New Convert to the Bottlehead/Paramount Family

[Gerry E.]

Hi:

About two months ago, I acquired a pair of early Paramounts 300Bs (already built).  Since then, I had them upgraded to the latest version with the installation of the Soft Start kit. I have been listening to them for the last few days and they are sounding excellent.  A have a couple of questions:

1.  What are some of the best readily available 5670/396A/2C51 driver tubes and where can I get them?  Right now I'm using the stock GE, but I assume there's better. I know there are some "exotic" brands (ex. the Ericsson 2C51) but those seem difficult to source. What about the ubiquitous Western Electric 396A? They are easy to find and don't cost too much.

2.  I still haven't figured out how to open the fuse case. Can someone tell me the secret handshake? 

3.  I read that once you turn them off, the Soft Start circuit takes 20 minutes to reset.  Given that and the minor risk to the output tubes, is it OK to turn them back on within a few minutes? 

BTW, I'm aware of the Magnequest transformer upgrade and that many owner's prefer the switch to 2A3s. However, I want to stay with the stock transformers and 300Bs for now.  The amps already have upgraded capacitors – Mundorf and Vcaps.

Thanks!

Gerry

[Grainger49]

First, Welcome!  Amazing sound Bottlehead gets isn't it?

1) I can't help you here I don't have Paramounts but I'm familiar with them.

2)  The "secret handshake" is necessary to find the product page (click on the badge in the upper left of any page, then click on Products) fuse comes out with a small screwdriver wedging the short end, it pulls out straight up.  There is also a place there for a spare fuse, I think. 

I hope you got the manual with the amps.  It will help you in the future if you ever have a problem like a solder joint going bad.  This happens to even the most experienced of us.

3) Yes, the output tubes will last longer if the soft start is working.  There is a way to "suicide" the soft start and get it to work faster.  But it sounds like you are not ready to solder or get your hands inside so I'll just leave it there.

What speakers are you using?  I ask because the drop from a 300B to 2A3 might be a problem if they are not sensitive enough if you decide to do that down the line. 

Poster Paully went from the 300B, to 2A3, to 300B, to 2A3, to 45 and ended back at 300B.  It doesn't take very long for all this.  No, he did not do this in one day.  He took over a year's time but the change out only takes a half hour, 45 minutes if you go very slowly.

BTW, nice caps.  Some day I might spring for V-Caps and hear what it is all about.

[John Roman]

Wow, first post. You're going to have fun here, no doubt. Welcome!

[shelby1420]

Try Audiogon for the 5670's and welcome!!

[2wo]

As to the 5670, I have some Rayathons from eBay, that sound good and were not expensive...John

[Gerry E.]

Thanks for the replies and welcome.  Yes Grainger, amazing sound!  Also, with your advice, I managed to pop off the fuse caps.  I forced it a little more than I like, but they were really stuck in there.  They probably hadn't been opened in 5 years.  With the purchase of the Paramounts, I did get all of the manuals, paperwork and CDs, so I'm all set there.

My speakers are Altec 756Bs/Jensen RP302s on OBs (see the photo above).  They play plently loud with a 1 - 1.5wpc James Burgess 45/46 amp that I havde been using, but it was time to try something different (plus I got a good, local deal on the Paramounts).  I also want to see if the extra power makes any difference.

I have already done 45/46, 2A3 (Fi monos), PP2A3 (Brook 12As), but I never owned a 300B amp before, so this is fun.  Thanks again.

Gerry     

   

[mhardyman]

As for the 5670, look for the GE Five Star line.  I use them in my Paramounts and other gear which requires that tube.  Very reliable, utterly linear and they were sold in the day as broadcast, avionics and medical quality.  Very rugged and built for many, many on/off cycles and long life.  They usually cost more but they will probably outlast you...

[Gerry E.]

Hi:

I thought I would give an update on my Paramounts.  I have put quite a few hours on them since my last post, so if there’s a break-in period for the Soft Start upgrade kit (plus one new V-Cap), I have probably passed it.  Either way, the Paramounts are sounding great!  I have heard a number of 300B amps before and didn’t like most of them.  This includes Wavelength Cardinals, Wright Sound Mono 8s and a couple of very high-quality, custom-built amps.

It wasn’t that they sounded bad, it’s just that they sounded boring.  I don’t know if it’s the Parafeed circuit, solid state rectification, DC heating of the output tubes or some combination of all three, but the Paramount sounds anything but boring/lifeless.  With the tweaks/upgrades that I have added since my original post (see below), the Paramounts have many of the excellent qualities of my previous James Burgess 45/46 amp (ex. smoothness, transparency, sound staging, etc.), plus some additional “tone density”, as Srajan of 6Moons likes to call it.  The Paramounts are now an excellent match for my speakers.

Here are the tweaks/upgrades I have done.  I replaced the fuses with Hi-Fi Tuning Supremes.  I was very skeptical about audiophile fuses until I heard them for myself.  Next, I replaced the input/driver tubes with NOS Ericsson 2C51s (see photo above).  I actually found a dealer in Finland(!) that has a good supply of them.  Not the gold pin version, but 1960 vintage.  Three brand new, in-original-boxes, cost me $200 including shipping to the USA.  The last upgrade was actually a cable swap.  I replaced a one meter Anti-Cable interconnect with a half meter of Artisan Silver Dream.

That last upgrade, might have made the most significant difference.  This is the I/C that goes between my digital player and Eva 2 LDR passive attenuator.  It was kind of like a “last-piece-to-the-puzzle” type of upgrade.  I still have a MAC HC power cord and Steve Blinn platform coming, to match the singles I already have (leftover from my Burgess stereo amp).  Of course the FINAL upgrade will be to replace the TJ “mesh” 300Bs with EML or Sophia Princess, but I think I spent enough money for now!

One silly question, and keep in mind that I did not build the amps, what’s the easiest way to verify which output transformer tap is connected?  Thanks!  

Gerry                

[xcortes]

Hi Gerry,

You may remember me. I was very close to purchase your WE 754 a couple of years ago and unfortunately it didn't happen (an unresponsive Korean buyer finally paid you, right)?

The Paramounts are indeed very nice. I have the same driver tubes BTW.

Do yourself a favor and do get the MQ iron upgrade.

Want to treat you even more? Go to 2A3s or 45s. These are direct coupled and I like them much more. Also you can get NOS tubes vs the 300Bs.

Want it to get aven better? Get a second pair of Paramounts, identical to the first in parts and upgrades and use it for your tweeters. Replacing the parafeed cap in the amps with a smaller one let's you get rid of the cap in the tweeter and you'll extract more life from those tweeters than you thought it could be possible. It'll take your system to new heights.

Some people think BH is great because you can get cheap amps. That may be truth but to me the greatness of BH is that they are the best sounding commercial amps I've heard AND that you can tweak them to your taste. Particularly, using the PF cap as a high pass filter is a very powerful tool.

Enjoy.

[Paul Joppa]

...
One silly question, and keep in mind that I did not build the amps, what’s the easiest way to verify which output transformer tap is connected?  Thanks!  

Pages 35-36 of the manual have detailed description of wiring the output transformer for various impedances.

And thanks for the kind words. We've been refining the circuit for a long time, to better suit our ideas of what sounds "right" and it's nice to hear that others share our perceptions!

[Gerry E.]

Hi Xavier:

Of course I remember our “near deal”.   Yes, the Korean buyer finally paid and I never heard another word from him.  No news is good news I guess.  I would have rather sold the speakers to you, but there was that quick-ship deadline. I normally don’t like to rush packing jobs of expensive items like those speakers.

I will probably do most of the upgrades you suggested, including the MQ iron.  The only thing I probably won’t do is the bi-amping.  It just gets too far away from my keep-it-simple philosophy.  Just going to monoblocks and adding a passive preamp was more than I really wanted to do (my former stereo amp had built-in Goldpoint attenuators).

Paul – I must have an early version of the  manual, the output transformer wiring were on pages 31 and 32.  I guess I’m not totally lame as I was able to verify the connections between 1-to-3 and 6-to-8 which of course is for 8-ohm connection.  That’s the correct impedance for my 8-ohm Altec 756Bs.

So, now it’s down to EML 300Bs or Sophia Carbon or Royal Princess.  That is the question.  Thanks.

Gerry           

[mchurch]

Gerry;

Here is another source for 300B tubes. http://www.kraudioproducts.com/Kr/ProductMain.aspx?CatID=13  They have some nice products and a fairly good warranty.



Mike

[Gerry E.]

Hi Mike:

Thanks for the suggestion.  The price seems to be in line with the EML and the extended warranty is a nice extra.  As if we didn't have enough choices already, Psvane recently announced their new WE300B 1:1 Replica!  Check it out here:

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/psvane-we300b-11-replica-pre-order-extremely-limited-quantity/

Gerry

     

[mchurch]

Gerry;

Take a close look at the 300Bs listed. One of them is a WE clone as well.


Cheers;


Mike

[Gerry E.]

Hi Mike:

There are WE300B clones and then there are WE300B clones.  The former only duplicate the specs, operating parameters, etc.  The later, in addition to the specs, also claim that the construction and materials used are identical.  That’s what the Psvane WE300B 1:1 Replica is claiming to be.

In any case, I went with the EML solid-plate 300Bs.  Their praise has been a little more universal than the KRs, plus I have owned a number of EML tubes before (2A3, 45, 5Z3).  Based on construction, price and sound quality, the EML solid-plate 300Bs appear to be the value champs in current 300Bs.  Not that I have heard or seen them all, but the EML 300B construction is first-rate, their price of about $500/pair reasonable & fair and they sound excellent.  Here’s a write-up I posted on the SET Asylum that summarizes the path I have taken with the Paramounts:

"I was using a very high-quality James Burgess 45/46 stereo integrated amp and only bought the Paramounts because I got a great, local pick-up deal on them (I had no intentions of replacing the Burgess amp). However, the more I listened to the Paramounts, the more I was impressed.

This was a surprise because I was prejudiced against the Paramounts for several reasons. First, I have not liked most of the 300B amps that I have heard. Also, it's been drummed into me that you had to have AC heating of the filaments and tube rectification for best sound - neither of which the Paramounts use.

The pair I acquired was a very early pair that was built by an Electrical Engineer. I liked their sound enough to start investing more money in them. They already came upgraded with one large Mundorf and two small V-Cap capacitors each, so I purchased the V1.1 soft-start upgrade kit and had it professionally installed.

Then came upgraded power cords, Hi-Fi Tuning fuses, Ericsson 2C51 input tubes and bi-wire speaker cables. They were really sounding good at this point, but the final piece to the puzzle was upgrading to EML solid-plate 300Bs.  With the EML 300Bs, I now have superior response at the frequency extremes, unlike the classic 300B sound with weak/bloated bass and poor high frequency response. Also, the reproduction of certain sounds like saxophone and vocals are exceptional. I know it's a cliché, but I really can make out the words to songs much better with the EMLs.

Even though I got a great deal on the Paramounts, I ended up spending quite a bit of money to put this altogether (including the purchase of an Eva 2 LDR passive preamp). However, it's been well worth it.  I feel the Paramounts, as configured with the upgraded tubes and caps, provides the best combination of attributes from the Burgess amp, my previous Fi 2A3 monos and several other amps I have owned.”

I would also like to add that Xavier already said it best:
 
"Some people think BH is great because you can get cheap amps. That may be truth but to me the greatness of BH is that they are the best sounding commercial amps I've heard..."





Gerry