300B Tube Question for Steve

[AudioGirl]

Steve, what IS your favorite 300B?

Can you tell us? .. Anyone else have a favorite?

[Steve Hoffman]

My favorite 300Bs are the ones that arrive via Fed Ex, gratis.
:D

No, actually I don't wish to endorse one over the other. Some folks and I did a big 300B shootout recently, and there was a clear winner. Hopefully this shootout will be published in one of the audio rags fairly soon and I can talk about it here.

Hint, the clear winner is made outside of the USA. ;)

[Drew]

I know mine aren't 300b's but I've made some comparison of some 2A3's the last week.


I just received some new Sovtek 2A3's for my paramours last week to compare to the Chinese Valve Art tubes that came with my Bottlehead Paramour kit. I have about 30 hour playing on them.

The Sovtek's seem a little smoother on top, but they seem to have less of the lush midrange that single ended triode amps are known for. I guess that makes them a little more even bottom to top than the Chinese tubes. Really, I'm not sure that either tube is offensive to the ear.

But with the Chinese tube I have the cool blue florescent glow that some power tubes are known for. And when I turn off the amps with the Sovteks in and I put my ear down close to them, I can hear a ting-ting-ting sound which I think is expansion and contraction going on.

[Metralla]

Hi,

Thorsten Loesch did a nice shoot-out on www.enjoythemusic.com which you can read via the following link: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1201/300b

I use the KR Enterprise 300B output valves and these (unfortunately) were not in Thorsten's shoot-out. Maybe in 6 months or so I'll look at those meshies...

Regards,
Metralla

[pigmode]

I want to try SET next time. I couldn't afford 300B this round, and my listening room is too small for the speakers I'd want for 2A3. It's very intriguing.

[indy mike]

Ruh-roh! Steve, are you hinting that the legendary Western Electric 300B no longer rules the sonic roost!?!?! Boy, are them boys in Kansas gonna be honked off or what??? I need to move back to bigger city so I can listen to glowing glass bottles at stereo shops...

[Jim Ricketts]

There is a new TJ300B meshplate but not sure if in production yet. It has gold pins, ceramic base and a bit tighter tolerances if I remember Brian Cherry's (DIYHiFiSupply) description correctly. The background is a little bit blacker with a bit more air according to Brian. They looked real kool!