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Best 845 tube out there?

I am running a pair of Cary CAD-211AE monoblocks with the standard no-name Chinese tubes shipped by Cary. Whilst I am happy with the sound, I think I should buy a pair of 845's to keep as backup in case something happens to these tubes.

Because I will need to buy FOUR of them, this rules out any tube that sells for stupid money (e.g. vintage RCA 845 tubes).

The only current production 845's I am aware of are:

- Shuguang 845 "standard"
- Shuguang 845B
- Shuguang 845C
- Shuguang PSVANE 845
- KR Audio 845

I have found reviews of the Shuguang 845B and 845C, but there is virtually no information out there on the new Shuguang "psvane" 845. Has anybody heard this valve, and is it a noticable improvement over the 845B and C? Also, what do people think of the KR?
amfibius
amfibius OP
282 posts
 
I have had a closer look at the Shuguang psvane 845T's. There is a very large image here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?s=107c668285cec06d56e3d26723df6ab1&t=318310

Now compare that to the Shuguang 845B. The best image I could find is here: http://www.edsawyer.com/images/845mb.large.jpg (the 845B is on the left).

Note the main difference - the Psvane 845T lacks the solid winged side support, and consequently has a plate at the top to stabilize the tube against the glass. On lesser 845's (e.g. the Shuguang 845), the mica top plate was criticized for causing microphonics.

Starting to have some doubts now.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Take a look at the standard Chinese 845 http://supertnt.com/public/images/product/20060303123338_845.jpg and compare the internals to the Psvane 845. Bigger glass envelope and gold covered brass base.
davvie's avatar
davvie
81 posts
 
Amfibius..."On lesser 845's (e.g. the Shuguang 845), the mica top plate was criticized for causing microphonics."....

Ed Sawyer 845B review..."They (845B) are as non-microphonic as any other 845 I have (due to low gain 845's in general are not microphonic to any noticable degree,even with abuse like tapping the glass while in operation"

http://www.jacmusic.com/html/articles/tubetests/845B-Ed-Sawyer/test.pdf
amfibius OP
282 posts
 
Thanks for the clarification everyone. I have ordered a quad set of 845T's from Grant Fidelity. Will post impressions once I get them.
ed_sawyer
588 posts
 
I have yet to try these (845T) but can confirm that the various SuperTNT versions are excellent and worth seeking out. I have a pair of their last high-dissipation 845 metal plates, and they are about as good as modern production gets. Hopefully they will arise once again and make 845s like they used to.

-Ed
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