The 45 triode is the best sounding tube for all our amplifiers in our opinion. We feel that some sacrifice is made by moving to the higher power levels when you move to a 300B triode. At those power levels the components are able to handle the wattage produced by that tube and some sacrifice is made in fidelity, or other characteristics in the music that are present in the 45 & 2A3 tubes. There is no fidelity difference in stereo integrated 45, outboard power supply 45, or mono block 45 designs. They all use the same circuit and the same quality components. To help you make a decision on the 2A3 versus 45, consider your speaker sensitivity, the room you are listening to your music in, and the level of volume you prefer your music. Over the years NOT ONE customer has complained about lack of power even on a single 45 mono block. Most of our customers are boasting 97db sensitivity speakers. Factors to consider. Speaker sensitivity - The more sensitive the better. Room size and acoustics - Is this a large or small room to fill. Listening preference - Loud to rattle the windows or quiet to hear details.

The 6AX5 tube was one of the last rectifier tubes ever invented. It was a replacement for the 6X5 which was used in old wooden radios back in the late 1930’s The 6X5 was a poorly designed tube, although it was used for many years. It got the name transformer killer as it would short out in the non fused circuits back then, and take the power transformer with it. Then in the late 1950’s they invented the 6AX5 in my opinion the best rectifier tube ever made. It is a slow warm up rectifier like the 5AR4, only built much better than the 5AR4. It has a Huge cathode and strong plates with plenty of separation. Other slow warm up rectifiers sell for lots of money like the EL34 but are not as well designed as the 6AX5. A slow warm up rectifier tube will help the filter capacitors to last longer, it is like having a variac on the B+ voltage and slowly bringing it up, rather than hitting the amplifier and capacitors with the full B+ voltage at once. The 6AX5 tubes can sell for 10% of of the cost of a 5AR4 tube, as they are one of the best kept secrets in tube audio. Some of the high end power transformers Jason and I use offer a perfect 6.3 volt separate filament winding so we opt for the 6AX5 rectifier. If the power transformer we choose for the project has a 5 volt filament winding we may choose a 5R4 or a 80 tube for the rectifier. We always look for the best parts and transformers available, and change our circuit for the most benefit on sound and longevity.

Each tube must be placed in the specific position below. Do not FORCE the tube into the socket, each tube has a locator mechanism to ensure it is only put into one position. The rectifier, 6AXGT5, will be placed in the position directly in front of the power transformer. The power transformer is the large transformer on the right with the power switch and plug directly behind it on the back of the amplifier. This tube is an octal socket with a locating pin in the center that will only fit into the socket in one position. The preamp tube, 6SN7, will be placed in the position directly in front of the output transformer on the opposite of the amplifier nearest the volume control on the front. This tube is an octal socket with a locating pin in the center that will only fit into the socket in one position. The 45 tube, will be placed in the center of the amplifier. This tube uses a four pin socket, where 2 pins on one side are larger than the other two pins. Generally, the two larger pins are placed towards the power transformer side of the amp.