Favorite 300B: Sophia vs KR

I must echo the comments of Charles and GWalt - although I do not have their analytic ability. First, my SET amplifier is made by the same company that made the PSET amplifier used in the HiFidelity of Poland review. Second, I listen mostly to classical (from soloist and chamber to full orchestra and chorus), jazz, and female vocals and only occasionally to classic rock. Both the Sophia RPs and the Takatsukis better the Shuguang BT by a lot. Comparing the RPs and the Takatsukis, however, shows the latter to be a bit more refined and to have an eerie liquidity to the overall sound. The RPs were a bit more bold and in-your-face. In my amplifier and with the music that I prefer. . . the difference was a bit more than the 97 to 95 points suggested by Charles. At the same price, I would buy the Takatsukis. Amtrans was a pleasure; the tubes arrived in a matter of days. However, Paypal charges a premium for the yen to dollar conversion; and the new price of the Takatsukis will be 140,000 yen . . . or 1680USD bumped up to 1730USD by Paypal. Conversely, the RPs can sometimes be found listed on Audiogon. Finally, it will be interesting to hear the WE tribute tube made by Psvane and sold by Grant Fidelity.

Hi Onemug,
I really appreciate your kind comments.The RPs have just over 40 hours and the Takatsuki 75-80 hours.Both tubes actually reveal their superb sound within 2-3 hours and just continue to get better and better,

Onemug I agree with you completely concerning the enthusiasm and spirit of this thread.I`ve grown bored with the 'my component is better than yours' nonsense, or the 'you like 300b based amps amps? you don`t want "neutrual/accurate" sound type of logic.

I hope other admirers of 300b amplifiers share their experiences and thoughts.Let the fun and information continue to flow.
Regards,

I just can`t seem to shut up on this thread.
Gsm I`ve been eagerly awaiting your impressions,thanks a lot. Gsm you reminded me that I have`nt mention what music I use, I`m an absolute jazz nut(and seemto be getting worse).A friend and I reccently went to a local jazz club to see the young and 'very' talented guitarist Randy Napoleon who played with a sextet, beautiful music and up close sound(our table was next to the stage).These encounters always expose the full body and tone of these beautiful sounding instruments(lean,thin, edgy,nervous and clinical just are`nt present, nor bloated, flabby and slow)

I`ve been attending jazz venues frequently for the past 22 years and it`s a wonderful time and what training for the ears!
As a result of the ferequent exposure to the acoustic instruments and vocalists it seems when I listen to a system I can (it seems) sense/hear the artificial or canned sound of what some would considered high end- audiophile presentation. I`m in no way suggesting my hearing or taste is better than anyone else at all, just trying to explain my bias for context.

My bias is heavily toward the organic,holistic tone,timbre and overtones of music with natural dynamic ebb and flow.
My praise of the RP and Takatsuki centers on their exceptional ability to sound so natural and like real performances are present.They both push me closer to what I hear and also feel at the live jazz venues.
This is my point of reference,so those who share similar a orientation my high appreciation for these two 300b tubes will probably make some sense I hope.

I would also like to thank you for all your learning experiences and want to thank those who commented on my two cents. I will mention I like a lot of various female jazz such as Jennifer Warnes, Hollie Cole, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, and Patricia Barber among others. On the male side I listen to many of the stunning recordings on the German Stockfisch label. To really find the soundstage I listen to classical and live recorded Russian choral music that are well recorded.

For the past 3-4 years I have been listening to 45 tube amps. (Jeff Korneff and Yamamoto A08S) because I firmly believed that a 45 tube (on the proper matched speakers) had the most natural tone and timbral accuracy of any of the triodes and in ways they are king at low listening volumes with limited power reserves.

However I am happy to conclude that the RP and Takasuki tubes sound much the same as a good 45 only on steroids. This is as high of complement as you can pay IMO.

What you get here is pure music and no areas to really criticize. In a properly designed amplifier these tubes are very tonally accurate and simply make the speakers disappear with ease. Not much else I can add except I wished they were not so darn expensive as my entire stash of 45's (7 pairs of NOS) were about the price of one pair of these 300b's. Whoever said being on steroids was cheap!

Gwalt,
I agree with every thing you you wrote above 100%. An excellent and clear summation of these two tubes.Well done!