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2a3 or 300 tube amp, who's the best


What-watt

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There is no best, there's only what one prefers. It's not all about the tube, but how it's implemented into the design. And perhaps the most important part of any amp, the power supply. I don't hesitate to recommend Aric Kimball of Aric Audio when it comes to tube amps. Affordable is relative, but his products offer very high value for the money spent.

 

Aric Audio

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As previously mentioned, it depends on your personal taste and setup. I initially had the CW4 speakers. For a long time, I had the Melody 2A3 connected to these speakers. It’s an excellent amplifier, but I find the CW4s already quite bright in tone on their own. Combined with the 2A3, which I also find to be somewhat brighter compared to, for instance, a 300B, I often felt the sound leaned too much towards the highs. A 300B SET (which I didn’t have at the time) would have been a better match. 

Now, with my current AL5 speakers, I find that the 300B adds too much coloration to the sound, and the 2A3 matches better, making the sound fresher and clearer. However, the best match with the AL5, in my opinion, is still the 45 SET. It’s just slightly more refined and has a more open character than the 2A3. Though the bass is thinner compared to the 300B SET.

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@82 Cornwalls You are right that the design of the amplifier plays just as big a role. And indeed, I generalize when I describe the sound of the tube. However, I have had three different 300B SET amplifiers (still have two) and two different 2A3 amps These are the differences I have heard myself, and they match what I generally read when you look up the sound character of the tube.

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