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Sarah 300B vs UFO25 (Read 1958 times)
DrWongKC
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Sarah 300B vs UFO25
03/27/23 at 06:30:57
 
Someone please tell me, is the Sarah 300B a superior sounding amplifier to the UFO25 or are they more of a different sound? I hope I can get an accurate answer here  ;D.
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Lon
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #1 - 03/27/23 at 14:22:21
 
If you read the Development thread Steve seems to view both amps as flagship amplifiers, both fantastic and just different.

He ought to know. Wink Right now he may be one of the only ones who can speak to comparisons with both amps.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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DrWongKC
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #2 - 03/27/23 at 15:02:43
 
Thank you Lon Smiley I appreciate your reply.
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CAJames
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #3 - 03/27/23 at 16:10:50
 
First, I'll second what Lon said. Based on Steve's posts both the Sarah and the UFO25 are top of the line. Both share the Decware "house sound" and yet are different. Also, note that Sarah has roughly 2 to 4 times the Watts of the UFO25 if that matters to you.

While I can't speak to Sarah I can talk about my experience with a singled ended 300B amp similar to this:

http://www.thebestamp.com/Single-Ended_Tube_Amps/SE-300B-BAL.php

that I bought used last year and my UFO amps that were configured as balanced monoblocs. The 300B sound is more similar to my UFOs than I expected. It is a little warmer and richer sounding, but not as transparent or as spacious. On the right recording, often solo piano or string quartet, it sounds gorgeous; the best, most beautiful sound I've heard in my listening room. Maybe anywhere ever. But overall I prefer the UFO sound. The UFOs sound lovely, and have a little extra dynamics, detail and sense of scale for the big music that I prefer like Mahler, Brucker or the Buddy Rich Big Band. I love the UFO sound so much I got back on the waiting list for a pair of UFO25s and hope to have them in the fall. Of course this is my taste, my room and all that.

I think the bottom line is as long as the 2.3 watts from the UFO25 is not an issue for you can't go wrong with either. I expect soon posters will be reviewing their Sarahs and that will be very interesting and informative.
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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Maple-tree Phono 3E
Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Senn HD-650
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DrWongKC
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #4 - 04/03/23 at 20:12:20
 
Thanks so much for the reply! It's really helpful, so I appreciate it a lot.
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mperdue63
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25....just a taste!
Reply #5 - 04/03/23 at 21:28:48
 
SmileyIt's way to early for me to say anything definitive about my new Sarah. I've only got 30 hours on her with WE 300B's,Sophia Electric Aqua 274B Rectifier, Cryotone 12au7 and Ecc88's, RCA OC2's. I simply moved my monoblock SE84UFO25's out and inserted the Sarah in the chain. I will say that I new very quickly that my ZRock was not needed! So at this point I can also say that Sarah is evolving nicely. She is "sensitive" to different tubes and I keep going back to the 274B. She works fine in a DAC-ZBit-Sarah chain but also works great ( rich baritone vocals, spooky cello) with a CSP325, 6N1P's in the mix. Are my Anniversary amps more detailed, transparent? I think it is way to soon to tell. More hours, more tubes etc. before I know more. Would I give up my anniversary amps at this point? Nope. Would I even consider giving up Sarah...absolutely not. I know this was not a detailed "review" and not much help in general. But if you're on the fence about ordering a Sarah.....I'd do it again without hesitation. YMMV
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LHY SW10}HiFi Rose 130RS}Holo Audio May KTE}Decware Sarah #003}Spatial Audio X5's
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DrWongKC
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #6 - 04/04/23 at 05:44:15
 
Thanks for the reply, regarding sharing your perspective. It is appreciated!
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Lon
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"Love without
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Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #7 - 04/04/23 at 14:18:14
 
Thanks for the taste. It makes us hungry for more. . . .
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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CAJames
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"I've run every
red light on memory
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Posts: 1591
Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #8 - 04/04/23 at 15:06:32
 
Yeah, can't wait for more updates as your amp and tubes break in. People said my Takatsuki tubes would take hundreds of hours to break in and I didn't believe them because it seemed like after a hundred or so they were sounding really good and stable. But sure enough, after about 500 hours they opened up even more and are at another level. Ironically that was about the same time I sold my UFOs so I can't do a direct comparison until I get my UFO25s later this year. The CW is that WE tubes break in faster, in like 100 hours FWIW.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Maple-tree Phono 3E
Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Senn HD-650
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Lon
Seasoned Member
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"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
Philip K. Dick

Posts: 23312
Re: Sarah 300B vs UFO25
Reply #9 - 04/04/23 at 15:30:39
 
I'm glad the Sophia Electric Aqua 274B is delivering and performing without issue. That is the rectifier that I can't keep in a drawer . . . mine have to be in use, they just have a "set it and forget it" quality that no other brings to tube complements. I have Sophia Electric Classic 300B tubes waiting to go into my Sarah when it arrives--tubes engineered to work well with the Aqua. I still have a long wait. . . #157.
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HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
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