Elrog 300b vs we300b

@sns ,

Point being, all the boutique tubes are nice, just a matter of different flavors. All will resolve at high level and offer refinement the cheaper tubes can't come close to. Acmes have  aprox. 75 hours and getting better all the time!

@smodtactical ,

This is probably the best ' get to the point's summation I've read in discussions concerning 300b tubes. I've tried to make this exact  point in previous 300b threads (Although without the beautiful brevity of @sns) numerous times. One common criticism of the 300bs is the High cost of the premium tier choices.

A valid observation  but in this circumstance you get what you pay for plain and simple. There is a clear line of delineation between budget/reasonable cost 300b and the higher cost/quality 300b tubes. There's no escaping the truth, you are getting what you are paying for. 

If you have a high quality 300b amplifier  it will sound decent/pretty respectable with lower cost 300bs. In my opinion it makes absolute good sense to get the most out of a high quality 300b amplifier by using the upper tier tubes. Otherwise what is the point of having a  high quality 300b amplifier? These more expensive tubes are just better in every regard across the sonic performance-sound quality spectrum.

I've had VAIC- EML XLS-KR XLS-Sophia Electric Royal Princess-Takasuki-Early generation Elrog and 1980s vintage Western Electric 300b. My verdict is There is no single absolute best choice amongst them.  Too many variables that can favor one over another. Some of these tubes will sound better in one amplifier compared to another. The overall audio system "voicing " is a key factor.

You would have to hear each of these tubes in your individual and unique system to truly decide what sounds best to you. This is not a practical undertaking for most people.  My point is that at the premium tier of 300b they are all excellent options and you will not achieve this performance with the cheaper 300bs. 

Yes, @sns is right!

Charles 

Perhaps a more interesting question is how and why upper tier 300b tubes can sound so different.

@charles1dad Well said thanks.

@gsm18439  Ya I was curious about that, since many of them look almost identical. Something about the 'hanging filament' ?

My guss is use of better materials quality,  much higher standard of construction and attention to detail. My EML XLS is heavier than most 300b tubes. It just looks and actually feels better built. Ultra reliability and very extended tube life longevity. 

Charles 

Yes, materials and design. Over the past few months I've experienced four different 101D tubes in my Coincident Statement MkII pre, one mesh plate, three solid plate, mesh plate and one solid plate use a bit of gold plating in tube structure,  one lower cost, three much higher cost. The three higher cost tubes each have special qualities I can prefer at any point in time or for particular types of music. My experience with 101 replicates what I hear from many reviews of 300B's over many years.

The other major thing I hear with premium tubes is color, perhaps one could say character. Cheap tubes sound bleached out in comparison, this is something I never noticed until moving to the premium tubes, immediately noticeable just like the added resolution.

One other aspect of differentiation is durability, the only two premium 300b's I've yet to see a single failure are the EML XLS and WE. Now, as to whether tube or amplifier running excessive plate voltages at fault, I can't say. I've seen Psvane Acme failures, I believe every single failure has been with Line Magnetic amps. Was this early Acme production or Line Magnetic running them to hard? I've seen failures from all the others as well, exceptions pointed out above. Elrog has also had many failures, Thomas claims to have solved issues, may be true, haven't seen a failure lately? Linlai Elite has had some recent issues, I've heard issues resolved. I guess point of all this is, tube manufacturers constantly changing and refining in order to maintain presence in marketplace, the tube you purchase today may not be the same tube you would have purchased the month prior.