked the biz and was a good price but didn't do it for me. They are really meant to be used with far more sensitive speakers.

The only to know for sure, is for you to try it at home with a wide range of music and crank it up.

[SLS]

Hi Dave I hope your well, I did buy my Harbeth 30.1 speakers through you after hearing them at your place and just love them.

After Hearing the Audion 300 B they were just so musical they got me thinking would they be able to drive my Harbeth 30.1's, as you say try them and see, I thought I would put up a post to see if anyone has tried them before.

Steve.

When I bought SHL5+ from Dave I took round my 300B-XLS amplifier, about 22w. I'm not a bass junkie, but after about 9 months with the combination I realised I was missing out. I tried 35w KT88, better but still not enough, even though above the stated minimum requirement. I went to solid state 140w or more and have never looked back.

Dave has probably sold more Croft amps (60 or 70w?) for Harbeth than he cares to remember, and I see you use their phono amp already. My experience with three pairs of Harbeth is that they thrive with more power, whether Croft, Quad QSP or something like that.

[hifinutt]

Hi Bob

It sounds like Deco Audio have done a good job and update on your Audion Amp,Did you buy your amp from Deco Audio?

I was also at the Bespoke Audio Company evening, They do seem a very nice Pre-Amp but at a very not so nice price, I don't know what my wife would say if I came home with one, Lol.

Yes I will let you know how it goes with the Audion Mono Blocks ,

they do make a nice pre but the mfa baby ref v1 is essentially the same at lower cost

[farflungstar]

Consider the Dave Slagle autoformer modules. Easy to set up and better than the mfa. To go for even higher transparency go the Truth (endgame).

[Haselsh1]

My only experience of Audion was their Sterling ETSE and 300B SEL integrated amps. I used the 300B SEL with Audio Note AZ-2's and found the bass fairly soft and lacking any kind of grip but I think that is more a function of the 300B valve. Having said that though, I think due to the design of their amplifiers, Audion output transformers are quite restricted in their abilities when compared to others.

With midrange crucial material the 300B was sublime as you would expect from this valve but the Sterling with the EL34 valve in single ended triode mode was, in my opinion, much better.