During the High Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath who was a talented architect, draughtsman, engineer, painter, scientist, sculptor, and theorist. da Vinci's imagination, skills, intelligence, and insights still make him household name today, over 500 years after his death.

Every once in a while I run across someone who has done something so remarkable in audio - a modern day Leonardo da Vinci of audio - that it takes my breath away, thus The da Vinci Files column that honors those impressive accomplishments.

Bruce Berman will need no introduction to the readers of the legendary DIY audio experimenters magazine, Sound Practices (the archive is still available on CD from HiFi Collective HERE), where Bruce's Type 76 Pre-Amp article (Vol. 2, Issue 13) ignited the imagination of audio experimenters across the globe, and would go on to become the most popular Sound Practices article ever written.  

Just a short while ago friend Andy Moore posted some photos of a recent audio adventure he attended on his Facebook page, where he listened to a variety of amplifiers, and notably a pair of 45 SET monaural amplifiers that were built according to Bruce Berman's 2-stage 45/WE-300B amplifier design circuit (using a 45 instead of 300B as the output tube), whose performance really impressed Andy. 

Andy will have more to say about those listening experiences at a future time.

As I looked at those beautiful 45 SET amplifiers Andy heard, I just had to know more, and while those 45 SETs are indeed impressive, just wait until you see what Bruce has done in his home audio system - it is mind-blowing.

I was so stunned by what Bruce shared with me that I needed smelling salts to revive me! 

As Bruce and I dialogued about his 2-stage-300B SET DHT amplifiers, and his audio system, it became apparent to me that this was a story of vision & inspiration that every audio enthusiast should know about.

Bruce's story is about so much more than his extremely impressive 2-stage 45/WE-300B SE DHT amplifier design that he has developed over the course of 35 years, it is also a story of passion, imagination, skills, intelligence, and insights that make Bruce's audio system an ultimate vision of enthusiast HiFi. 

Close-up of right channel of Bruce's 2-stage 45-300B SE DHT amplifier.

I should add that Bruce makes available the schematics, parts list, and construction notes for free to those who would like to build - or have built for them - a pair of these remarkable 2-Stage 45/WE-300B SET DHT amps.

There should be enough information for you to build these 45-300B monaural amplifiers in Bruce's article. 

If you share or build Bruce's circuit, please give him the credit for the design. Note that this design may not be reproduced on a commercial basis without Bruce's formal permission! 

I was so impressed with what Bruce shared with me that I asked if he would be willing to share with all of us his story of how he got involved in audio, a history of the development of his 2-Stage 45/WE-300B SE DHT amps design, the audio system he has developed, and what he's listening to at home these days.  

Bruce Berman's audio system. Wow!

Bruce wrote up an absolutely astonishing article for us to read, which is a true treasure. 

A huge "Thank you!" to Bruce for taking the time to write this up for us, and to share it with us!

Prepare to be amazed! 🙂 

To begin reading Bruce's article click on the page "2" link below.