Although not as famous as its big sister, the Western Electric 300B, we really can’t think of enough good things to say about the WE 275A tube. Another 1930s triode designed for sound reproduction, the 275A was only used in several rare WE push pull amplifiers which most audio people don’t know anything about. This tube is natural, detailed and very lively, just sweet enough to be emotionally compelling while never sounding processed or overblown. A tour de force of early triodes and a great favorite of ours.

Perhaps one reason this sleeper tube has not attracted more attention is due to the lowish power rating. This is essentially a three watt tube, more or less Western Electric’s answer to the 2A3. And although single 2A3 amps are favorites among specialist tube maniacs, many listeners require more juice to make their speakers come alive.

Well, this is exactly the job that the Silbatone NeoHyb circuit was intended to perform. We take the wonderful-but-low power 275A, and with our current multiplier arrangement, the P105 can produce a potent 8 Watts of musical bliss! Low output impedance, plenty of drive for real world loads, and the harmonic characteristics are an exact match for the standalone tube. Pure 275A sound!

Since this will be the first time most people ever heard a 275A tube, we wanted to provide a top notch platform for the power stage to perform at its best. We outfitted it with a really excellent 12AY7 driver stage using select types of 1950s NOS tubes and we designed a special foil transformer with a Hitachi Finemet double C core. Operating points are chosen to ensure stress-free operation and long life for the NOS antique output tubes.

In listening sessions between the P105 and P106, both eight watt class NeoHyb amplifiers, it is interesting to observe how some are drawn to one design and some to the other. Maybe one can say that the 45 tube based P105 is a favorite with jazz lovers and classical listeners might prefer the 275A based P106, but the next listener will surely break that mold, or the next song. For Silbatone, the NeoHyb project is all about providing more options for music lovers to find their sound. Our NeoHyb series brings great classic triodes forward into the realm of practicality for today’s systems. Give them a listen. You just might fall in love!