Conclusion: Choosing the perfect 300b amplifier
Part-3 of the The hunt for the best 300b amplifier in the world (in NYC)
High-end audio is not a game for wimps. It requires you to do your homework, deal with people and vendors that you trust then take a leap of faith and make a frigging decision, often times based on less than ideal information.
— br3098, Audiogon forum member
In the thousands of hours spent on audio forums, this is by far the best quote I have read that captures the essence of the audiophilia-c pursuit of gear. And despite my NYC audio-hopping, I knew I was operating on less than ideal information to any decisions, but I needed to make a frigging decision. And I did — I bought the Nagra 300p.
How did this happen? The Nagra 300p wasn’t even on the audition list, you may say1. I have seen this phenomenon happen on forums many many times. Someone asks for an advice/comparison between component A and B and then 100s of post and months later, goes off and buys C, irritating everyone in forum who tried to help. This time, this person, was me.
I make copious notes2 of my audio decision-making process. And when I look back I can see how the Engstrom Arne, the Shindo Cortese 300b, the Air Tight ATM-300R, the Luxman MQ-300, and the Kondo fell out of favour.
Aside from the sound, one realises, when on the other side of the fence there are practical considerations: cost, dimensions, resale-ability, dealer support, dealer chemistry.
The Engstrom Arne was too expensive, too esoteric, too heavy, and once inside my house, I could never ever get rid of it. Who (in India) would I ever re-sell it to, in case I wanted to move on?3 Besides it had been outclassed by the Luxman at half the price.
The Luxman MQ-300, now this is an audiophile regret. I hemmed-hawed at the quoted price, and before I finally was ready to pull the trigger, Luxman stopped manufacturing this amplifier. This gem of product — I believe — was completely mismanaged by the Luxman marketing department. Its retail price at various points in its product cycle had been $13000, $27000, $ 25000, $18000. It was hardly given out for professional reviews (I have found only one). Then, finally, it was pulled off the market — thanks to the pandemic supply chain issues.
The Shindo Cortese 300b was impossible to buy in India, no dealer, no network, no communication from manufacturers except to tell me to contact the dealer in Thailand (who ghosted me).
The Air Tight ATM-300R: it was useless audition. So, buying it would be buying it blind. The Indian dealer offered me a once in a lifetime screaming deal, but I turned him down in favour of Nagra — for which I got a home demo.
It is an established Audiophile axiom — DO NOT BUY WITHOUT A HOME DEMO. An impossible proposition in India, but I got a home demo for Nagra, and I went for it.
The Nagra 300p had bewitching looks, bewildering sound — crystalline clear like spring water and a very nice bass. In my home demo, it beat my Coincident Frankensteins mk2 (these are 300b mono block amplifiers) by a mile. And I really liked the dealer, Mr Amba from Audio Lounge India and so my ultimate 300b amplifier after all this hoo-haa became the Nagra 300p power amplifier.
It’s been a few years. I bought a Nagra preamp, a Nagra DAC to complement this power amplifier. I have had a few what-ifs thoughts in these past few years as well but once I turn on the music, it usually disappears. And the Nagra amplifier has been an integral part of my system for many years.
But this too shall come to pass, the audiophile itch continues …….
See part 1 and part 2 of this three-part series.
This, I later learnt is a well-known mental tool called Black-Box thinking. I will be talking more about using this tool in audiophiliac pursuits in a later post.
The market for reselling high-end audio gear in India is tepid (to put it politely).