Favorite 300B: Sophia vs KR

I was able to find a quad of gently used KR 300B's to try in my VAC REN amp... so I'm out of the running for the mysterious megabuck Takatsuki's. A part of me is sad that I won't get to try them, but the money saved by going with the KR's makes it a bit easier.

If the Takatsuki's continue to get killer review's, I'll probably bite the bullet in a year or two just to see what I'm missing.

Looking forward to following the evolution of this thread.

Phaelon, congrats! What type of KR's you got, present production WE bottle type? Any impressions so far?

THX

Pdreher,
The KR is said to be a very good sounding tube.The problem is certain vintages have a spotty reputation for reliability. The VAC REN circuit(hot rod) is said to be demanding and tough on the 300b. I hope you got the good ones.Best of luck.

Pdreher,
I just want to second Charles1dad’s caution with the KRs. I was going to purchase them myself, but the distributor was admirably candid with me about their potential for finicky behavior, depending on the circuit application. So I had my tech take a host of measurements that KR recommended and was consequently advised that my amplifier would require modifications. That’s when I went with the RPs. Best of luck; I hear there incredibly dynamic when they work.

The Royal Princess(RP) is really impressing me. It betters the W.E.reissue and the Shuguang BT(my base line 300b). The RP is not embarrassed by the splendid Takasuki and they have similarities though they`re not identical. Both excel at the highest level at the frequency extremes.Bass is full weight , articulate,impactful,well controlled with natural bloom but absent of bloat and flab. Both tubes are with much upper frenquency extension and quite airy,very resolved but natural(neither is analytical,edgy or harsh).

Both are excellent in the midrange and posess full-realistic tone and body,detail is top level.Voices and instruments are just convincingly realistic very organic(not artificial hifi)

How they differ, IMO these two are uber 300b tubes but I find the Takasuki is just a bit more suave,smoother and refine(I`m speaking in terms of small degrees).The Takatsuki is perceptively a bit more involving and nuanced.I feel these two are peers and in the same uppermost hierarchy of current production 300b tubes.The RP is just a little bolder and upfront(not in a negative way) both are vivid and have excellent and just beautiful color saturation and simply wonderful overtones/harmonic preservation.

Maxmad did`nt particularly care for the RP in his Cary amp but I find it a great match with the Frankenstein. The Takatsuki is just that small but noticably better in the musicality-involvement area.

On a very strict scale where 70=solid performance and 100= absolute perfection.In my system I grade the following,
W.E.reissue =70(just did`nt impress vs the others in my amplifier)
BT=85(very good all around)
RP=93(excellent!)
Takatsuki=95 (sublime experience for me)
Best Regards,