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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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charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Kenny,
Yes, there are definitely good choices available for the 300b tube. Disadvantage compared with many other output tubes is that the 300b can get pretty expensive. When I was using KT 88, 6550 and el 34 tubes with former amplifiers they were much less expensive.

This is a trade off I willingly and happily made with zero regrets. IMHO the DHT type of tube are generally more organic and just sound better . Again strictly my personal listening experience.
Charles
liquidsound's avatar
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liquidsound OP
154 posts
 
Yes...  The Sophia mesh-plates are really as you say, a hole-punched piece of metal rather than a true woven mesh. They do sound good however but also run at about max for a mesh-plate.  They lasted fairly well but I don't like that one I got had a hot-spot on the plate !  I had to return it for a new one but since it was out of warranty, I had to pay 1/2 price for a replacement.  (I bought them but shelved them till I replaced my original set and it was bad right out of the box.)   
jond's avatar
jond
5,856 posts
 
Charles that's interesting I went the opposite way with power tubes.  After having Cary 300B monos blow a WE 300B reissue tube after about 100 hours and later having a KR Audio amp blow a low hours 842 tube I swore I was done with amps that use expensive tubes. I lucked out and found a great EL34 amp and have been happy ever since. Ironically I could actually much more easily afford expensive tubes these days but I am happy with what I have.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hi Jond,
No doubt that we all have our specific experiences and outcomes, exactly why I wrote IMHO. I’d rather have an excellently implemented Pentode push pull type tube amplifier than a mediocre DHT amplifier. If both of them are executed to a high level then I would lean toward the DHT option.

To be clear both of my push pull amplifiers were "really " good sounding. When I put the 300b SET amplifier into my system there was an undeniable improvement. To be truthful all 300b amplifiers aren’t created equally. Jond I don’t doubt that your el 34 triode wired amp sounds wonderful.

I can understand the frustration with tube failures. In addition to superb sound quality the other great attribute of the EML XLS has been exceptional durability and reliability, it’s a terrific tube.
Charles
jond's avatar
jond
5,856 posts
 
Charles agreed all the way around and also don't sleep on DHT pushpull amps! Two of the best I've heard an integrated pp 2a3 amp from Cary, I loved it but the gf said it was too bright, and a pp 45 amp from Deja Vu. Both wonderful sounding and a great juxtaposition of tubes and topologies! And I am sure all of your amps pushpull and DHT were all great sounding you seem to have excellent ears.
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