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Opinion on Elekit 8300 300b

I am thinking of building this kit. I would like to get into SET's and expand my DIY. Currently have Green Mountain EOS HDx's with Ayre QB9 and Ayre AX7e. The GMA's are only 90dB but a very simple xover and easy to drive.

I tried a MiniWatt Pentode SET with 3.5 watts and it sounded very nice for guitar, voice and violin. The 300b kit has 8 watts and would be sufficient for the kind of listening I intend to do with it. I will def keep my Ayre for R&R, dub step etc.

I have built computers (in the old days) and soldered chips so I know how to solder and know digital well. Just am not so familiar with analog stuff and power.

I am interested in trying lots of mods over time so may be investing money in it.

Questions are:

1. Is it worth the money as a starter kit?
2. Is it an upgradeable platform or does the use of PCB's negate that?
3. Would I be better off using a wired platform from the start?
4. Anyone know about the Elekit kit that has interchangeable 2a3 and 300b? Sounds interesting but maybe the tradesoffs are too great.

I know about Audionote and Bottlehead but these kits really almost double the cost and I would prefer to try different mods and upgrades. Also want to build a set of Single driver speakers soon too.

Thanks for you opinions! Oh, really not trying to stir a debate about tubes vs SS. I like em both really and want both of them in my audio quiver!

Drew.
drewh1
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Drew it's "viridian", with three "i"s. Good luck with the build, it should be very, very easy. I would appreciate you getting back with your impressions, either in this thread or e-mail me off board.

The Goldpoint is a beautiful control and a great place to start. I'm a cap guy, so I tend to go there first. It seems like the dimensions and the look make it the best looking Bottlehead piece they have ever made, IMHO. But I'm not much on their new sanded metal finish. I usually get out the spray can of hammertone silver at the first moment.

Happy listening!
drewh1 OP
92 posts
 
Oops - Viridian it is! I will definitely let you know and will likely have questions about caps as I get more deeply into it. Thanks for the tip about the Hammerton paint.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Hammerite or hammertone paint, it's a type of finish that looks like the paint has been hammered. All of the ancient gear used this finish. It comes in rattle cans at all of the usual places, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. It's nice because it will cover a multitude of sins in whatever it is covering. And it adds some visual interest. It is usually available in silver and gray. Lots of the guys are using the copper finish these days. Here is an example:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/file.php%3F1,file%3D65115,filename%3Dfin_hammertone.jpg&imgrefurl=http://corvaircenter.com/phorum/read.php?1,456294,456294&h=577&w=577&sz=76&tbnid=qeobxL5ofgJzRM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhammertone%2Bpaint%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=hammertone+paint&usg=__D8JQamw_2_5LtwDDgkrdVULEh2Y=&docid=roJfZe7RxAXaMM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DygXUe67KufdigK0lIGgBg&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAQ&dur=57

Great luck with your project!
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