Has anyone bought the Psvane Acme 300B Vacuum Tube?

The lower cost 300b tubes are solid, good sounding tubes, they just aren’t “great “ sounding, With SET amplifiers I only require a single pair and that’s it. Unquestionably a different proposition when one needs multiple 300bs for their amplifier. I used the Shuguang Black Treasure (BT) 300b for nearly 3 years before replacing them with the Takatsuki.

The BT tubes are very solid performers, it is just simply bettered by the far more expensive higher level Japanese tube. I feel very fortunate that I only need one pair of the 300b for my amplifier. Needing 16 of them is an entirely different boat.🙂

Charles

I’ve tried a large number of 300Bs over the years and the Psvane ACME were my favorite, even over the Elrog and EML 300B-XLS (which were more dynamic and tipped up just slightly) and Takatsuki (which are a tad more romantic and less resolving). I know the ACME has been on the market left due to some of the leads moving over to Linlai. The Linlai Elite line is apparently also very good, but I do not have first hand experience with them. 

See, this is where @charles1dad ’s statement that 300Bs are system-dependent rings so true. I have the Taks and the EML 300B-XLS. In my amp, a Luxman designed with Taks, the sound is nearly the reverse of what @blisshifi experienced. The Taks are more extended in the highs and more resolving throughout, whereas the EMLs are more midrange-centric and bloomier, more romantic, with less openness and air. Both are excellent 300Bs but the Taks are the clear winner for me. In another amp, as Bliss reports, that’s not necessarily the case.

I have to say, I'm still sorely tempted to pick up some of the ACMEs, though. I have a pair of the 2A3s in another amp and love 'em. They're the best I've heard since AVVT mesh plates back in the early 2000s, which were glorious but unstable.

@wrm57 I would say that the tone of the EML 300B-XLS is largely dependent on how much they are overdriven. Most 300Bs are supposed to be have a plate voltage at around 60mA, but the EML 300B-XLS requires between 90-110mA to sound its best if I remember correctly. I was able to do this when I used Cary 805AE monoblocks a few years ago and the EML were very close to the ACME. But in other amps where increasing the plate voltage was not an option, the 300B-XLS tends to tip up and not bloom the way you mention. That said, I’m unsure how the Taks were more resolving, I’d never felt that across the 3-4 amps rolled my 300Bs around with. Perhaps it is system dependent as you say!

That said, I’m unsure how the Taks were more resolving, I’d never felt that across the 3-4 amps rolled my 300Bs around with.

@blisshifi , just my experience. Maybe because the amp was designed to use the Tak, but I can’t say for sure. I’d add that I only put maybe 50 hours on the EML before I went back to the Taks, missing the openness and extension on top. Maybe they never burned in. I'll swap 'em back in sometime when I get antsy again. :)