2. amps-preamps
  3. 1286194112

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
hifi223
26 posts
 
Hi Brf, i had 4x TJ 845 to try or test (i'm a TJ dealer in Australia). They were going into my melody custom Mono Blocks.
Tj 845 didn't last 5 seconds on my monos, one pair were really noisy, making crackling poping noise, they other pair blew-up straight away, also blew fuses on my amp. I'm still waiting for my supplier in Hong Kong to reply to me, i suspect they are not RCA specs as claimed. So, back goes the PSVANE.!
brf
1,715 posts
 
Did the TJ 845 come with a spec sheet indicating the tube's actual performance?
hifi223
26 posts
 
Yes they did, just notice it, definately not RCA spec, the filament current (iF) is at 2.5mA. RCA spec is 3.25mA.
brf
1,715 posts
 
2.5A..That’s definitely the problem. Your amp probably produces 3.25A filament current to the 300B.
gopher
499 posts
 
"After approx. 2 weeks, my very positive view of the 845Ts has not
changed. There's been no break-in change that I can detect. "

I just received a pair of 845-Ts today and I am sincerely hoping my findings with respect to break-in do not mirror yours. They aren't bad for new tubes, but I definitely congested, a little shouty and just kind of off...

I can detect the harmonic richness, and improved soundstage over the 845Bs right off the bat, but things definitely need to relax to get my nod.
More to discover