Favorite 300B: Sophia vs KR

Antigrunge,
You make a good point(regarding what the market will bear).I`ll say this, at least in this case Takatsuki came through with a product that lives up to the high cost.
So often this is`nt the case(particularly high end audio).Every time I listen to my music(very often) I realize this tube was worth it. You could easily spend the cost of these(or far more) tubes on cables/cords and maybe or maybe not get this level of improvement.

Alternatives? theRP will get you close for 1200.00 USD.
Old stock W.E. 2500 AND upwards(may be better? or just different) but no warranty (Takatsuki has a 2 year warranty).Some less expensive tubes sound good but won`t compete at this level.

I assume most folks interested in this thread and own 300b amps fall deep into the pure natural sound-music lover camp(like me). If that`s true then if you want maximun performance from your amplifier this is certainly money(a lot)well spent.Fortunately 300b tubes(in general) have considerable longevity.
Regards,

Another alternative that no one has mentioned is the Psvane WE Tribute 300b that is sold by Grant Fidelity. They are supposed to be a clone.

My Takatsuki's are at the 80 hour mark and continue to improve. This tube does not behave like other power tubes I have owned. Most have a period or a break in cycle at which point the sound is not optimum until a significant amout of hours are logged. These tubes have sounded absolutely stellar right out of the box and continue to improve in my system. Absolutely worth the bucks in my opinion.

Markus, After my very first session with these tubes I wrote Israel Blume and said that he really should find a way to hear the Takatsuki in his(pride and joy creation) Frankenstein amplifier.I know he`s quite fond of the Black Treasure(for good reason). I tried to express to him how much better the Takatsuki is.He said he`d check into them. I hope he does and was`nt just being polite with his response to me.As you said in an earlier post the change is profound.
Regards,

"I tried to express to him how much better the Takatsuki is.He said he`d check into them. I hope he does and was`nt just being polite with his response to me.”

Charles1dad,
LOL! I did the same thing and got the same response from the distributor of my NAF when I found the Royal Princesses. He was just being polite. I hope Israel takes keen to your suggestion. IMO, prospective buyers of any good 300b tube amplifier should be offered, or at least be made aware of, this upgrade potential.