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Psvane 300-B Tubes ? ? ?

Does anyone out there have any experience with Psvane 300-B MKII or their WE300-B Replica tubes ?  

I found the best sound from initially the Sophia Princess mesh-plate 300-B's, then their Royal Princess 300-B's however I'm definitely NOT happy with their reliability, especially the Royal Princess !  
I had a mesh-plate from new have a glowing spot on the mesh-plate, and they told me it was from sitting on the shelf for over a year !  REALLY ! ? ! ?  And I had two Royal Princess tubes go out with less than 600-hours on them, unfortunately well-past 1-yr. warranty.  Left a bad taste...  I'm NOT going back...  
I've tried EH gold-grid 300-B's, Gold-Lion's, JJ's...  All sound somewhat different but the Sophias sounded the best, however in my experience, reliability is questionable...  Thanks...  John  
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liquidsound OP
154 posts
 
Here here !  Most 300-B tubes I have tried sound good.  The subtle differences are in the Mfg and elements used I believe.  As for the amps, yes...  the PSU's and other components (ie...  transformers) help make up or color the sound.  I have a BorderPatrol S20 dual-mono parallel 300-B SET amp and the response is very linear.  I prefer the sound of the Sophia Royal Princess tubes and if it weren't for my negative experiences with reliability would still have them.  That's why I am looking for a great replacement.  
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charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Liquidsound,
I heard a pair of the Sophia Royal Princess in my amplifier for several weeks courtesy of a generous loan from a fellow audiogon member. It was a very good sounding tube but I felt that the Takatsuki was overall better sounding.

As Thom mentioned above the Emission Labs (EML) is worth serious consideration and similar price range of the Sophia RP. I don’t know if Thom uses the standard EML 300b or the XLS version (that I have). As acknowledged certain tubes will sound better/worse depending on the particular amplifier in use. 

Thom I’ve read comments by Lynn Olsen regarding your Niwatt 300b SET amplifier and he is highly impressed.
Charles
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liquidsound OP
154 posts
 
Thanks for this information.  I have heard the Emission-Labs 300-B (not the XLS variant) and they sound good however not as good (in my opinion) as my Sophia Princess mesh-plates tubes.  I'm looking for a substitute, as I believe I'm on borrowed time with them.  
gsm18439
895 posts
 
Part-Time audiophile reviewed Takatsukis in one of the BorderPatrol 300b amplifiers - not sure whether it was the PSET design or the SET or PP design. As I mentioned, I love my Takatsukis; however, you need four of them. Pricey. You might consider the KR balloons.
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charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
I have heard the Sophia mesh (actually a perforated plate rather than a true wire woven mesh) in my system and it's quite different sounding than the EML.  I can clearly understand why one would prefer one or the other. Numerous variables of the listener and system exert their influence. 
Charles 
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