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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
batthatman
14 posts
 
Sophia Electric has them but ouch! I still might order them.

Introductory Price (good until December 31, 2010):
Option 1: $750 per premium matched pair with one year warranty.
Option 2: $650 per premium matched pair with 30 days warranty.

Price (after December 31, 2010):
Option 1: $899 per premium matched pair with one year warranty.
Option 2: $799 per premium matched pair with 30 days warranty.
davvie's avatar
davvie
81 posts
 
Sophia Electric has the Full Music 845 MkIII available at up to twice the price of the Psvane 845T (845T is sold out until Dec.,btw.)

Will they sound twice as good?

Your getting in to NOS prices now. Might as well try for some RCA's,imo.

http://www.sophiaelectric.com/
brf
1,715 posts
 
Wow, $900 for a chinese current production 845! NOS 845 are looking like a bargain.
amfibius OP
282 posts
 
Thought I would report back again. My amps have hardly been turned off for the past 12 days as I continue to burn these valves in at maximum effort! They now have nearly 150 hours on them and they are massively improved and are still improving. It seems as if every day I listen to them, the soundstage gets wider, and the bottom end opens up even more. The top end is already better than my old valves.

About the one thing I do not like with these valves is a bloominess in the midrange which was absent in my previous valves. Having said that, the bloominess is not that prominent and some people might actually like it.
hifi223
26 posts
 
UPDATE ON TJ 845.. WARNING !! DO NOT TRY THEM... my matched Quads did not work...
I will now have to stick with the PSVANE 845.
I don't think the TJs are same spec as RCA anymore.
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