I became intrigued by this amp when I saw Herb Reicherts review on Stereophile.
Herb knows a thing or two about 300B SET amps and ran Audionote in the USA for many years.
I ordered the kit from HiFi Collective and it arrived 2 days later. I went for the upgraded volume pot, upgraded resistors and the Lundahl O/P transformers. I also went for Jupiter caps for coupling duties. The amp is a bit different from ‘normal’ 300B kits. It has a large PCB, uses some 80 resistors and 40 caps. It has an extra winding on the OP Tx and uses some feedback. The output is rated at 9.2 watts which is good for a 300B SET amp.
The kit includes everything except for the valves which you supply, giving you choice. You get the manual emailed to you. The manual is a model of clarity and reminds me of Tamiya scal model kits.
Here are the parts
Here is the build
The build was straightforward but a bit arduous with so many components. Also the upgraded resistors were somewhat larger than the originals and required some care to avoid any shorting. Build time was 8 hours over a period of 4 days. Everything just falls into place, I did not have to drill, file or fettle. Just perfect Japanese engineering.
Here is the final result
Switch on was uneventful, the amp is silent at the speakers and within itself. Initially the sound was a bit shrill but it settled within a few hours. Now a few weeks later I’m pretty sure it is fully run in. It sounds wonderful, I think it is the best 300B amp I have owned. I have previously had a Kondo Kassai and ANUK Conquests. It is has the usual 300B SET attributes of space, image and tone but it also boogies. Loving it.
The whole package with the upgrade bits was £2000 ( not including valves) which I think is a bargain for a 300B bit especially when you look at ANKits and AN finished product.
