Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage and Single Ended Triod

Hi Daveyf,

The Cary CAD 300SE mono blocks were the ones that I was looking at. They are rated at 15 watts.

I also hear that the Wavac MD300B is suppose to be to die for but the problem is I rarely see them on Audiogon.

I have heard that you get 90% of the performance from a pair of Cary's which sell for about half the price of the Wavac.

What 300B amps were you looking at?

I am currently driving my GH with a McIntosh MC275-II. It sounds wonderful but I keep getting the itch to try 300B.

Hi Rchan,
I would be interested in the Jadis 300b amps and probably
the Air Tight 845's ( single ended but not 300B's) and the Air Tight 300's.
Like you say the Wavac's and the Cary's are contenders as well. BUT, like
I said, I doubt any of them would be a fit for the GH's.
The GH's are so revealing that I am pretty sure that the single ended
amps would be easily heard distorting once they began to get overdriven.
Nonetheless, i am curious, like you, as to this match-up.

I own a pair of the GH's and have driven them with a couple 300b SET's. It is not my usual pairing but it works for me because I enjoy low and medium volume levels.

I think you should try it, assuming you are not a headbanger. I love the 300b and the single ended sound is something I think everyone in our hobby should at least try once in their lifetime. It may not be for everyone and it requires a compatable speaker but once I heard it I was hooked.

BTW, I have a lot of respect for Cary amps. I own their Rocket 88 and V12i that I use on my Maggies. They are push pull but have a triode switch so I'm half way there (triode but not single ended). In that case I need the extra horsepower.

Onemug, please tell us what amps you are referring to when you say 'a couple of
300 b SET's'?
Are you using one 300b amp per channel? Not sure what you mean.
In my very small room, I listen at low volume levels generally anyway, so
maybe a 300b might be an option. Although, unless I am mistaken, most
300b's can only put out about 15 watts/ch or less. Do you hear the clipping that must be occurring even at low levels given how inefficient the GH's are?

Daveyf,
I only used one amp at a time, never biamped. The best one was the Art Audio Symphony II. It puts out 10 wpc, has a great power supply and transformers which all help contribute to the sound. I have not heard any clipping.

Food for thought: Average convesation is around 65 db. Averarge factory levels are 75 db. You get 86 db with "1" watt from the GH's at 1 meter. Even accounting for some variables, if you listen at "factory level" you may only be using a tenth of a watt.