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At the risk of being insulted, I do not see any value or substance in that statement above concerning this thread.

John

It wasn’t who the statement was directed at that was the concern , but the inflammatory nature of the statement. It’s just instigating and begging for a response from the intended target. Why start? We come here for fun and to learn that’s all.

Just FYI/FWIW here are some comparisons between my amp and what we know about the Sarah 300B.

My amp weighs 40 lbs, and most of that is the transformers. They are pretty bad a$$, and probably why the bass is so tight and well defined. I don't know how much Sarah is going to weigh, but for comparison the SE34I.6 is 18 LBS.

Both amps have AC circuits for the heaters. Mine has a screw to adjust to minimize the hum. Hum is kinda a trigger for me and with my 95 dB speakers there is some. I can hear it at the speakers, not so much from my seat (but I know its there...).

Sarah has a tube rectifier, which would be my preference. My amp is SS rectified, and has a (presumably) can'o caps bigger and taller than a 300B tube for power supply reservoir. It also has a 10 second soft start circuit, where as I believe Sarah is choke regulated.

Probably the biggest different (at least topologically) is the input. We all know about Sarah's "zrock inspired" input circuit that uses the Decware standard 9 pin input tubes. The thing that really got me interested in the Space-tech amp is that it has a balanced input circuit with 6S[N|L]7 input tubes. The balanced input drives the 300B tubes which are single ended. For me, the 'L7 had too much gain so I've been using pairs of single triode equivalents of the 6SN7: 6J5GTs, VT37 and my favorite GEC L63.

Finally the cosmetics. The Space-tech amp is gold finish aluminum, and is not really my style. I much prefer the Decware look, but what are you going to do?



In other news some "friends" on another site convinced me to get the Takatsuki 300B tubes so more on that later...

Has anyone purchased one of the super rectifiers yet?

Lon, thanks for sharing that.

Off the cuff, based on the price used and photos at the site, that looks to be Space Tech’s entry level STR-104.

Very encouraging.

I’m strongly considering the STR-1001 with choke option at some point, so I can also experience the big tubes, even the mercury vapor 872A. I too would be linking it to the preamp.

Astro-Chris,

Yes, unfortunately you would have to buy 2 super rectifiers for a dual mono amp like the Torii, or a pair of mono blocks.

A great alternative would be to link a single super rectifier to a tube rectified preamp. Do you have one?

Brad

Chris, I don't think anyone has used this with Decware gear yet.

Personally, after spending a few weeks rotating about a dozen different pairs of rectifiers through my Monoblocks I don't think this is likely a benefit worth the money for Decware components. The power supply, especially with the Mods, is quite robust and responsive to rectifier rolling. I think money is possibly better spent on Anniversary mods and with those this "super rectifier" is likely to have a lesser impact.

There's a lot of info here on the forums about Anniversary mods. Steve has one level built into the latest version of the Torii and another level available as a mod for an additional 400 dollars, and I think others with Mk III have had Anniversary Mods added to their amps, I would check with Sarah or Steve about cost and levels. Or check with Will. I believe in Will and the improvements he makes; imo his is one of the best audio minds.

It’s been a while and I wanted to resuscitate this thread to gauge if anyone used the super rectifier with Decware gear with Anniversary mods? The speculation last year was that this would have not a meaningful impact with the robust power regulation inherent in newer Decware amps.

CA James, it’s been a year since you got your 300B from Space Tech. Any additional impressions you’d like to share over your long term ownership? Can’t recall, did you end up getting the Takatuski 300B tubes?

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I've posted about this elsewhere, but since you asked I guess no harm in recapitulating here ...

I've been listening to the Space-tech 300B amp exclusively since I sold my UFOs in January. Yes, I got Takatsuki 300B tubes, which were a nice improvement over the perfectly listenable budget Chinese 300Bs I started with. I've also been cycling through my collection of 6SN7 equivalent input tubes.

In a word the sound is beautiful. On the right recordings it is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard, recorded or live. If I had never heard Decware UFOs I could easily live with this forever. But (and now this is based on my months old memory of the UFO sound) it isn't as fast or detailed or spacious as I know is possible. It is maybe too beautiful: the UFOs were the the perfect balance of truth and beauty. The 300B amp trades some truth for more beauty, and I'd like the truth back.

My UFO25s are currently hung up in the supply chain, and I'm looking forward to getting the Decware sound back in my listening room. I anticipate selling the 300B amp soon after they arrive, so if anyone is interested watch the classifieds.

After room treatments I've spent more time and energy on the power delivery to the system than anything else. My experience is power is often a second thought.

I would love to try the super rectifiers. The cost to try is too steep for me right now.

STR-1002 Ultra Super Tube Rectifier $1664
Power Cable ~$1,600
2 more sets of tubes to roll ~$400?

3664x2 = $7328

Yes, I could go with a lower model. for $952. My thought is if I'm going through the process of auditioning it I would want to really see what it can do. I would also need to get two more PCs that I'm happy with to give it a fair go.

I'm also tight on space for more components.

I'm very happy with the EML 5u4g tubes I've been running for the last 1.5 years. They beat out NOS from the 40's through new production.

I've also been so happy with my stereo for months I'm not motivated to change anything.

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That's where I'm at as well. IMO it is a sweet technology and I'd really like to try at least one in my headphone/pre-amp. But the bill for my UFO25s is coming due soon so that's where my hardware budget is allocated for the foreseeable future. And of course if I get one and really like it then I'd need to get 2 more for the UFOs .

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Yeah, that too. And I've got a lifetime supply of nice rectifiers already. So, not today but maybe some day...

Groovysauce,

I had a failure with a pair of pvsane 300b’s last year in my coincident technology Frankenstein mk3 monoblocks

Online I got in touch with folks who also run the same amp asking what they have run and liked.

One fellow who I trust a lot Charlesdad1 has tried a large number of 300b’s and swore by both the sonics and reliability of the Eml xls tubes.

I then followed up with my tube designer / builder who flat out specifically recommended the Eml xls to me.

That sealed the deal.

Following are some comments from Charlesdad1

I've had VAIC- EML XLS-KR XLS-Sophia Electric Royal Princess-Takasuki-Early generation Elrog and 1980s vintage Western Electric 300b. My verdict is There is no single absolute best choice amongst them.  Too many variables that can favor one over another. Some of these tubes will sound better in one amplifier compared to another. The overall audio system "voicing " is a key factor.

For my particular amplifier/audio system and ears the EML XLS has been ideal  for me.

I have used the EML XLS in my Frankensteins MK II for about 7 or 8 years band they are excellent! Very rugged construction and undeniably reliable. They sound splendid in this amplifier.