Best 300B

Hi Brownsfan

Thanks for going into detail and explaining your experiences with the PSVane 300B T tubes. I was actually looking into the HiFi 300B tubes and the Shuguang Black Treasure tubes. I'll probably skip the HiFi 300B tubes now. The cheaper Sophia 300Bs interest me but am trying to figure things out what the differences sonically would be between the mesh plates and solid plates. I'm going to keep things under $500 per pair for 300B tubes.

Jedinite24,
These choices are difficult to make without actually hearing them in your own amplifier/system. It sounds like a cop out but there are ever present variables that determine final preference. In my SET I clearly preferred the Shuguang Black Treasure (BT) to the Sophia mesh princess 300b. Yet when Dick Olsher reviewed my amplifier in TAS he had the opposite impression (different system and of course, ears). I've been told that the Psvane Treasure is superior to the Shuguang BT. If so then the Psvane is very good and would rrepresent very good value. Makes me wonder how good the Psvane W.E. Replica 300b must be.
Charles,

Jedinite, no problem. An opportunity to audition a few good burned in 300Bs in a pair of amps you are about to buy is an opportunity to "treasure."

Charles, I envy you. You are only wondering about the Psvane WE replicas. I'm wondering about those, plus the Sophia RPs and your Takatsukis. Not to mention some telefunken 6922s I'm salivating over for my ModWright sony.

I now live just minutes away from the old WE plant. Oh, if only one could go back in time. Just think what one could have done in 1960 with 5K to invest in tubes.

As a boy back in OHIO, I had the pleasure of accompanying my Dad to a local electronics store, and remember well all the cool looking McIntosh and Marantz stuff, with tubes aglow every way one turned. Dad loved to buy tubes. Wish he had held on to a few of his rejects. Well, he did hold on to me, so I guess there is that!

Bill,
Keep in mind your Psvane Treasure 300b is no slouch by any standard. Three current production tubes I've heard in the Frankenstein that I'd consider premium level are,
Takatsuki TA, Sophia Royal Princess and the EML XLS.
The AVVT SL 32B is premium level but isn't current production (and rare to find used). Where does the W.E.Replica 300b fit in? Could be very good given other Replicas I've heard (101D and the 845).
Charles,

Charles, If I read a review of the WE replicas that suggested they were really in the same league as the originals, that would probably provoke a response. For now, I'm going to hold my cards on 300Bs. BTW, closing is scheduled for the house in TN and the one in Indy is on the market. Once the red clay dust is settled, and I've hiked about 10 lbs of lard off of my gut, I'll revisit the 300B question. I'm enjoying a euphoria of a different flavor right now. My feet are twitching for a good long hike!