Hey Teajay! Thanks for the referral and also the kind words and including me in this thread as being a source for amplification. Here’s my honest take on the question posted by @davidantonio . To get a 2A3 amplifier "done right", there needs to be special care and certain implementations to the circuit that do raise the cost over say a KT88/120 based SE amp. The reason being, is that a low cost 2A3- would actually sound worse than a low cost KT88 single-ended amp. For under $2K I would not recommend a 2A3 but rather a KT88 SE amplifier as less is required in that circuit to obtain killer sound. The reasoning (in short), a 2A3 or 300B being true DHT SETs is more complex to obtain good sound. Several things needed are: isolation of the filament from the cathode (as they are shared in the tube and need to be isolated so that no modulation occurs between them). A properly designed DC filament stage using chokes to avoid hum, and a hefty/robustly built driver to push the low MU and high voltage requirements at the grid really make a 2A3 or 300B "come alive" which costs more and are not possible to build at under $2,000. My price for a properly executed 2A3 would start at $3K and go up from based on the caliber of internal components are used. Not to deter, but if looking towards a 2A3 amplifier- don’t skimp! If budget is more modest- I would recommend my Transcend KT88/120 amp. Anyone interested- please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at [email protected] or through the Contact Us on my site at: www.aricaudio.com. Best wishes and Happy Holidays to all! Aric
If you love SET amplifiers, boy do I have speaker for you.
I have had in-house for the last six weeks a pair of speakers that I'm reviewing for hometheaterreview.com from NSMT Loudspeakers, located in North Carolina, that are a perfect match with SET amplifiers. I love SET amps. However, historically I'm not a fan of single driver designs (rolled off high-end/lack of bass) or horn designs (I find them to have coloration that annoys me after a short while) that are normally used with beautiful sounding SET "Flea Watt" amps. I have reviewed both types of speakers and they were good, but not keepers for me because of the above stated reasons.
The NSMT Model 50 is a small very attractive floor-stander which has an sensitivity rating of 101 dB and never dips below 8 ohms. It is a three driver MTM two way design that loads into a double transmission line and really reaches down to 35Hz to 20 kHz in my room. This is the third speaker I have reviewed from NSMT, the other two were wonderful music makers, and shows what a talented designer that Erol Ricketts is in all his designs at applying his unique version of transmission line loading.
Now, the Model 50 sounds terrific with high power SS or tube based amplification. But what has been enchanting for me is when I drive it with either a SET 2A3 amplifier, around 3.5 watts, or my Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL as an integrated using the NOS 1940's Tung-Sol 6SN7 black glass oval plate tubes which produce only around 1 Watt. With either amplifier this speaker completely disappears, the beautiful colors/timbres just float out and 3D chunky images of the players fill the soundstage. However, because of the very high sensitivity of the Model 50 and its transmission line loading the foundation of the music, true deep bass, and overall dynamics/dB levels are hard to believe.
So, if you have or always wanted to try out a SET amplifier this speaker is a great choice. The Model 50 retails for $1,800.00 a pair, so they are very affordable to team-up with your SET amplifier. If you want a lot more details just go to NSMT-loudspeakers website.
The NSMT Model 50 is a small very attractive floor-stander which has an sensitivity rating of 101 dB and never dips below 8 ohms. It is a three driver MTM two way design that loads into a double transmission line and really reaches down to 35Hz to 20 kHz in my room. This is the third speaker I have reviewed from NSMT, the other two were wonderful music makers, and shows what a talented designer that Erol Ricketts is in all his designs at applying his unique version of transmission line loading.
Now, the Model 50 sounds terrific with high power SS or tube based amplification. But what has been enchanting for me is when I drive it with either a SET 2A3 amplifier, around 3.5 watts, or my Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL as an integrated using the NOS 1940's Tung-Sol 6SN7 black glass oval plate tubes which produce only around 1 Watt. With either amplifier this speaker completely disappears, the beautiful colors/timbres just float out and 3D chunky images of the players fill the soundstage. However, because of the very high sensitivity of the Model 50 and its transmission line loading the foundation of the music, true deep bass, and overall dynamics/dB levels are hard to believe.
So, if you have or always wanted to try out a SET amplifier this speaker is a great choice. The Model 50 retails for $1,800.00 a pair, so they are very affordable to team-up with your SET amplifier. If you want a lot more details just go to NSMT-loudspeakers website.