Oh Sh#7! Eddie Current Studio B

I agree, but since he's also getting clicking noise in the other tube that was supposed to be 'good'/quiet, seems worth a shot. Bizarre to have one good and one bad tube, then get a replacement matching the good tube to only have it mimic the first bad tube's squeak, and to top it off for the first good tube to start clicking after receiving a new tube that matches it. Stumps me, at least.

 

Can you send the pair back to WE and ask for them to a new matched set?

Since the noise follows the L/R swap, it seems that it’s the tube. But then your once silent tube is now noisy is baffling. Not likely, but perhaps the amp caused the tube to behave that way? But then, your non-WEs didn’t have this problem, so more baffling. Sorry this is not really helping. I would ask if they can send you a replacement matched pair and maybe have them listen to them first in one of the amps they sell.

 

Running a pair of Lin Lai e300 with mine and occasionally get some static/squeaky sound that may vary in volume. It mostly occur hours into listening and may dissipate with time but not always. I can't pin point why it happen so sporadically which frustrates me to no end. Otherwise it is deathly silent but the sound can get distracting especially on silent passages. Happens regardless of tubes positioning so it could be the transformer picking up something up. Seems pretty silent with my JJs previously but I've since sold it so can't confirm that now.

 

I had the same problem and it never went away after 500 hours, WE was very good and said they thought it was the current/voltage of the tubes was to low and sent me a new set with matched higher voltage. It worked not noise after warm up. They were very helpful. I will send the voltages they sent me later. If you call and speak with Lydia mention me and how they solved the problem as you have the same amp. They should have a record of what they did. Heres the cards that came with the new ones not sure if it was plate voltage? Someone named Tom was very helpful.
best,
Josh Schor

 

thank you! Was it a squeaking sound like this?

The problem with having 300b tubes made specifically for the Studio B is that I'm not sure I'll be keeping it. I wanted to hear it, but I also had a custom 300b amp made for me by Otomon labs in Japan specifically designed for orthos, and I'm hoping it will sound better than the Studio B with my headphones. I was hoping to compare them both with the WE NP 300b tubes but maybe that's not going to be possible.

Here's a picture

 

yes squeaking and crinkly. the tubes I have are not made especially for the Studio B just ones with a higher plate voltage which is quiet for DHT. they work in any 300 b amp. If you call them and tell them you spoke with me and the help I got they will hook you up so you have a set that will work without andy sounds.
the amp you had built looks beautiful
best,
Josh

 

Yeah that’s an amazing looking piece. Happy listening however it shakes out, @rhythmdevils.

 

RD-300B when???

 

I just got it in, but I don't have all the right tubes for it yet so haven't heard it yet. It's a beastly looking amp though! I've been trying to find tube amps that work with orthos for a while now, and have gone through a ton of amps that don't work well with them.

 

So I finally got around to opening up the PSU and uh, yikes! @Souldriver was right, one of the screws on one of the two inductors/chokes was not only loose, it was just straight up off/unsecured, nut/washer floating around in the chassis, choke holding on by the other washer/screw (which was loose-ish). I'm lucky the PSU is downward facing, the metal housing of the choke touching any of the solder joints above it while the PSU was on would have been... not great. Feel dumb for not doing it earlier, couldn't replicate the sound (the washer got stuck under a nook in the chassis, I think, so it stopped sliding when I would try to hear it) so I assumed I might be in the clear and just hearing things. Re-securing the inductor was easy, at least.

Anyway, while I was in there I took a picture of the SB PSU internals, which I'll post later to contrast with Marv's ghetto cardboard mount mockup Af/SB PSU picture from way upthread. It's more populated by a good bit with sundry little parts, got two PCB's in there, etc., fairly tidy otherwise.

Part of why I was peering in there was seeing how feasible it would be for me to move the tube socket above the top plate of the PSU. I have a NOS-ish fat base Mullard I just got on fleaBay today and both it and a previous fat base Mullard (tested worse, returned it) have difficulty making contact because my #2 Serial Number SB's PSU has a recessed tube socket a la the Af's (apparently, newer SB PSU's do not have a recessed socket). Anyway, short story is that moving it is not very feasible -- socket is secured to the top plate of the chassis (which the EI trafo is also bolted to) via washer-nut/screws like the inductors, and the wiring in there is fairly tight/cut to length and surrounded by a couple PCB's etc., so I didn't want to risk damage. I'll just get a socket saver for now, likely one rhythmdevils recommended that isn't a Chinese fleaBay POS.

edit: here’s the pic. Loose inductor was on the bottom - they’re secured to the sides of the PSU. Sorry I didn’t get a side shot(s) of the vertically mounted PCB also:

 

Here are pics of the inside of my psu #2 vs #55

Some cap differences.

And the main amp:




The one thing i really dont like is the inserts on the 300B sockets are so loose and they are the riveted type so i can not tighten them. Theyre loose enough that there is a gap at the bottom even when theyre all the way down, and they stand tilted. Once warranty is up i would like to replace these, and see if they can be turned around so you see the pretty side of the tubes. Also may want to upgrade the volume pot and/or make a volume bypass. Having this turned to full volume and using my streamer's volume improves the low level stuff. It is probabky much better with a true pre or dac with a good integrated pre.

 

Thanks for the amp internals, haven't bothered to open mine up yet. Marv's right re: it's a simple circuit. Also, you can make out that the PSU tube socket is a different make/manfuacturer on yours, hence why mine is recessed.

Yeah the Blue Alps isn't fantastic. One of those Khozmo stepped units @Josh Schor is using might be in order for me at some point, no warranty for me to worry about. Or, sure, a passive pre like a Goldpoint external or something/real pre/etc.. For now I just sort of play with digital volume vs. positions on the pot, works fine for the most part.

 

changing the interstage caps to 0.1 was an improvment to clarity and space around intstruments, first put in jupitors then put in duelans copper/silver, really nice, greater clarity.

 

I was looking at the TKD CP2511 as it was very nice in another amp i used.

I really want their 2P65CS, which is a 40 step attenuator but, like everything great, it is no longer made and the $500 used rates seem hard to justify. @Josh Schor i wouldnt guess youve heard a tkd 2P65CS before or could compare it to your Khozmo. Would have been too convenient? How about Khozmo vs your previous tkd?

 

G'day guys,

Is EC still making a limited run of the Studio B in 2023? Cheers.

 

Craig is not the type to update the website much (just a few weeks ago it was down for no discernible reason for approx. a week before he or someone noticed), so best probably to just email asking and hope for a response, unless Marv can get a hold of him via some other means.

 

When i ordered mine there was ~4 left. Best to contact them via email and ask.

 

I find the Studio B to be a dry sounding amp tonally. It sounds very similar to the Aficianado TBH, both have that same dry, parched tonal character, big soundstage and lots of detail. I don't know how Craig managed to make 300b tubes sound dry, from everything I've read, they have tons of wetness and bloom and are sought after for that very fact. And I don't understand why he tuned these amps to sound this way or why they are so popular on SBAF. But I haven't been able to stand the Studio B with the WE new production 300b's even with a good collection of different driver tubes including some lush/wet ones like the Bendix and Tesla. Though I should say my listening time has been limited due to as yet unresolved noise in the WE's. (we are emailing about it)

A kind SBAF'er loaned me the following 300b tubes to compare to my WE New Production 300b's in the Studio B:

Linlai Global elite (saggy boob shaped)

Linlai Cossor

Genelex Gold Lion PX300b

I of course started with the Linlai's. I hate the global elites. They are soooo dry sounding in the Studio B the sound is parched and the treble is hashed, grainy, rough, choppy sounding. Bleh

The Cossor's are much better than the Global Elite's, the treble is clean and smooth. But they're still dry sounding even with the lushest driver tubes I have like Bendix and Tesla.

I finally tried the Gold Lion's and was surprised to find they are so bloomy/wet they overcome the dryness of the Studio B and when matched with the right driver tube, they don't have bloated bass (which they do with most driver tubes). It's early days but I'm loving the sound right now with my RD-S12 ortho iems. I prefer them to the WE's!

I just created a WTB for some Gold Lion's, and I'm curious if there are other 300b tubes I should try that are more on the wet/bloomy side than the WE or Linlai tubes.

Cheers

 

@rhythmdevils oh man, that's super interesting. I hated - and I mean hated - the Gold Lions with HD800's and the SB. Didn't even let them properly settle in, just sold them right away. Ironically it's because, with the HD800, they sounded much more "solid state" (so: not wet) to me and congested/murky vs. Shuguang 300B-98's, which I found to be a lot bloomier, more extended, although a bit sucked out at some frequencies vs. the Gold Lions.

Then again, I am the only one that seemed to have that reaction to the Gold Lions -- others (bob, yotacowboy, even purpotedly Craig himself) seemed to enjoy them pretty well, although bob and yotacowboy moved on to Linlai's and/or WE new issues (I guess I should mention yotacowboy is using an Elekit and not an EC amp, so I assume his 300B impressions were based on that amp only). I did find one guy on another forum who also moved to Linlai Cossors (like me) who found the Gold Lions (and "all Eastern European" 300B's) to be solid state-sounding also.

Anyway, like @sealand1 said in your WTB thread, the 300B-98's might work for you. Here's what @CEE TEE had to say about them, and he's heard/owns a lot of Craig's amps. I have red labels, and not the white labels sealand1 said are superior. You can have them if you want, just shoot me a PM. Would be easy to suggest, given my reaction to the Gold Lions vs. yours, that dynamics play differently with the amp than Audeze's in terms of tube synergy, but maybe not given what I said above about others' reactions to the Gold Lions.

 

The biggest difference was clarity top to bottom, a hazse was removed with the Kozosmo. I enjoyed the TKD 50k pot and the Kozsmo is well worth it to my ears.