Allow Me To Explain

I’ve finally uncovered a “lifetime ownership” heirloom audio system that can interest almost anyone in your family. You and they can pick up each component!

No one piece is heavier than the power amp. The 300B tube amp that I recommend weighs approximately 32 lbs. The Bricasti M3 DAC weighs 10 lbs. Each Hagen weighs 8 lbs. Each BOB is 24.25 lbs. My recommended Class D amp puts out a maximum of 150w/ch (for the BOBs only) and has a volume control. It weighs 3.08 lbs and measures 7.87″ wide x 6.1″ deep x 1.61″ high. All items meet my 40 lb max weight per component requirement.

ALL OF THEM!

My 300B amp sitting within this audio system sounds superb (you could build it from a kit with my suggestions or have someone do this for you). I could easily quit here if I didn’t build audio components and couldn’t afford to go further.

I was going to have a boutique builder create a two-chassis 300B amp next, but I am no longer interested. This one sounds superb and is all that I need! It weighs less than my 40-pound limit and no longer approaches 100 pounds (or more), as those two chassis amps weigh a lot. I also don’t need to spend close to $20,000 to get the best out of the pair of Western Electric $1,500 tubes that I use. I can do this for much less, rely on my experience using the best circuit I can find, and then tweak that amp to my specific requirements.

All voltages within this 300B amp are optimized, and nothing is left to chance that can shorten the life of expensive tubes (well over $2,000 for the tube set I use). This amp is set up to allow the three nine-pin tubes to last their expected 10,000 hours. The two $ 1,500-a-pair Western Electric 300B tubes are expected to last 40,000 hours, and this amp treats them so they can last that long if they do. Using a slow start rectifier tube, there is no voltage surge when first powering this amp on to shorten the life of both the expensive tubes and the capacitors in the amp, as there would be if you used a 5U4G rectifier that most builders use. I use a NOS Mullard slow start GZ37 and obtain a similar operating voltage. Plus, my sound quality is even better than any 5U4G rectifier tube. Maybe the GZ37 has something to do with this, but it doesn’t matter.

I now have a slow-start rectifier tube that will not stress the tubes or the capacitors. That was my goal. And it will probably last me a lifetime, so except for an unplanned rectifier tube failure, this tube doesn’t wear out and doesn’t need replacement for my long-term use. I only use a new NOS GZ37 and pay premium dollars to obtain it. It might cost more but can eliminate a multitude of problems later on. I have no idea where the GZ37 pulls (that might test NOS initially) come from, and I don’t care. Mine is brand new.

Whenever I’ve used expensive solid-state amps, I’ve found that you gain greater transparency as you pay more since more expensive parts typically provide better transparency. But that transparency will “cut your head off,” and only those who have done it will return from that approach. They know. I’ve done the same and won’t do it again. I’ve learned the hard way.

I used to believe in using all the most expensive parts I could purchase. I’ve used the VCapCu teflon caps, the Dueland cast caps (silver and copper), the Mudorf gold and silver in oil, and many other costly high-end caps. I’ve also used the Audio Note 2W tantalum silver resistors, which cost $70 per resistor, and custom precision metal foil resistors that I had made for me by Texas Components Corporation. I’ve done these things and now have backed off a bit. I obtained tremendous transparency by doing so, but then I had a fragile sound quality that was way too thin and much too forward-sounding.

I’m very selective now and focus on the replaceability of those parts down the road and their resulting sound quality. Building an amp is very much like cooking. The best recipes integrate the correct ingredients. Cost is not the only factor in obtaining the best taste, and it doesn’t require using the most expensive and difficult-to-produce components to sound best, either.

However, expensive components are used best where a user places the most significant wear, which isn’t usually for increased sound quality. It’s more for increasing the longevity of an amp. No, you don’t need to pay a fortune for the “bling factor,” even though most do. How your amp looks has nothing to do with how it sounds. You do need to spend money in the right places. Listening to amps that I build is what I’ve done, and all of them look far from average. That’s how I create my amps, and I care. And I’ve used my money and time to do this and have never done it to make money. My creations are generally money losers since I never get paid for the full-time months put into each design. I create them out of passion, searching for the best sound quality I can obtain with my stringent specifications.

You might think you know best, but you probably haven’t experienced enough different configurations and tried the many combinations that I have. The 300B amp I’m recommending is excellent and provides the most realistic sound quality I’ve experienced for the type of music I listen to. Why would you want to spend more for a substantially larger amp when the tubes cost so much? Maybe ego and bragging rights have something to do with this, but honestly, hardly anyone cares (except you). The Western Electric pair of 300B tubes alone cost me $1,500 for each pair. Why not get the best sound quality you can for the least expenditure but not compromise on anything? The Japanese are probably more authentic in building amps than we are in the West. They have a completely different approach, and most builders use cheap parts. For them, the circuit design is what they focus on. But I also appreciate using excellent parts and the best circuit design I can find. I do both within a reasonable limit.

If you add an excellent turntable system, you can easily spend another $20,000 on top of what I just shared. But you don’t need a turntable with this system. Do yourself a favor, focus on the user interface, and make listening to many kinds of music easy. In other words = USE A DAC. A turntable is the most challenging way to listen to music. With a world-class DAC as your source, there is no need to use a turntable other than to experience vinyl and learn how to use it. With a world-class DAC, I can tell you that you will not need a turntable to get a better sound quality. You are already there from a sound-quality viewpoint. And yes, the best sound quality will be expensive and be similar to an excellent turntable system. You can always use both in your system, and some audiophiles do. However, putting together two world-class sources will cost a lot of money.

The digital sound quality I get is as good as or even better than that of a high-end turntable system. Still, the user interface comfort and control are significantly better, and I can play almost anything available. You can steam Tidal or whatever digital service you like the most (for example, Idagio) and listen to nearly anything recorded. I no longer connect a turntable to my system, even though I can connect it to my Bricasti M12 DAC if I want to and use its internal world-class preamp. This preamp also benefits the digital side and is where I gain the most from its inclusion. I don’t need to use the “other” input (RCA or XLR) available on the M12 DAC. Still, I do when connecting my Apogee Symphony (via its preamp inputs) to play recorded music (my music) on my excellent M12 system or my Osmose keyboard. I use the preamp selection for those two items and now can listen to music via RJ45 (the best sound quality), compare it to USB (that is also connected and toggled using the selection switch on my M12), or connect via the preamp (again using the selection switch on the M12). You cannot do that with most DACs. With the M12, you can.

Using my high-end listening system, I can now listen to any recording or play directly on my Epressive Osmose keyboard. I wouldn’t do anything less. I can also record my microphone or guitar on my computer and listen to those recordings on my expensive audio system. I do, which is one reason I use the M12 DAC versus the lower-cost M3. If I were a turntable user, I could connect the turntable using the internal preamp in the M12 DAC and use both DAC and turntable without spending extra money on a world-class preamp (inside the M12).

The Bricasti M12 DAC isn’t required, but if you want the absolute best, it’s the one to purchase, in my opinion. That’s what I’ve done. However, I have used the much lower-cost M3 DAC to voice and greatly like this system. I use my desktop Mac Studio computer, and I then install Titdal (streaming), Audirvana (music player software), and the Isotope Ozone plugin. That’s it! Roon doesn’t provide the same audio quality, and I quit using it. iZotope licenses one of its audio engines to Audirvana and makes the Ozone plugin. So, its plugin works exceptionally well. I use a combination of both.

I also stream from Tidal (most music) and Idagio (classical only). I also watch videos (from Tidal, Utube, Idagio, etc) via my USB connection, even though it’s not as good as my RJ45 connection (it’s still great). However, I can do both, and I love being able to do that. Watching a video of the performer playing the music you like is fantastic. It provides another level of authenticity to the sound; there is no substitute for when you want to do that. You can do this using either the M12 or the M3.

The Bricasti M3 DAC is excellent and creates a much better sound quality than the Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC, the Kitsune May DAC, or the Terminator DAC. I’ve owned all of those DACs, and they are all good and should provide a superb sound quality if you already have them. However, the optional $1,000 Bricasti network card is better than other options (that cost as much as $20,000) and provides the streaming service you’ll need to pay a fortune for if you use the other DACs. The M12 Bricasti DAC is impressive. It is the only DAC I use (the M12) and the only way I now listen to digital music. It is also the most cost-effective option and is the best “sleeper” I know of in audio.

Even though you might think it costs a lot, its value is incredible compared to other options because it replaces many components with its single chassis approach. This DAC replaces other DACs, preamps or volume control solutions, and network streaming components. Plus, it operates with a remote control that I use all the time, even though I can bend over and adjust the volume knob on the front of the DAC. I don’t bother. The remote control is a dream that I hold in my hand.

You get a world-class DAC, a world-class preamp, a world-class streaming card, and a world-class volume control with a superb remote. Add up what these options would cost with anything other than a Bricasti DAC. The cost will go through the roof! Consequently, the M12 is probably the best option available in audio today, even though you might consider its price too high. It isn’t. The M3 is the next best option. Both are keeper DACs. However, if you can, the M12 is the purchase you’ll want and will ultimately make.

Plus, you can use your DAC from your listening chair when you install the Audirvana remote application on your iPad, iPhone, or Android device. Selecting any of your albums and controlling your volume from this small handheld device is the best way to listen to music. You can also use your computer, but many run a Mac mini headless since all that is needed is to turn the computer on. All database operations are run from their handheld remote device. I like to see Tidal or any streaming source on a large screen, so I also use my Mac 5K 27″ screen on my desktop to gain the best audio quality. I watch on the full screen when I want to watch something on my Mac’s display rather than on the large screen of the OLED TV that sits perpendicular to this system. The difference is not the video quality but rather the chair I use to sit in front of each scene. That’s my determining factor.

My Tidal files are unrolled inside my Bricasti DAC using their network card via i2S (the best way into a DAC and much better than USB), and my computer is used only to play the streaming database or the CD-ripped file on my NAS hard drive. The computer I use has nothing to do with the sound quality or the unrolling of the file. The file requested by the computer goes directly to the DAC and is not returned to the computer. Your computer has nothing to do with the sound quality or the unrolling of the streaming file and does not require the best option if you don’t have it. You can use a low-cost computer of any brand. I love this combination and being able to recommend to a customer to use what they have. The sound quality won’t change based on whether you use a cheap old computer or one that is expensive and new (Apple or Windows doesn’t matter).

The resulting cost is also lower than any other when using the Bricasti network card streaming option. This is probably the best value in high-end audio that I know of, and I’m an Innuous dealer who can order any of their streaming devices. Instead, I prefer using the Bricasti network card with my computer, playing only the database or file and not unrolling it inside the computer. It’s unrolled inside the DAC and goes directly into i2S within the DAC.

I’m a dealer for Voxativ, Closer Acoustics, Bricasti, DH Labs Silversonic, VHaudio, Furutech, WBT, and more, and I can direct you to the websites you will need to place your orders for products that I don’t represent but use.

Various tube combinations can help you fine-tune your listening situation. However, I don’t get involved with that other than suggesting what you should use. I will provide a price lower than retail on what I sell but do this as a system concept, so I will need some information from you and your serious commitment to have me do this since it requires a good bit of my time.

The Voxativ 99 dB sensitive driver is the absolute best single-driver speaker, and it handily beats anything created with a crossover: It’s the driver you should use. Do you keep it only in the Hagen cabinet (piano black or piano white finish) on a bookshelf stand, or do you sit the Hagen on top of two BOB 12″ open baffle speakers? It’s a matter of cost and personal preference, which you must deal with to make a good decision. I can help you with that.

Adding the Closer Acoustics BOB speakers (12″ open baffle bass cabinets that are stacked two per channel) is the only way I’ll now assemble my ideal system (even though it costs more). The piano lacquer finish on the Hagen’s is nice but adds several thousand dollars to this system’s ultimate cost. You could do as well with an unfinished MDF cabinet (if you had the correct internal and external dimensions), but this system wouldn’t look as good. So maybe here is an area where the “bling” factor makes sense? I like it. Will you?

Using the Voxativ Hagen bookshelf monitors on top of the BOB 12″ open baffle speakers requires two amps (one 300B for the Hagens and one inexpensive Class D with volume control for the BOBs). I use an electronic analog crossover unit to integrate both properly and will share that brand and particular component only with my customers. I’ve used four different crossovers and built one model myself (twice). I now know which one to use, and its cost is reasonable.

Connecting all these components is also essential, and I’ve figured that out to obtain the best sound quality. However, I’ll share that only with my actual customers.

It takes considerable time, and I’m not interested in those who want to window shop. I’m already providing what you need from the information on this website and have spent my money and time figuring this out. Any profit I make is a bonus, but it is not my motivating factor. Owning this system is what I’ve done for myself, and I am willing to share it with anyone else who is a serious audiophile. I only sell what I use myself.

I’m very different from most audio resellers that you will find. Most sell everything under the sun that they can get their hands on to make money. Sure, they might also like music but aren’t driven to do so to increase sound quality like I am. If so, they would do the same as I’m doing, and I don’t find that a norm.

I’m also a former professional jazz piano player who knows what real live music sounds like. I’ve been searching for this system for a long time (all my adult life) and finally found it after many decades of trying and a cost many will not spend.

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