Has anyone bought the Psvane Acme 300B Vacuum Tube?

@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. :)

@wrm57 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. :)

Well, I will say that with only 50 hours of use on the EML XLS you haven’t heard their full potential. Nonetheless it is certainly possible for your particular Luxman amplifier you still might prefer the Takatsuki.

Luxman undoubtedly voiced their amplifier circuit given the decision to go with Takatsuki tubes. As noted previously these are ail excellent upper echelon 300b options that will mate with some amplifiers more synergistically than others. I bet the Luxman-Takatsuki pairing sounds marvelous!

Charles

Based on my extensive research, and not having heard in my amp. Taks generally have rep of being on more romantic side, I've seen rare failures. EML, more on cool side, never seen a single failure,  Elrog, seen perception of sound quality all over the place, I tend to believe bit more on romantic side, many failures with previous iterations, haven't seen a documented failure of latest iteration.  Acme, lean just a bit warm of neutral, rare failures, mostly seen in some Line Magnetic amps.

Keep in mind these are generalities, YMMV. Above from observations over many years in any number of forums and reviews. My choice for 300B were based off Western Electric and EML for reliability and durability, Elrog, Taks and Acme for richer sound. I'd expect the Linlai Elites are another top contender.

And then there’s this about the Tak from "The Quick and Dirty 300B Shootout" in Stereotimes, which included the Elrog but not the EML:

This was definitely a crowd favourite and elicited plenty of excited superlatives. The Takatsuki is a very clear and open tube with the widest and deepest soundstage. The top end has incredible amounts of air, which created the most realistic acoustic space among the tubes on test here. I found the staging to be slightly forward, with noticeable midrange projection, contrary to the findings of one of the participants who felt that it had recessed soundstaging.

It had less tonal density and heft compared to the Elrog, and careful matching is required to avoid excessive brightness. Otherwise, it was the clear leader in terms of detail retrieval, imaging and soundstage precision. The crowd begged for the Valvo Heerlen 12AX7 to be put in place of the Telefunken (more details below), but I politely declined to maintain a consistent test base for our shootout.

Here are the comments from the other participants:

"Big soundstage, airy, good extension of highs and lows, slightly colored compared to elrog. Suitable for vocals and recitals."

"Open, lit, detailed. Excellent soundstage and so holographic sounding."

"Voicing "behind" the speakers, incredible microdetail and filled out the space. Extremely holographic, clean, and refined. the Takatsuki opened up the sound and removed the ANJ flavouring."

By no means definitive but more in line with my experience vis a vis the open top end and resolution. FWIW.