Favorite 300B: Sophia vs KR

Phaelon,
You raise a crucial point, there are just so many variables involve when trying to evaluate{fairly) and compare tubes or components in general.I was highly impressed with the RP in my system(as I tried to express earlier). If the Takatsuki breaks-in much sooner than the RP that`s an obvious advantage toward the Takatsuki when comparing new versions of both.Although I did have a bit more preference for the Takatsuki,I could except the fact that when'fully' broken-in these two elite 300b tubes could very well be equals.Phaelon I certainly don`t doubt what you are hearing now with the RP.
Regards,

Sorry and with all respect guys, but who needs the tubes that have to be burned for 500-800 hours, are you kidding me? How many hours these tubes have left then? If they have 2000-3000 ( just an indication ) hours to live in total, well, 800 hours is way to long, imo.

Phaelon,

Many thanks for your post, this may change my mind about them, cos my pair have had 100+ hours only, however I don't believe that all feedbacks/reviews that been wrote about RP's, were based on pairs with that long break in, so, the question is, what kind of reviews are they then?

And for Sophia guys, they should mention that on their website, imo

THX

Maxmad, I agree 800 hours is crazy.

Hello Maxmad,
I wonder if the Coincident and Cary amplifiers differ enough to cause a difference of opinion with various tubes. Or could it simply be our different pair of ears? The RP did`nt impress you much yet I found them to be top tier in the 300b hierarchy. If they do improve as Phaelon has discovered then they are one of the very best 300b available IMO. I know longevity is amp depedent but 300b tubes last quite a while(perhaps 5000-8000 hours or more).

Opinions are all over the map when you read different forums concerning tubes.Someone will say the 'old stock' W.E. is superior to the EML, then another will resopond and state "in my amp the EML was clearly better than the old W.E." This goes on and on, with the number of variables involved it`s no surprise. For example, many people love the 'reissue' W.E. 300b but it was quite a disappointment in my amplifier. In your Cary amp or to your ears this tube may be great. At the end of the day it is pure subjectivity just as Phaelon pointed out.

Regards,

Charles1dad

Don't get me wrong, this thread is one of the best you can come across these days anyway and I am glad folks have the ability to share some of their collections I done have as well. How many people can compare differ 300Bs? Most of the guys just buy one brand available today and that's it, so, how possible for them to know? It's very expensive, but also very tricky, cos if you don't buy from trusty source, you can get lots of troubles, especially used.

Actually, I was referring to commercial reviews and not the one that been posted up here.

There is an possibility that I am going to try RP's again, but I am not sure yet.

THX