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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
nhocti
44 posts
 
Just received this from a customer regarding KR Audio 845.

Hugh,
The tubes are excellent. They sounded good right out of the box, and have improved over the thirty hours or so that I have played them.
Very good high end resolution, and great clarity from top to bottom. My room is fairly damped and the higher resolution is very welcome.
It has been the kind of upgrade where I want to go through all my records and hear the new sounds that the tubes bring out.
In my opinion, in my room, the KRs are a substantial improvement over the very good 845Bs.

Headed your way tomorrow, my mom lives in Riverside, and I get down there to see her every month or so.
Thanks again for the tubes.
Regards
Scott
bayreuth
25 posts
 
Does anyone have more comments on their experience with Psvane 845-T or the newer 845-TII tubes from Psvane? Any comments on build quality, sound, reliability? Thanks.
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
I still love the sound of my Psvane 845T tubes after approx. 2 years. One of the original pair died after 12 months and I replaced it with a single. No further problems. I should note, though, that this is the only 845 tube I have ever had fail (my 845 monoblocks are nearly 10 years old).
bayreuth
25 posts
 
Thanks for the reply Dopogue.

Can you describe any sound differences or advantages of the Psvane T compared to Shuguang 845B?
dopogue
1,773 posts
 
Bayreuth, frankly no. It's been too long. I used a couple 845s between the B and the Psvane T, including metal types. I can only say that to me the Psvane 845T was the ultimate, in my system. Made the metal types sound "metallic," as I've noted above :-)
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