dedicated error amplifier, which compensates for the loss of gain caused by negative feedback. Williamson optimized operating points of each stage for best linearity with sufficient overload reserve. The output stage is biased into pure class A; traditionally it used triode-connected beam tetrodes or pentodes. With American 807 or British KT66 valves (Williamson recommended the latter type) and specified power supply the amplifier delivered 15 watts of output power. Further increase in output, according to Williamson, required use of four output valves; his 1947 article mentions construction of a 70-watt prototype. The plate of the first stage and the grid of the phase splitter are connected directly. This configuration, known since 1940, was still uncommon in 1947; American designers considered it a novelty even in the early 1950s. Phase splitter, driver and output stage are capacitively coupled. Cathode bypass capacitors are absent: Williamson, like Cocking before him, tried to linearize open-loop performance of each stage, and deliberately sacrificed gain for linearity; he was also concerned with potential low-frequency instability introduced by added capacitances. The circuit in either 1947 or 1949 variant contains no electrolytic capacitors; its power supply uses a CLC π-filter with two 8 µF paper capacitors, with a further LC filter feeding the first three stages. Derivative designs of the 1950s often deviated from Williamson's recommendations while retaining his four-stage topology. According to Peter Stinson, this alone is not sufficient to be called a Williamson amplifier. A true Williamson amplifier must meet five criteria simultaneously: All four stages must use triodes; the output stage may use triode-connected tetrodes or pentodes; Output stage must operate in class A; Phase splitter must be directly coupled to the input stage; High-quality output transformer must conform to the original Williamson specification; Global negative feedback loop must be connected from transformer secondary to the cathode of the input triode, and be exactly 20 dB deep. Feedback The 20 dB (ten-to-one) feedback loop of the Williamson amplifier wraps around all four stages and the output transformer. According to Richard C. Hitchcock, "this is a severe test of design and is one of the outstanding features of the Williamson circuit." Williamson wrote that the depth of feedback can be easily increased from 20 to 30 dB, but the audible improvements of deeper feedback will be diminishingly low. All frequency compensation components are located in the first and second stages of the circuit: their local smoothing