Favorite 300B: Sophia vs KR

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

Does anyone know the expected lifespan of a 300b? Is it the same for the RP and the Takatsuki?

Gsm18439

I know of 2 manufacturers only who were open about the lifespan of their tubes and these are WE and AVVT. Not sure about WE's, but AVVT stated 40.000 hours.

Western Electric would usally say 'up' to 40000 hours with the old stock versions. I`ve seen a number of post where owners have used their 300b tubes(various brands) for 8-10 years and they still tested strong.Specifically regarding the RP and Takatsuki I don`t know.