My experiences auditioning 3 different 300B power amps

I recently had the opportunity to upgrade my power amp, a Decware SE84ZS. This 2w per channel stereo chassis SET power amp uses SV83 output valves to great effect, creating a lively dynamic sound. However, I always felt that more power would pay dividends.

So, I prepared a shortlist of potential candidates for home audition

– WAVAC EC300B monoblocs
– a pair of second-hand Lamm ML2.1 monoblocs I had seen
– Allnic A5000 Neo monoblocs
– Tron Cantata monoblocs

A phone conversation with the importer of the WAVAC amplifiers quickly persuaded me that that wasn’t a route I wanted to pursue. Unfortunately, while I was arranging the home demos, the Lamms sold. Finally, the Tron Cantata are no longer manufactured (although still showing on the Tron website). They have been replaced by another model, which as far as I could ascertain are functionally similar, but none have yet been built so a home demonstration was unfortunately impossible. However, on the recommendation of the manufacturer, I arranged demonstrations of Border Patrol and Audionote equipment. The final list of candidates I auditioned was thus:

- Allnic A5000 Neo monoblocs. 300B (Emission Labs) parallel single ended pushing out 20w.
- Border Patrol SE300B stereo chassis with the outboard valve regulated PSU. Western Electric valves giving 9w per channel
- Audionote Quest Silver monoblocs. Using Chinese 300B valves single ended to deliver 9w

The rest of my system consists of:
- Ear Yoshino Acute CD Player
- VPI SuperScoutMaster TT with VPI modified Dynavector DV-20X
- Ayre P-5Xe phono stage
- Music First TVC preamp
- Avantgarde Duo loudspeakers (105dB/w horns with active subwoofers)
- Chord Indigo balanced interconnects and Signature speaker cable
- Home-made air isolation platforms

Allnic A5000 Neo

First to arrive were the Allnic ‘blocs for an extended home demo. These are nicely constructed and fairly large, having the largest footprint of all the amps I tried. With the Emission Labs valves installed, they are also very tall.

It was recommended to me that I not leave the amps on permanently, so I left these off when not listening. From stone cold, the sound is generally OK but the bass in particular is a little bloated and sounds divorced from the mid and treble. After two or three tracks, the amps have warmed up sufficiently and all of my listening was therefore done once the amps were warmed.

The Allnic amps offer either RCA or XLR inputs. I found that the RCA offered slightly faster and wider dynamic shifts (both micro and macro) but the XLR offered a more coherent soundstage with more precise image placement. For my preferences, I chose primarily to listen via the XLR inputs.

The Allnic amps offer a neutral (slightly on the laid back side of neutral perhaps) presentation. Within this, however, there is an excellent level of detail and resolution – this impressed me greatly as a lot of the hifi I have heard which offers high resolution also typically matches this to a forward presentation which can become tiring.

The treble and midrange are smooth, extended and without any noticeable grain. Of particular note, was instrumental texture, which was outstanding. I listen to a lot of acoustic guitar and the way in which the subtleties of this instrument was portrayed, was quite beautiful. The same qualities really brought to life the nuance of vocal delivery that separates a great voice from a great singer. Bass extension was good and articulation was likewise good if not being stand out.

Soundstage was very wide and, on the right recording, also had a real sense of depth. Images within the soundstage were always very stable and precise, with quite good front to back layering. Most compelling, however, was the very real sense of presence to the images in the soundstage. This aspect of the amps’ performance really stuck with me and, with eyes shut, gave the amps a rare ability to transport me out of my listening room.

On initial listening, dynamics were quite disappointing. I found the recreation of microdynamics and transients not to be as good as the Decware power amp leading to a less musically communicative performance. Likewise, macrodynamics were slightly compressed in comparison to my existing amp and I could detect some strain and harshness in powerful passages of music.

However, this was a red herring. As these amps, at 20w per channel, were 10 fold more powerful than my existing amp I had been matching volume levels by dialing back the volume control on my CD player (the aim being to give me the same degree of play as I was used to on the preamp). With the volume pot on the CD player turned back up to maximum, all concerns were banished and the amps proved themselves very capable performers, recreating dynamic shifts with the speed required by horn speakers and furthermore with a greater sense of control and grip than the Decware amp. Lesson learned – turning down the volume control on the CD player robs the music of dynamics; I didn’t do that again.

Overall, the amps were extremely musical and I frequently ended up putting on a specific track to assess some aspect of performance and end up listening to several tracks or the whole CD/LP.

Audionote Silver Quest

Next to arrive were the Audionote ‘blocs. These were chaperoned by a representative of the company and were therefore auditioned only over the course of around 3 hours. They were left on for an hour before I was allowed to listen.

Physically, these are oddly shaped beasts in that they are relatively narrow but extremely long and I couldn’t sit them properly on my normal rack (which isn’t shallow and which houses all of my other equipment with room to spare). If you’re in the market for a set of these amps, I would recommend investigating suitable supports. The amps were also very loud, significantly more so than the Allnics even though they were less than half the output power. I understand that a low gain version is available for those with very sensitive speakers.

The overall perspective was quite forward; coming from the Allnics this was very noticeable. Not so much as to be aggressive, but I would wonder whether the presentation might become a little tiring over time.

Treble was airy and extremely well extended – sparkling is the word that came to mind. The midrange was good, if not exceptional and did not match the liquid performance of the Allnics.

Bass on the other hand was simply outstanding as is where I think that these amps’ core strength really lies. Pitch definition and particularly articulation were simply the best I have ever heard, solid state included. This gave a real sense of power and drive to appropriate music and was definitely an enjoyable trait. For anyone who has a primary focus on bass performance, these amps are a must-audition in my view.

Similarly, dynamics were quite awesome. Transients, the attack and decay of individual notes were incredibly lifelike and very energetic.

On the downside, however, I found the soundstage and imaging to be quite poor. The soundstage was significantly closed in, hemmed very directly to the speakers with little depth and no real sense of an acoustic space. The impression was very much one of listening to hifi rather than of listening to performers at a point in space. Imaging was fairly average – there was no wandering but images were slightly diffuse with little sense of solidity.

The representative who was chaperoning the amps suggested that a more powerful amplifier from the Audionote range would likely improve these areas whilst retaining the strengths noted above. I didn’t try this, but it’s an interesting proposition.

Finally, detail and resolution were good without being exemplary, instrumental timbre and low level details being mildly glossed over.

An overall impression was difficult to form as the audition was only for a few hours and was less relaxed than it could have been had I been left to my own devices. My focus was therefore largely on the specific hifi sensibilities noted above. Having said that, I didn’t find the amps to be particularly engaging or emotionally communicative.

As the Audionotes were being packed up I was genuinely in two minds as there were some aspects of their performance which I had found truly superb and other areas very disappointing. Once they had left, I again hooked up the Allnics which helped to solidify my impressions greatly.

I didn’t really miss the explosive dynamics or hyper bass performance, but the fluid mid-range, realistic soundstage and general musicality of the Allnics was like a breath of fresh air. I also really noticed an increase in the level of detail – not in your face detail, but a definite sense of being able to hear, without listening, all of the subtle nuances that can really bring music to life.

Border Patrol SE300B

Last to arrive was the beautiful Border Patrol – I definitely have a soft spot for the BP aesthetics. This amp was purchased outright on a sale or return basis so I had a quiet and relaxed weekend in which to assess it. The unit was already run in. I also found this amp to be extremely loud (when playing CD I effectively had binary volume control - minimum on the premap was off, next step of the volume was acceptable volume, second step was far too loud and I live in a detached house). Again, a low gain version is available however.

My first impression was of a very neutral presentation and a truly lovely clean and neutral tonality in the midrange and treble, with great clarity although there was a slight ethereal quality as though the sounds were lacking presence. Bass extension and articulation were very good, somewhere between the Allnic and Audionote.

Imaging was very wide with good depth layering also, although again with that slightly ethereal quality rather than the etched imaging provided by some amps. There was no real sense of a palpable soundstage that I could discern, the musicians always sounding as if they were in my room rather than me being in theirs.

Microdynamics were punchy with good transient response and resolution was also good, again taking the middle ground somewhat between the Allnic and Audionote amps. Macrodynamics were generally fine although I did notice a slight tendency to become a little congested on busier sections – not a major problem for me as I tend towards simpler musical arrangements, but it could be a factor for some.

Overall, I found the experience with the Border Patrol to be rather frustrating. In many respects it was a great amplifier with a lot of real virtues and I felt that I should be enjoying it more. However, all too often when listening to this amp I found my attention wandering elsewhere – I rarely finished a whole side of an LP, let alone a CD. However, I couldn’t put my finger on why and it could be something very personal to me. In the end, I couldn’t buy this amp but I wouldn’t dissuade anyone else from listening to one as it has a lot going for it.

In the end I bought the Allnics and I’m thrilled. Currently sat listening to an old Chicken Shack LP way too loud through them. :guitar:

 

Good review - better than reading mags!.

 

Much more honest than the mags! Interesting and well written ,thanks LBR.

 

Yes, very interesting - shame you did not get to hear the Lamms though.

Many thanks for taking the time to write up your experience

 

well done for a great review lbr. Enjoy the music.

My days of dropping 7k on a component are way behind me! (in fact probably in a previous life)

CCC - Credit Crunched Chris

 

What they said Very entertaining and informative.

Another two thousand hyperbolic adjectives and H*F*+ would have printed it! Mind you, without the said hyperbole it made much better reading.

 

Hi lbr,

Nice write up. It's good to see you got to hear a selection of amps. I own a Border Patrol amp and it is interesting to hear comments about it and the competition.

The Wavac looks very interesting. I have read a review of it. From what i have seen, it is not cheap. The price is not on theUK distrubutors website. I have seen it go for $24,490 in the US.

http://www.dagogo.com/WavacEC300B.html

Why did the UK importer put you off?

SCIDB

 

Nice review, if you'd spent threee pages discussing what you could have doe to accomodate the An amps via finite element stands and Vertex AQ (boxes for fools tm) you might well have gotten space in hifi+

 

Thanks for the kind words all.

Hi SCIDB, It was £16k in the UK when I spoke to them, although when I was looking around initially they had a special introductory offer price of £11 or 12k. It gets pretty universal rave reviews and it would appear to be a popular choice in the US for partnering with Avantgarde speakers, hence my interest in it.

I found the gentleman I spoke to quite pushy and a little abrasive - maybe he was having a bad day, maybe I was, but I didn't feel that he was someone I wanted to do business with so I never followed up. I'm sure he's a perfectly pleasant man, just one of those phone conversations I guess.

 

Strangely, different Wavac dealers 'round the world seem to have lots in common....

 

Wavac are I believe now using transformers made by True life Audio in Athens. TLA amps sounded pretty good in Munich expensive though.

 

I found the gentleman I spoke to quite pushy and a little abrasive - maybe he was having a bad day, maybe I was, but I didn't feel that he was someone I wanted to do business with so I never followed up. I'm sure he's a perfectly pleasant man, just one of those phone conversations I guess.[/QUOTE]

Not at all. Exactly my experience when speaking to the UK WAVAC dealer. Almost certainly the same person. I felt I was speaking to a used car salesman - he ended up trying to sell me a different amp altogether when he realised i wasn't mega-rich so not sure where i will go next as may be considering a WAVAC preamp. These are fantastic amps.

 

That's him