McChanson amps appreciation thread

[svmusa]

Absolutely, I looked at Ultimate but the KT170 will do a better dual-purpose role for me. I will ask Eric...

 

[UntilThen]

Absolutely, I looked at Ultimate but the KT170 will do a better dual-purpose role for me. I will ask Eric...

You might changed your mind now.

Saw Eric this morning to return the KT170 amp and there is a new Destiny on the workbench waiting to go to the client. Same as mine but this has Silk output transformers. I had a listen with Grado SR060x. There is hum alright but not that bad, considering it is a powerful speaker amp at 8w and using a Grado! The sound is absolutely amazing though. I always say that Grado with 300b is a match made in heaven.

At some in the future, I must get this amp again.

This is with interstage output transformers instead of caps.

 

[UntilThen]

On the bench was Eric's own parafeed 300b amp. He said I could take it home and listen. So I did. You can google about parafeed design. In the past, Eric makes timE or paEr KT170 or 300b amp. paEr is parafeed.

Hooked up now with cheap EH 300b tubes and 6EA7 (6EM7) drivers and cheap china made GZ34 equivalent. It sounded great ! Susvara has never been happier. No noise obviously with Susvara through speaker taps. Quiet with HD800 too. Only a very very faint noise. You have to listen for it.

@crakers7 you're in a dilemma now. Both 300b and KT170 amps sound amazing. I suggest you get both.

 

[crakers7]

On the bench was Eric's own parafeed 300b amp. He said I could take it home and listen. So I did. You can google about parafeed design. In the past, Eric makes timE or paEr KT170 or 300b amp. paEr is parafeed.

Hooked up now with cheap EH 300b tubes and 6EA7 (6EM7) drivers and cheap china made GZ34 equivalent. It sounded great ! Susvara has never been happier. No noise obviously with Susvara through speaker taps. Quiet with HD800 too. Only a very very faint noise. You have to listen for it.

@crakers7 you're in a dilemma now. Both 300b and KT170 amps sound amazing. I suggest you get both.

LOL, gees you are making this a hard choice . I am looking for primarily a speaker amp of about 8-20 watts . Im looking for a full range sound with great soundstage , I love natural sounding vocals . I plugged my UltimatE into my speakers which are 96db efficient and it sounded fantastic , lots of detail and lovely tone but with busier music with lots going on it lacked a bit of dynamics and punch that my modded Willsenton R8 brings (20-45watts ). The Willsenton is lacking the detail , finesse and inky black background of the Ultimate , so I want an amp that combines these qualities . The KT170 is appealing because I already have all those tubes but ever since I discovered tube amps I have wanted a 300B/2A3 Amp so there is my dilemma

 

[UntilThen]

LOL, gees you are making this a hard choice . I am looking for primarily a speaker amp of about 8-20 watts . Im looking for a full range sound with great soundstage , I love natural sounding vocals . I plugged my UltimatE into my speakers which are 96db efficient and it sounded fantastic , lots of detail and lovely tone but with busier music with lots going on it lacked a bit of dynamics and punch that my modded Willsenton R8 brings (20-45watts ). The Willsenton is lacking the detail , finesse and inky black background of the Ultimate , so I want an amp that combines these qualities . The KT170 is appealing because I already have all those tubes but ever since I discovered tube amps I have wanted a 300B/2A3 Amp so there is my dilemma

For you I would still recommend the KT170 amp. There's just that much more treble clarity and tighter bass. Good tone colour too. Should drive your speakers well. If you need more power, there's the push pull in whatever tube configurations you want. 6L6GC, EL34, KT88, KT120, KT150 or even quad KT170. However KT170 SE should be sufficient. It's more like 13w into 4 ohms. There's triode and UL mode. In fact you could just leave KT170 in there and you're good. After rolling a few power tubes, KT170 sounded the best to me on that amp.

Eric's amps are quite affordable and you can always get the 300b amp later. Wish you are in Sydney than you can borrow it home for audition.

 

[crakers7]

Yes , would be great to try them out in my room , with my gear first but where I live I have never had that luxury

 

[UntilThen]

I will show you a picture of Super Ultimate and the 300b amp side by side using the same chassis. It's a pair.

 

[albertmuc]

The UltimatE's preamp output is rarely mentioned, so I'll point out this feature, which may not be available in every comparable device.
My speakers are connected to UltimatE via a power amplifier, which is an uncompromising, excellent-sounding solution

 

[UntilThen]

The UltimatE's preamp output is rarely mentioned, so I'll point out this feature, which may not be available in every comparable device.
My speakers are connected to UltimatE via a power amplifier, which is an uncompromising, excellent-sounding solution

It’s been mentioned far too much but it’s kind of taken for granted now. My Ultimate is preamp out to my integrated amp to drive my speakers. This way I can still use my headphones on Ultimate or listen through my speakers.

 

[UntilThen]

Preamp out is available on the KT170 amp for just $40. Incredible value.

 

[VanHai]

Hey Matt. How the KT 170 tubes sound with the UltimatE? I am thinking about pick up a pair for it.

 

[UntilThen]

Hey Matt. How the KT 170 tubes sound with the UltimatE? I am thinking about pick up a pair for it.

One of the top ten power tubes in Ultimate though admittedly it sound better in the KT170 amp because of the fullness of sound and more pronounced bass in the latter.

 

[UntilThen]

KT170 bias at 54.1mA in Ultimate. That's pretty good and will prolong the life of the tube. On the KT170 amp, Eric's recommendation is to bias it at 60 or 70mA.

At 70mA, the attack is really attack and you will hear the urgency and force. It's one of Eric's specialty amp. This customer is so pleased he is having another custom made. This one here is using Super Silk at $1000 a pair. He had the chassis made by a specialist wood worker and the plague is copper.

 

[LoryWiv]

KT170 bias at 54.1mA in Ultimate. That's pretty good and will prolong the life of the tube. On the KT170 amp, Eric's recommendation is to bias it at 60 or 70mA.

At 70mA, the attack is really attack and you will hear the urgency and force. It's one of Eric's specialty amp. This customer is so pleased he is having another custom made. This one here is using Super Silk at $1000 a pair. He had the chassis made by a specialist wood worker and the plague is copper.

That is a beautiful amp!

 

[PrTv]

I'm not a McChanson user but I see some units with Silk Transformers (produced by Sac Thailand which is also a reputable vacuum tube amplifier maker here under Glow Master and Minute branding). I have 2 units, one for my Susvara (KT120 push-pull) and one for my other headphones (300B-based).

Sorry if this is off-topic. I just see some connection here and had to comment LOL.