Anybody heard 2A3 tubes?

organ

I got my ASL tulip a few weeks back and I'm in love with the sound of this tube. Right up there with the 300B as the king of tone. So far I've tried the stock Chinese and Sovtek 2A3. Gonna order upgrades from sophiaelectric.com

The amp is putting out 3.2w/ch. This is my favorite audio piece so far. Capable of delivering delicacy and brute force at the same time and the level of intimacy with the music is unbelievable. Can go louder than I can stand.
Well, just wondering if anybody here heard this particular tube yet?

madmax

Nope. But a 2A3 and a 45? are both on my list.
madmax

organ

Awesome. I'm thinking about getting the 45 from Sophia. My amp takes both tubes. The 300B, 2A3 and 45 are in the same family. I don't think I'll ever return to high power again. Have you checked out Dr. Harvey Rosenberg's website? www.meta-gizmo.com ? Click on triode guild and you'll find a lot of audio articles dealing with these 3 tubes and horns.

madmax

I may make a move to these flea powered amps this year.

Systems

Try these......I buy regularly from this guy with no problems at all.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Matched-Electro-Harmonix-Gold-Grid-2A3-tubes-NEW_W0QQitemZ150209385403QQihZ005QQcategoryZ12050QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Factory-Matched-Pair-JJ-2A3-40-amp-tubes-Brand-New_W0QQitemZ150206507666QQihZ005QQcategoryZ39783QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Chuck

organ

Thanks. I'm gonna try the EH first. I love my Sovteks and hear the EH sounds the same with better high freq extension.

mhardy6647

Yup, used a pair of Bottlehead Paramours as main listening amps for several years. They're on hiatus now (I was seduced by the thunderous power of push-pull EL84s). Just as I think it's impossible to make a bad-sounding EL84 amp, I think it is probably impossible to make a bad sounding (single-ended, at least) 2A3 amp. Even the cheap Chinese new production 2A3s sound pretty good, actually. EDIT: I mostly have used Sovtek new production 2A3s in these, and a nice pair of used Philco (dual-plate) 2A3s I got cheap from a friend. I have a nice pair of NOS RCA dual plates, but I haven't ever tried them.

Here's an old photo of the Paramours in the living room...



A 45 amp will provide a bit more gloriousity in the midrange, but the limited output power (2 watts or less) is at the limit for most reasonable high-efficiency speakers. The 46 (a dual-grid DH tube) can make a nice SE amp, too, but with even lower output power (ca. 1.6 watts, as I recall). Build Gary Kaufman's convertible amp and have it all!
http://www.the-planet.org/Ragtop.html

FWIW (not that anyone really wanted to know this) I am not a big fan of the more powerful, and more pricey, 300B for single-ended outputs.