Western Electric 15 a- your opinions

[audioanthology]

Hello
just a part of my electronics production supplied in past years to WE minded persons ( big and small WE style systems or similar :Jensen for example)

Amps

300b PP that play in a WE16a system



WE421A PP



SE300B with remote volume control-integrated



we349a PP

[audioanthology]

here are preamps .
these are the top of the line in terms of parts and complexity. many of them have external psu , remote volume control and WE transformers . btw i'm not a fan of transformer coupling so i personally prefer simpler design but ....


phono +line . output is selectable : transformer or capacitor output-  it's in a WE16a system








MC phono and line . All WE iron . it's in a 15a replica system







just phono : 1 mono +stereo



phono and line . WE iron



linestage-driver with inbuilt psu. WE iron





phono and line. different style




phono+line. WE





WE49a parts linestage. battery fil psu. direct heated






original we49a plus MC phono. it's the preamp -driver for the we43a amps in the picture. PPG 15a replica system

[trio_de]

Fantastic! Aldo, you are my hero 

Best,
Peter

[hatehifi]

Great photos, gear, Aldo! Compliments! Hope to audition it someday.

[slowmotion]

Thanks for the pictures of the amps and preamps, Aldo!
It is very inspiring to see your work!


Jan

[Johannes LeBong]

Hi

I like this vintage industrial look.

I like it best if such gear is standing alone in a kind of 'white-cube' environment or modern interior for maximum contrast and effect.

I also like the 'transformation' of classic parts, components and style elements of the old days into something new - like some DIY'ers do.

I'm not sure how to name this approach. Replica? Retro-Design? Synergetic-Remix? Hommage? I do not know. 

[J-ROB]

I'm not sure how to name this approach. Replica? Retro-Design? Synergetic-Remix? Hommage? I do not know. 

Super cool is what I call it.

That rack panel technique is the way people used to build, at least here in the US, and it represents good 1930-1960s industrial design. 19" rack gear was the standard for ham radio, diy, and pro stuff...still is in many circles.

I would say industrial retro chic vs. the usual boring high-end pseudo glamour.

Form fits function and it looks like what it is.

Also every one looks unique, which it is as an artistic "pro/DIY" creation.

Bravo to Aldo for beautiful craftsmanship. I am sure this stuff sounds as good as it looks too.

[audioanthology]

thanks for the nice words

yes the vintage pro audio look is really cool .

most of my units goes into american audiophiles houses ,replacing mostly Audio Note Kondo gear. They love the look and the sound.I'm somewhat surprised how many audiophiles used to "shiny boxes" or anyway to "top brand audio gear" are at the end going for my kind of electronics.

i have a USA dealer-partner for my electronics and he takes care to demonstrate them with more "life-size" speakers than a 15a : let's say we753c replicas, jensen based speakers, we728b speakers etc.

the most difficult part of the job is to get all the needed parts, sometimes it may takes months even if i have a good stock.nothing is off the shelf but needs careful search. that's why each unit is different from the other and usually tailored upon customer needs.

since we'll meet in Munich with some of you... a post here a picture of me.
5 years ago , the one on the left of course. the other is my USA dealer-partner , Vu Hoang, asian of course! he is vietnamese ( not japanese or korean )

[J-ROB]

most of my units goes into american audiophiles houses , replacing mostly Audio Note Kondo gear.

Well some people eventually learn.

One of Silbatone's biggest customer bases is ex-FM Acoustics users. Or rather happy FM Acoustics users who got much less happy when they compared it with Silbatone!

They are probably even more surprised about that than us.

Despite the vastly different technology, we try to get a Western flavor with Silbatone gear and we get quite close. Some of it is the tubes but we found that we have to use a lot of silver parts to get that "sound of presence" that old WE gear got with 1930s and 1940s components.

You heard 43 Amplifiers...how can you explain that clean dry yet colorful sound? it doesn't really sound vintage at all but the stuff is 80 years old.

WE iron is excellent...but yes availability is a problem.

I met Vu Hoang 20 years ago when I lived in the DC area.

There was and probably still is a lot of great vintage electronics junk in that region.

[audioanthology]

Well some people eventually learn.

One of Silbatone's biggest customer bases is ex-FM Acoustics users. Or rather happy FM Acoustics users who got much less happy when they compared it with Silbatone!

They are probably even more surprised about that than us.

Despite the vastly different technology, we try to get a Western flavor with Silbatone gear and we get quite close. Some of it is the tubes but we found that we have to use a lot of silver parts to get that "sound of presence" that old WE gear got with 1930s and 1940s components.

You heard 43 Amplifiers...how can you explain that clean dry yet colorful sound? it doesn't really sound vintage at all but the stuff is 80 years old.

WE iron is excellent...but yes availability is a problem.

I met Vu Hoang 20 years ago when I lived in the DC area.

There was and probably still is a lot of great vintage electronics junk in that region.

Joe , i had some WE amps and some of them doesn't sound vintage at all , just right , not hifi btw
the we43a was nice ( i had the version with low impedance opt, not the 500 ohms one that needs a further autotrans) but not my sound : dry and precise but not as sweet as i like.
the we46c is cool but lacks trebles.not for me
the best i had is the D95036 with engraved 300Bs etc. after bypassing the input trans and input tube , the sound was marvelous, really something special.
But the best amp that i ever heard in my life is the crazy expensive and rare WE59B with mesh 252A tubes. Vu has it . After bypassing 1 stage and the input transformer the sound was really unbelievable
btw , sold all my amps. i can get a super sound anyway just making my amps as i like, using the parts i like etc . to modify original, expensive WE amps to meet my specs ( usually i bypassed 1 stage and related transformer to reduce the sky hi gain of WE amps , straightening the sound's path and so having a cleaner sound) is good for the sound but not good for the resell value of these units

[trio_de]

Hi Timothy,

your setup is an extremely nice example for successful integration of WE gear in a domestic environment – congratulations!

Best,
Peter

[Johannes LeBong]

nice example for successful integration of WE gear in a domestic environment

agreed!

[J-ROB]

J

btw , sold all my amps. i can get a super sound anyway just making my amps as i like, using the parts i like etc .

Same reason i sold all of my vintage electronics, including WE. Building your own is where the power is.

I got to the point that whenever i got a vintage audio amp or ham radio, first thing I did was recap it then try to redesign it to be something it was not. Best to leave the vintage electronics to collectors who like them as they are.

Funny you mention the 59 amps....Silbatone got a pair when I was in Korea last month. jc heard them and said they were really dull. I didn't get a chance to hear it. They are beautiful though.

[Johannes LeBong]

straightening the sound's path and so having a cleaner sound

sold all of my vintage electronics

If I read this statements from Aldo and Joe I feel I think in a similar way.
I like to be 'inspired' by this vintage circuits and amplifiers but I do not really want to use them as they are in reality.
I must admit I have no personal experience working with WE amps but I had some other renowned examples in the past. Also I have repaired and modified some.

A speaker-driver like the WE 555 driver can hardly be outperformed, but it is not impossible to make a comparable new one, like LM does. I have heard it by myself, so I have an idea.

Using famous NOS tubes and making a new amplifier out of it, can be better in terms of sound than the vintage originals.
To try this, is big fun for me.

I have not much experience with brandnew tubes made today, but it should be possible to make an excellent tube amplifier with new tubes also.

[audioanthology]

Same reason i sold all of my vintage electronics, including WE. Building your own is where the power is.

I got to the point that whenever i got a vintage audio amp or ham radio, first thing I did was recap it then try to redesign it to be something it was not. Best to leave the vintage electronics to collectors who like them as they are.

Funny you mention the 59 amps....Silbatone got a pair when I was in Korea last month. jc heard them and said they were really dull. I didn't get a chance to hear it. They are beautiful though.

Joe
the 59b is possibly the best amp in the world. the sound was frequency extended ( no limitations) , full , rich , sweet, really close to perfection
as i already explained , to get the full performance it's necessary to bypass at least one stage cutting out 1 or 2 transformers. I don't remember exhactly now what i did on Vu's 59B, but about that.
Asian never do this because they want WE amps to be untouched and original, then the sound is just so and so.that's the problem.
Many WE theater amps systems were made to amplify the low signal of a soundtrack reading photocell ( about the same signal of an MM cartridge). so the gain is crazy high if the amp is used straight as it is , like many asian collectors do: simply too many many amplifying stages, so sound is lost on the way( and lot of noise too)

when i say that i can make super sounding amps and preamps with the parts i like, i mean anyway parts made by WE or about same quality. parts make most of the sound and i use only the very best vintage parts ( just part of vintage components works and plays top, not all)