2A3 vs 300B vs 211 - Which Single Ended Tube Amplifier is for you? 

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I like the 2A3 best, more elegant delivery over the whole frequency spectrum. Never pushy.

I have had many 300b Amplifiers, they all sound mellow, too mellow. Now I run a 45 SE which is the same as 2A3 but single plate with less power, it is the best triode SE I had by far. Realistic textures and natural sound, fantastic, and despites its 3 watts, it works with Cube Audio Magus.

Thanks so much for doing these kind of vids! Your May versus Spring was great and helped me decide between the two (I went with May...) For this, I hear a certain weight to the notes with the 300B amplifier that's perfect for jazz for me. The 2A3 sounds like it's got an airy lift in the upper midrange and treble and I dig that for voices and midrange focused things. It's clean and clear too and not fatiguing to my ears. The 211 tube amp is a new sound to me - it's got a quality that I like a lot. It's got the nice weight to it like the 300B, but it's got a unique quality in the mids that I can't quite put my finger on versus the other 2. All beautiful amps!

It's best to have all kinds of amps. I want to own them all 😅😜 No one is better than the other. Each type has a characteristic sound color. Your mood also changes color. So it's best to prepare all the equipment to suit your mood.

I like 300b with widebanders! At an audio show I was impressed with 2a3 monos with Songer S2s!

211 is more mid hall. it's open and wide maybe wider than the rest. I most like the essence of the music rather than walk through the band. I won't get tired of it that way. AWESOME DEMO! 😊

1. 2A3 (Most realistic sounding in the circuit applied) 2. 211 (Darker but less glare compared with 300B, a bit too resonant in the bass - may be the circuit?) 3. 300 B (Too lush, again, can be tamed with interstage)

2A3 with good speaker matching.

They are all lovely I would prefer the 2A3 - but only by a bit, over the 300B

Compliments fore how the test is performed.Compliments fore how you did the comparisment. Compliments fore the different music styles and switching between the Amps !!

I did NOT expect the 211 to be my favorite. To my ears, it was the most holographic, had the widest soundstage, and sounded fuller. Not as detailed as the others, but not as thin as the 2A3…more oomf. Felt more like a live show to me. I do like the 300bs. I wonder what one type as a pre amp and another as a power amp would do. Might exits, but I don’t think I have seen one.

Really joyful...each song...or composition...on any type of mentioned tubes..beautiful melodies

I prefer the 211 first, close after the 2a3. 211 seem to express more lively, magic of the musical event reproduction. ps. I got those brand and in order, GE (jaw drop), RCA (very close), Shuguan electron (more edgy, harch). My SE amp is a Antique sound Lab AQ1006/ 211 (1997). Merci pour la video.

Man I wish...These speakers ,the sound is so pure !

It needs to be said that the 211tube can deliver even up to 22W depending on how hard you push it.

Great comparison test!

Hi, thanks for the video and comparison. It's difficult to assess even in the same brand's amps with different brand tubes. The 211 sound very muddy and veiled and drop the emphasis to lower octaves; the 300B's sound great by themselves but then a bit bloated once the 2A3 come in. The 2A3 sound very detailed and expressive but you may miss the lower mid/bass harmonics. The soundscape relates very much to the amp design and tubes...obviously!...but sometimes in unexpected ways. I've recently tried an Electro-Harmonix Gold 300B next to a JJ 2A3-40 in an Elekit 8900 (switchable tubes) and I was expecting to hear the detail and transparency increase with the 2A3s like your video, but surprisingly the EH 300Bs were more detailed and less warm and blurred than the JJs... I much prefer them.

I'm new to your channel - don't know if you often do comparisons like this, perfect in my book, excellently done - - not that it matters much - I'm on the same page as danbosak, I agree with his line up choices and JoseSantos because yeah, they all get the job done but again yeah, typical audiophile stuff as it would be nice to combine the strengths of all three of them. Really nice sounding system/room to do the comparisons, nice music choices too - - thanks.

- 211 - 300B - 2A3

2A3! Still tempting me but I have enough SE tubeamps including 300B. Also I heard a recurring problem on piano notes saturating. I suspect its the Lampizator DAC. I had one here (not the Baltic) brought by a friend to compare and the output stage was tuned rather hot so it overmodulates on piano and soprano. This is what I hear on all 3. Also I like the other speakers better. You can drive them ok with the 211 and maybe even the 300B.

I was surprised at how similar the overall tonal balance between all three amps was similar. The differences I heard was that the 211 gave more body and shape to the individual notes, more punch, the 2A3 made the shape of the notes less distinct, more rounded, more washed together, more delicate, but not dissagreeably so. The 300B was somewhere in between. The 211 also seemed to produce a larger sound stage, and I can see how some people would describe the 211 as darker but for me not in a way that is unfaithful to the music. I believe if you could mount those drivers in the wall in a true infinite baffel, slightly higher than the speaker mounting height, the overall tonal balance and presentation would improve, it would be more extended and less stressed, I would also like to hear a multiple driver line array open baffel version with the speakers. Putting drivers in this sort of enclosure, narrow, and the speaker at the very top if the front baffell, will accentuate peaks and dips in the speaker response, please refer to the baffell studies Oleson published, and those peaks and dips will not chage a great deal depending on the amp, aside from the dampning factor of the amp. In the case of these speakers and enclosures, I believe they would sound better with very high quality sold state amplifiers, the high end would be more distinct and extended. I appreciate this presentation and I can imagine that eidting it perfectly as it was took some effort.

Soundstage depth appears to be deeper with the 211 and 2A3. I am listening with sensitive IEMs, and prefer the 2A3 sound.

I love parallel single endes 2A3

Congratulations on this very good performance. You got it exactly right! And it's amazing to me how clearly and distinctly you can hear the differences via a simple internet connection. However, I also have headphones, which makes a big difference. I think this test setup with continuous music is better than rewinding the track over and over again, which someone suggested in the comments. I also think the relatively short alternating rhythm is good because you can then concentrate on different aspects when switching several times.

For me going just by the video and my desktop speakers... 211 > 2A3 > 300B

I really like the idea of this video - but the change every 10 seconds is too quick for me.

Thank you for this comparison.

211 sounds like someone is scratching chalk on a chalkboard. 2A3 is buried in some sort of barrel one tube to rule them all remains: 300B

Hi, thank you for the show, I tend towards 300B sound with this loudspeaker but I cannot justify why. On the other hand I feel that there would be a different winner with each track and I'd like to make my decision mathematically, based on how each one performs with different genres of music. I find it difficult to be critical with this sort of listening, as comparison is on different passages of the music. Could we have a more strict, one-to-one comparison? Like, half songs played with each tube succeedingly, one after the other? This way we could have a more rational comparison, not an emotional guesswork. Thanks again.

Very nice video, keep up the good work! I would like to see a review of 211 amplifier on your channel.

I want to try 300b my self, tho 300b amp are pricy. My speakers are 92dB, should be enough. Good test, thx.

I like all

2A3 sounded best to my preference

2A3 !

Amazing otherwordly sound! All 3 amplifiers are very good!

First track: 211, 300B, 2A3 Second track: 211, 300B, well both. 2A3. Third track: 211, 300B, 2A3 Fourth track: 211, 300B, well both. 2A3. -> 300B or 211 are the best

71A ambrosia

Hey just wondering if that's a headphone input on the left side of the tekron logo at the front of the amp?

300B сцена пошире

Hi, I also got the 211 from Tektron. Do you also get the fairly high transformer noise when you power up the amp? Cheers for the video it’s a great addition for the community

Great video greg. I don't have any tube experience but really enjoyed this. Who is that female singer at 11m30s 💚💚💚💚?

What's the speakers efficiency, mate?

Seems the 211 has more room for manoeuvre,literally I would say. Perhaps it is all physical with valves. Like - valves work with Newtonian physics and transistors are quantum rules. Fine, get it down to quarks if you like, it's going to work. But we're moving speaker cones here,and the signal doesn't want to be flinching or hesitating, waiting for the power to be available. 500 volts and a big glass tube followed by a block of laminated planet earth is definitely more likely to be up for the game in my estimation.

No talk about wires pl. Western Electric copper tin plated r still the benchmark.

Maybe the 300B version is better and the 211 the less interesting and the less musical. But who knows? But the brand of the tubes is also very important as we all know

1. 2a3 valve a full ...plus sound Natural 2. 300b 3. 211..

They all sound great. They should blend them into one. What one is missing the other fulfills. Thanks for sharing.

I would be interested in what microphone you used for this since, I am affraid, it was unable to pick a sufficient dynamic range at this recording distance (not to mention an unvoidable suppression YT adds itself).

excellent,,, for orchestra i need micro detail and speed,,,, which is better,,,

Impossible to say because one sound more full on specific music and it change for another one. So...

The room sounds over absorbed or it is just me?

Man that’s a korean music! Sounds really good! by the way, what’s the speaker name?

300b or 211 for me. 2a3 sounds wonky

1. 300B (realism, little too much bassgrunt) 2. AA3 (nearly as realistic, vocals little bit too thin) 3. 211 ("snorting", not my kinda style)

Hey, i can't take a sharp decision... But what's the second track in the playlist?

300B here is least pleasant in tonal terms, piano attacs are dirty. Both 2A3 and 211 sound more soft and warm. 211 has less top end. As for me 300B lost, 211 is more "atmospheric", 2A3 more precise

1. 300B 2. 2A3 3. 211

I just hate most Piano Music. Its an Ice Pic to my Brains. Try some Hammond B-3 & LARGE chimes with resonance. Or TRANCE Musica

le son est vraiment pas terrible

Video Fail, which is which? A little card in front of each amp 2a3 300 211?! 😂