Oh Sh#7! Eddie Current Studio B

wow this is what I wanted a 2a3 amp I am a bit obsessive, I bought the 300b studio b and it sounds great, my mind is nagging me that I should get the 2a3 that its better sounding, clearer, more bite, less bloom. Asking if anyone can address this, has heard the studio b with 300b and an EC 2a3 that compares.

 

Why not consider a stratus/stellaris as a companion amp? Very different signature but impressive in it's own right.

 

can not afford to have two expensive amps

 

Might wanna try asking Craig if he's willing to mod your studio from 300b to 2a3. Rather unfortunately that option wasn't available at the time of purchase but regardless the Studio B has certainly become a staple in my daily listening.

 

Any suggestion for choice between 300b version and 2a3 version

 

If it was me having to make this choice I'd get a 300B amp just because the best of the 2A3 tubes are unobtanium, available NOS is somewhat gimped with parallel plates mostly, new offerings have some reliability issues with weird noises reported after a few thousand hours or are horribly expensive.

If you can stomach the Elrog 300B or Tak it will give you the best of both worlds and have some warranty, the extension of 2A3 with a better midrange than the typical 300B. If you plan to use stock output tubes and expect a high end experience I'd avoid any 2A3 or 300B amps all together.

 

Craig is not doing the change to 2a3 and he is sending me the instructions for doing the heater voltage changes.
I bought the LInLai global e 300b and the mids have opened up. They have a very 2a3 sound in the mids while keeping the grunt, bass and treble of the 300b. I am very happy with this amp and the music it is making just have always wanted a 2a3 amp and in the back of my mind I think im missing something

 

Keep in mind at this level it really is a matter of personal preferences. I've heard many EC 2A3 amps. The Studio B 300B fits my personal preferences better.

 

atomicbob can you expand on why this is better for you. I have no complaints in purity, slam, extension, detail (i know generalities) would love to here your experiences with 2a3 compared to what the studio b provides sonically

 

Rather than take up a lot of space here, the information section on my profile contains valuable insights into my personal preferences.

 

thanks

 

Bob your preferences were very helpful. I listen mostly to Scandinavian/ECM trio jazz, spacious music. I like electronica also and folk. Not so much rock or fusion. I have a friend who is an electrical engineer who can do the mod on the studio b changing it to 2a3. I think from my past experience with 2a3 amps it will be a sound I really am happy with. I do love the studio b as it is so I am not moving fast and to do this. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Being also partial to ECM house style and some of the Nordics, I am very pleased with the 2A3-based Aficionado.

 

By now you have surmised my favorite headphone is an HD800-Jmod. I tend to favor systems which synergize well with it. What strikes me about Studio B (300B version) is the deep, articulate bass reproduction with HD800-Jmod while maintaining coherent upper frequency sounds such as cymbals and having such a sweet mid range. EC 2A3 amps I have experienced felt to offer slightly less in those attributes with my headphones. I am remembering what I heard in the studio when a bassist such as Chuck Deardorf was playing and comparing to the finished tracks before production release. For examples of his work find the Perception and Transparence albums.

 

listening to Deardorf CDs yes the bass is excellent with the Utopias and the Studio B. I have no experience with headphone amps other then the Bifrost 2 and the Studio B. All of my prior listening has been two channel, with Avant guard speakers and Serious Audio altec 604 speakers 2a3 sounded fantastic with great bass and extension, I do not believe I can apply all of that to the headphone experience its so different. Is the HD800-jmod you have compare to the Utopia in tonality or presentation. I have not heard an HD800, I own a HD600 its getting the jar mod at present. I have found that the LINLAI global e 300b has removed a veil over the mids which I like.

 

Hi everyone

I have an issue on my Studio B and as I'm not that familiar with tube amps, I was wondering if you had any tips for me.
I don't have any sound out of the Studio B since this afternoon... It starts ok, with the small high frequency noise on the tubes for 5 sec. All the tubes are turned on and I can see their light. But 0 sound on the headphones. I tried with a different source, trying different cables, trying Balanced and SE outputs and always the same: 0 sound on the headphones (which work great on another amp). I also tried on another power plug etc.
Tubes are getting hot. If I had to say, maybe the 300B are a little colder than usual, but I can't really say.
Also, the metal plate of the amp remains cold (the metal plate of the power supply is pretty hot), even close to the 300B tubes, but I never checked if it was hot when the amp worked normally...

They are JJ tubes, they have roughly 50hours.

So I'm a bit stressed... Any idea or thing that I should check ?

 

If it's both channels, then it has to be something common to both. I would check the rectifier and input tube first. The odds of it being both output tubes are quite slim. The tubes getting warm simply means that the heater circuit is working properly.

 

Thanks! I'll see to find replacement tubes for those, they're quite cheap actually.

In the meantime I tried the power cable between the power supply and the amp. I tested the cable with a multimeter. I have conductivity (sorry for me English, I mean the current goes from the start to the end of the cable) on all the pins except for one, see in the picture below:



On this pin, the multimeter does not ring when I test the conductivity. Could one of you guys try and let me know if that's normal? Also, do you know the reference of such cable and connectors so that I can try to find another one ?

Thanks

 

I don't think that is normal. My Studio B cable has continuity on all pins, including the one you circled.

 

Indeed, there's one soldering that broke



I have to put my 2 left hands at work now...

Edit: 5 minutes later and a small soldering, the sound is back.... What a relief...