But I do like loud.....hmm
It'll go as loud as a 45WPC amp would be expected to... Not "weak" in that sense.
Except it doesn’t unless you keep the impedance 8 Ohms or above. Where an ideal amp doubles as impedance halves the 303 is 28 Watts into 16 Ohms, 45 into 8 and pretty much faints into 4 Ohms with just 28 again (ideal would be 90).
The difference in power into 8 Ohms between a 303 and 306 is just five Watts, i.e. less than a db, but into typical modern ported speakers with reactive impedance dips the latter souns at least twice as powerful. With the right speakers I prefer the 303 as the midband is just so close to a Leak tube amp, Sugden class A or whatever, but the 306 is unquestionably a better all-rounder with modern speakers. To put it another way if you have Quad ESLs, big Tannoys, BC1s, LS3/5As or similar a 303 may be all the amp you ever need no matter how deep the pockets, but outside of that type of speaker it is of far less use.
Personally I wouldn't have any use for the matching 33 pre amp other than as an objet d'art. by modern standards sorry but it's crap. There are aftermarket boards available which can make it perfectly acceptable though.
Thanks Tony. Yeah I had a feeling that this couldn't really be normal. Maybe I didn't do a good enough job of describing the scale of the noise and cone excursion to the guy I referred this to. The noise I could live with but the way the cone shifts unnerves me.
I recently bought a tidy 303 that sounds great with my little Tannoy Eatons, but when I switch it on (at the mains) I get quite a big crack/thump and one speaker in particular moves back and forwards by a good inch.
I've been reassured by someone who has lots of experience with these beasties that it's perfectly normal and nothing to worry about (the amp has been serviced previously). Thing is it really does bother me and despite being very happy with the sound quality once it's going, if I can't tame that switch-on behaviour then it's going to be a very short lived ownership. Anyone know how to stop this happening?
I briefly had a 33/303 combo about 10 years ago that (iirc) that I played with into some Cheviots, and I don't recall this big ol' thump so is that somehow suppressed when you use it with a 33?