Tube Audio Lab
Simple2A3
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JE Labs 2A3 Single Ended Triode 3.5 wpc DHT SET Sound
"This is the second tube amp i purchased from Min. Excellent build quality
and great sound. All at an incredible price. Highly recommended!" - Dan "aka Pianopig on Audiogon"
This is my first attempt to handwire
a hi-cost SE DHT amp. I have built several Get*Set*Go amps that are SE DHTs, but they were all built using PCBs. As much as
I have liked how the GSG amp sounded, I felt like I would never fully appreciate amp building unless I handwired a SE DHT.
Since building a hum-free and low-noise SET is often difficult, I welcomed the challenge of building one that was not only
hum-free, but one that sounded good.
Since this was going to be a keeper amp, I didn't want to compromise
on parts used. I wanted to make sure that the amp was overbuilt with resistors, caps, and irons that were well over the required
power rating. I went with James 6123HSs, which BTW was compared quite favorably with Hashimoto OPTs by many fellow amp builders.
The schematic I used was JE Labs Simple 45/2A3, with a minor change: instead of 1 k for the 2A3 cathode resistors, I used
900 ohms. I got more out of those Sovtek 2A3s this way. I never really liked the electrolytics in the PS, which I think have
a tendency to produce mechanical sound. So I went with all Solens PP caps in the PS section.
Wiring was quite easy, but building the chassis
was not. I am not going into details of how the chassis was made, but it suffices to say that I could use some good set of
tools, including a table saw. So, how does it sound? Simply awesome! The amp is very musical. Very transparent. It has all
the excellence SE DHT. Very well balanced with tight bass. The mids and highs are very smooth. I love listening to classical
music through this amp. I really think that the James OPTs do a great job at frequency response. Will I keep it? 100% yes.
I finally found an amp worth of my collection. I hope this will be a family heirloom.
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