Aric Audio

Absolutely. A single 300B can and will do 10 watts at relatively low distortion if you bias it in the linear part of its curves, and overcome grid current which occurs at around 5 watts. This is why I use an interstage transformer to avoid the time constant of a coupling cap. You can also use a cathode follower with a negative tail which would do double duty as a fixed bias method.

Thanks henry4841 and Shakeydeal, much appreciated! Hey, I'm a firm believer in whatever works for the individual. That's why there's SET amps, Push Pull amps, SS SE and PP, and class D, T, AB, etc. Same with why there's Harleys, Triumphs, Hondas, Kawasakis, and dozens of other brands of bikes. If one was "perfect", we'd all ride that one, but that's not the case as it's all subjective. Back when I was mostly building speakers in the late 90's my "Go to" was a QSC MX1500A which produced 500 watts RMS per channel @ 4 ohms, or 750 WPC @ 2 ohms. I would often drive my speakers until the clipping lights flickered, or sometimes stayed a steady red on the QSC amp- and that made me happy. Eventually I built a tube preamp and connected that to the frontend of the QSC and I thought that was "IT"- nothing could sound better. Well, it took quite a bit of the digital "edge" off of the leading hips of the notes and softened up a screaming singer (did I mention I listened to mostly metal and jam-band rock?). I was in the camp that tubes were my grandfather's tech and they were over priced and produced high distortion because I only READ about them and thought folks were crazy to buy a tube amp. Flash forward and there aren't many SS amps I can stand listening to, and yes my hearing is just fine. It's just a different presentation that satisfies me to where I don't need to listen at 105+ db unless I want to crank one song. Headroom is good too, but I honestly rarely need more than my 300B SET for my 97 db efficient speakers. When I do, I pop in my EL34 based Push Pull amplifier. Strangely enough, I had an SPL solid state 225 wpc here in house for a spell as I needed to tweak the balanced outs of my ML XL line-stage, and I was amazed how little power it seemed to have- clip lights were coming on, bass was decent- but didn't blow me away. Then I swapped in my Super 211 SET which produces around 30 watts per channel and the speakers suddenly sounded larger, more realistic and the soundstage opened up beyond the confines of my room. I didn't take my own word for it either, I had several other "untrained" music lovers come check it out. Each person thought the 211 SET had more power than the SPL amplifier. Why is this? I don't know for sure....there's lots of theory and papers on the subject, but they're all conjecture. All I can tell is sometimes there's more to a watt than a simple measure of power. Take that with a grain of salt too, but it's the best description I've got. Aric

How are 8 300B tubes giving you 1.5 watts per channel unless this is some very abstract biasing scheme? A 300B tube, driven properly with peaks entering into A1 can easily provide 10 watts with excellent sound quality, not 5 watts. To remain linear, the 300B should be driven with a low impedance driver and at least 350 plates volts, or higher if cathode biased. With a 35 watt plate dissipation, 7 watts is the minimum figure each should give with normal biasing. Would you mind sharing how the 8 300Bs are producing such low power? I’m intrigued and confused. Aric

Hey Joe, I'm sorry to hear you're not able to ride any more. I couldn't have missed the Sportster in your moniker from a mile away 😉 I picked up a 100th Anniversary FXSTI (Softail Standard) a few years back on a trade for a couple of tube amps. I had never ridden and was planning on selling the bike (the rider was also disabled due to a shoulder injury and his riding partner of many years had passed). Once I got it and learned to ride I realized it wasn't going anywhere- it's a freedom that's hard to describe once you get hooked, and now with the warm weather here I'm out on her every chance I get. Between tubes, hiking and the Harley I don't know which one I like best (okay it's probably not the hiking!). Best wishes, Aric

Hi All! I just wanted to take a moment to thank Joe for the kind words and for mentioning me and my products in this thread (and for anyone else who's considered or purchased my gear). I wanted to point out that I choose to have basically two lines of products I build. The first (where I got my start), is what I call the "workingman's" line which I build to try and get the best bang for the buck and choose where to put the budget to get the most ROI. Also many customers that buy these are first-timers into the tube world and I LOVE the excitement and being the choice they made for their first build. I don't lose any money on these, and they're not really "Loss Leaders" in the sense that I'm trying to rope anybody in. I legitimately enjoy hand-making these and don't want to turn away any budget range (if possible). The second line I sell, is fully decked out and uses top tier parts and is for the customer that has extremely high expectations- regardless of price. I've done many custom builds for guys that have heard of/seen my gear out there, and wanted to know how good it could get we went "All out". Maybe someday I'll only have one line, but in the meantime I simply like to keep the soldering iron HOT and enjoy getting feedback and hearing from happy music lovers! BTW, Joe- do you ride? I saw Sportster at the end of your name. Best regards, Aric