[George Hincapie]

Mrs Cleaver was Beav's mum, and she was known for doing the Hoovering while wearing a pearls around her neck...

I don't think that programme ever aired in the UK.

 

[OnlySoMany]

Just received my Studio B and couldn’t be happier to join the club



I’m running Elrog 300B Mo, JAN 5670 that Craig sent and Mullard GZ34 metal base NOS from 1957. Any suggestions for the input tube rolling? I see a couple of NOS tubes at Brent Jesse’s website so was going to contact him for suggestions. The black square plate RCA seems like a popular choice?

I've always had great luck with psvane tubes. Bit pricy but worth it.

I've had my eye on this brand for a while. My pull the trigger to use with my ZMF sets. But Zach did drop the new partnership for tube amps (can't remember the name). So many choices!

 

[George Hincapie]

So the response I got by email: "Eddie will release a 6AS7 amp Fall 2023. No 300B amps in the works."

 

[yabusama]

Very interested in what Craig comes up with. I have some NOS Tung-Sol 6080's that I used in a Woo WA22 that would be happy in a new home.

 

[ardbeg1975]

I too am very interested.

 

[ardbeg1975]

So the response I got by email: "Eddie will release a 6AS7 amp Fall 2023. No 300B amps in the works."

While implementation impacts everything, what are the general sonic characteristics of 6AS7s? I have experience with 6SN7, 6N6P and 300B-based amps but not 6AS7s.

 

[George Hincapie]

While implementation impacts everything, what are the general sonic characteristics of 6AS7s? I have experience with 6SN7, 6N6P and 300B-based amps but not 6AS7s.

I actually don't know, the LTA MZ3 is my first tube HPA. I am sure someone can chime in with an answer though

 

[Contrails]

So the response I got by email: "Eddie will release a 6AS7 amp Fall 2023. No 300B amps in the works."

OTL or SET?

 

[George Hincapie]

OTL or SET?

It doesn't say.

 

[Rascal123]

The traffic on this thread has been low but I wanted to pose a question and hope for some assistance. I obtained one of Craig’s last Studio B amps and have had what I hope is a minor issue with the SE/Balanced switch that I have yet to discuss with Craig, but a question about a struggle with female vocals that may be both a personal sensitivity combined with a trait of the Studio B. I am not a reviewer so pardon my use of descriptors but I have struggled with a bit of edginess, or borderline sibilance with female vocals. I was running Emission Labs 300 Mesh with Amperex GZ34 and WE 2C51 tubes. This edginess was noted in some instrumentals in the same frequency range but most notable with female vocals. When I switched back to tubes supplied by Craig, Sovtek 5AR4 and what I think is a GE 5670, this sibilance seems reduced but is still present. I assume tube selection is going to fix this but wonder if this is something inherent I the tuning of the amp as well? Suggestions about solving this would be appreciated. Wondering about swapping to WE 300B or Elrog ER, as well as maybe trying out something like a Brimar or Fivre 5R4GY? Thanks for any guidance…

 

[ardbeg1975]

The traffic on this thread has been low but I wanted to pose a question and hope for some assistance. I obtained one of Craig’s last Studio B amps and have had what I hope is a minor issue with the SE/Balanced switch that I have yet to discuss with Craig, but a question about a struggle with female vocals that may be both a personal sensitivity combined with a trait of the Studio B. I am not a reviewer so pardon my use of descriptors but I have struggled with a bit of edginess, or borderline sibilance with female vocals. I was running Emission Labs 300 Mesh with Amperex GZ34 and WE 2C51 tubes. This edginess was noted in some instrumentals in the same frequency range but most notable with female vocals. When I switched back to tubes supplied by Craig, Sovtek 5AR4 and what I think is a GE 5670, this sibilance seems reduced but is still present. I assume tube selection is going to fix this but wonder if this is something inherent I the tuning of the amp as well? Suggestions about solving this would be appreciated. Wondering about swapping to WE 300B or Elrog ER, as well as maybe trying out something like a Brimar or Fivre 5R4GY? Thanks for any guidance…

I have not encountered the sibilance but I do not have experience with the EMLs. If you are particularly sensitive to the timbral accuracy of female vocals, my suggestion would be to acquire the WEs. I listen to a lot of female vocal jazz and blues (Ella, Billie, etc.) and the WEs just excel at that. As to the edginess (possible dryness?), my experimentation has lead me to roll in rectifiers with more v drop (e.g. 5R4GY) to bend the EC just slightly more toward a slightly more traditionally “tubey” sound (a bit more reverb). As for inputs, I also use a WE 2C51 and again got more noticeable sonic change via the rectifier swap.

 

[LarsMan]

The traffic on this thread has been low but I wanted to pose a question and hope for some assistance. I obtained one of Craig’s last Studio B amps and have had what I hope is a minor issue with the SE/Balanced switch that I have yet to discuss with Craig, but a question about a struggle with female vocals that may be both a personal sensitivity combined with a trait of the Studio B. I am not a reviewer so pardon my use of descriptors but I have struggled with a bit of edginess, or borderline sibilance with female vocals. I was running Emission Labs 300 Mesh with Amperex GZ34 and WE 2C51 tubes. This edginess was noted in some instrumentals in the same frequency range but most notable with female vocals. When I switched back to tubes supplied by Craig, Sovtek 5AR4 and what I think is a GE 5670, this sibilance seems reduced but is still present. I assume tube selection is going to fix this but wonder if this is something inherent I the tuning of the amp as well? Suggestions about solving this would be appreciated. Wondering about swapping to WE 300B or Elrog ER, as well as maybe trying out something like a Brimar or Fivre 5R4GY? Thanks for any guidance…

Did you say what kind of headphones you're using? I'd think that would have a lot to do with it as well. I have WE 300B's, and for me, I don't have that problem, but I'm listening through Susvaras, which did not sound very good through the 'stock' Gold Lion 300B's I'd originally purchased. I'm not familiar with Brimar or Fivre - where are they from?

 

[helljudgement]

The traffic on this thread has been low but I wanted to pose a question and hope for some assistance. I obtained one of Craig’s last Studio B amps and have had what I hope is a minor issue with the SE/Balanced switch that I have yet to discuss with Craig, but a question about a struggle with female vocals that may be both a personal sensitivity combined with a trait of the Studio B. I am not a reviewer so pardon my use of descriptors but I have struggled with a bit of edginess, or borderline sibilance with female vocals. I was running Emission Labs 300 Mesh with Amperex GZ34 and WE 2C51 tubes. This edginess was noted in some instrumentals in the same frequency range but most notable with female vocals. When I switched back to tubes supplied by Craig, Sovtek 5AR4 and what I think is a GE 5670, this sibilance seems reduced but is still present. I assume tube selection is going to fix this but wonder if this is something inherent I the tuning of the amp as well? Suggestions about solving this would be appreciated. Wondering about swapping to WE 300B or Elrog ER, as well as maybe trying out something like a Brimar or Fivre 5R4GY? Thanks for any guidance…

Unfortunate that's not enough information to go by. In my experience, this amp have a noticeably drier presentation than other tube amps I own but that doesn't mean it. I'm also running it off a pair of LinLai e300 which is one of the more neutral and drier 300b tube amp out there as I find this sort of tuning suit synergize pretty well with my ZMFs. Never had issues with Studio B but that could just be me.

What headphones are you using and do you have other amps to compare directly against? It is very difficult to troubleshoot over the web so you might want to consider sending it back to Craig for further diagnosis if you're positive it's a dud. As for tubes I'd recommend getting the we396a driver tube. The WE drivers especially are known for their rich and warm sound which should offset the dryness a bit. Not the cheapest thing around but still within the realm of reasonable.

 

[Rascal123]

I have not encountered the sibilance but I do not have experience with the EMLs. If you are particularly sensitive to the timbral accuracy of female vocals, my suggestion would be to acquire the WEs. I listen to a lot of female vocal jazz and blues (Ella, Billie, etc.) and the WEs just excel at that. As to the edginess (possible dryness?), my experimentation has lead me to roll in rectifiers with more v drop (e.g. 5R4GY) to bend the EC just slightly more toward a slightly more traditionally “tubey” sound (a bit more reverb). As for inputs, I also use a WE 2C51 and again got more noticeable sonic change via the rectifier swap.

Thanks for the above. I was leaning towards giving the WE 300’s a try as they seem tom fit my preferred sound signature, but hard to ignore the circle jerk around the Elrogs…

 

[Rascal123]

Unfortunate that's not enough information to go by. In my experience, this amp have a noticeably drier presentation than other tube amps I own but that doesn't mean it. I'm also running it off a pair of LinLai e300 which is one of the more neutral and drier 300b tube amp out there as I find this sort of tuning suit synergize pretty well with my ZMFs. Never had issues with Studio B but that could just be me.

What headphones are you using and do you have other amps to compare directly against? It is very difficult to troubleshoot over the web so you might want to consider sending it back to Craig for further diagnosis if you're positive it's a dud. As for tubes I'd recommend getting the we396a driver tube. The WE drivers especially are known for their rich and warm sound which should offset the dryness a bit. Not the cheapest thing around but still within the realm of reasonable.

The headphones used are primarily ZMF Atrium Open and Verite Closed. I have not spent much time yet with my RadO’s on the Studio B. The edginess of the female vocals is quite a bit less on my Rogue RH5 with either Mazda or Brimar tubes. The Studio B seems a bit more ‘airy and articulate and soundstage wider than w the Rogue. Neither is ‘better’ but definitely a bit different. Really liking the Atrium and Verite in general and they seem a good match w the Studio B other than the female vocals which may be a personal sensitivity.