Best 845 tube out there?

@t_ramey

Sorry, I totally missed your posted question to me a couple weeks back.

I’m 98% sure that’s what I’m running, but my lettering is quite worn and is in white paint "845" with "made in China" below it--all white paint, with no printed brand, and nothing in red paint. However, from the photos, the physical design appears to be identical in all the parts I can see clearly. I will admit I can’t remember where I got them--I think they came with my used purchase of the Thoress 845s, which I think are somewhere in the 8-10 year old range. Maybe my "As" are that old too?

As to the A vs. B answer, I fear today’s answer is going to be longer and less useful than you wanted, as I’m a little compromised right now in between a (long) move to a new house, and my Thoress amps and spare B tubes are already moved to the new house. Therefore I can’t easily recreate my A vs. B this morning in the Melody. I may go to the new house this weekend and I can try to remember to look for the Bs to bring back.

From memory, I felt that the As were a little more "spirited" in the Melody ("live"), yet without the slight harshness I thought that I remember reading folks often found in the As over the Bs, and that I think I found to be true in the Thoress 845s. I’m pretty sure I had heard an increased "ease" with the Bs over the As in the Thoress amps, but still a very "live" sound--I know I fairly clearly preferred the Bs there, but I don’t know it was night and day. "Ease" might not be a great usage here--maybe I’m thinking less harshness (which wasn’t great to begin with) and a little more soundstage depth in that statement. The Elrogs were a clear step up from both...in the Thoress amps, not in the Melody.

To further confuse matters and make my response perhaps even less useful, I never had the Thoress amps driving my Altec Lansing Valencia 16-ohms, which is what I have the Melody amp driving.  It’s possible with that Thoress 845/Valencia combo, perhaps I would have preferred the A over the B there too? I won’t be able to do that test for several months.

@t_ramey 

Great question.  My honest answer? ...this thread, mostly.  I reread the whole thread again (I've probably read it through 3 times now over the last 6 months), and some folks whose opinions I trust from other topics seemed to get enjoyment out of the Psvane WEs...and most relative to the Shuguang Bs (and As). 

One poster noted that the Elrogs blew the Psvane WEs away (and I trust his feedback from reading his posts over the years), but since I own the Elrogs, and they didn't blow the Shuguang As and Bs away in my Melody on my my two sets of speakers, I felt it was a decent dice roll to try some WEs for the Melody, since again most posters felt they were an upgrade to the Shuguang A & Bs.  I've never owned any Psvanes of any type for any of my amps, but marketing aside, I still feel like I've read good reviews/posts in general on the brand, and this is their offering that is most interesting to me, despite it's $800 cost for the experiment.

As to why not Shuguang WEs?  Only in that I didn't yet find a side-by-side, other than a suggestion that the Shuguang is newer and based on a better retro design--I can't confirm that.  They are cheaper--which is also interesting to me, but doesn't necessarily mean anything in the rest of this context.

Knowing me, this exercise and discussion may entice me to later also order a set of Shuguang WEs too.  You know--for "science."  My wife asks me when all my "science experiments" will have a financial payoff.  She doesn't like my response is that "the financial payoff went to the product manufacturers."

Thanks for taking the time to reply parsons, much appreciated!

@t_ramey  Thanks to you too...please continue to keep in touch as it seems posting Melody 845 owners are few and far between.

@charles1dad    A personal note of thanks for your general knowledge and approach to this "sport"...I find your posts in almost every thread that interests me on this site...I think I've followed in your footsteps on numerous purchases and your findings are always spot on.  You've heard and provided great feedback on almost every tube product I own or considered (and many I own largely because of contributions you've made to the decisions).  No pressure!

Great thread--thanks to all for keeping it going.

Parsons,
thank you very much for such kind comments.
Charles