101D Triodes


I have a Coincident Technology Statement Mk III Line Stage Preamp It uses a matched pair of 101D-L triodes. One tube has failed necessitating replacement of the pair. These were Psvane WE Replica Line (silver line). I have used (or tried) Lanlai 101D Mesh Plates, and found them pretty noisy. It was mentioned to me that the mesh plate contributed to the noise. I am seeking any thoughts from those experienced with the Sophia Electric 101D-L Mesh Plate. Generally, there longevity and of course there sonic qualities. I have in the pass used a Sophia Electric 274B rectifier in a head phone amp and was impressed, but had the opportunity to hear it in someone else's rigg before I purchased one for my own.

Also Full Music makes this tube, if you have experience with these, please advise. Thank you, Brad

128x128bradf

I doubt very much mod is simple, 300B vs 101 tubes have very different operating parameters.

I do have personal experience with TJ Full Music 845 tubes, one blew at about 100 hours, never again.

 

There is one other option for 101 tubes, there are vintage 101 tubes such as Western Electric, if one is lucky could find NOS. Pricey but not out of this world, also need tube socket adapter as pins are all one size vs two of each size on modern 100. Don't know about specs, meaning don't know if they can handle Statement plate or heater voltages. I've long been curious about this as vintage tubes generally built with longevity and durability in mind. Ask Israel about this, I can never get a straight answer from him about this, I suggest you let him know you're fed up with the whole tube situation, perhaps he can come up with some solution. Its possible he could give some accommodation on 300B Statement for those with the 101 based Statements, especially for those he sold in recent years when he understood bad situation with 101 tubes. Without quality 101 tubes we are left with preamps that don't perform as intended. Furthermore I've spent good money with many updates on my pre, capacitors, resistors, Amtrans rotary selectors for upgraded TVC's, been through at least $3k in bad tubes. One more blown tube and I'll probably be looking at a new pre, for sure 300B based, only DHT pre and amps for me. I've had such good luck since Ohmite resistors tube failures kind of left my mind, your failure with new value pieces has me on edge again.

@sns 

Update:  Awaiting response from Israel regarding 300B mod.

Added up hours on my 101D WE Rep before failure.  Came to 561.0

 

I'd say it appears the new value resistors you installed may have helped extend life of tubes, prior to installation of new value I  fried a number of tubes at just around 100 hour mark, doubt I ever came close to 500 hours on any of the premium tubes. Could be just a bit more control of variances with the tighter tolerance Ohmites could make all the difference, or not?

Here are the detailed electrical specification differences between the NOS Western Electric 101D and the current production PSVANE 101D-L vacuum tubes:

Specification NOS Western Electric 101D PSVANE 101D-L
Heater Voltage 4.2V 4.5V
Heater Current 1.0A 1.0A
Maximum Plate Voltage (Ua) 130V 190V
Maximum Plate Current (Ia) 7.7mA 30mA
Power Rating 15W 15W
Direct Interelectrode Capacitances Input: 4.8 µF, Output: 5.2 µF, Grid to Plate: ≤ 3.3 µF Input: 4.8 µF, Output: 5.2 µF, Grid to Plate: ≤ 3.3 µF

The main differences are in the heater voltage and maximum plate voltage, with the PSVANE 101D-L having slightly higher values. This means the PSVANE 101D-L can handle higher voltages, making it suitable for a wider range of applications.