Best 300B

Jedinite, I recently purchased a pair of Coincident Frankensteins and had an opportunity to audition the Psvane TIIs, Ts, and HiFi 300B tubes. The Ts and TIIs were substantially better than the HiFis, but the difference between the Ts and TIIs was not significant. I was offered the Ts at a discount relative to the TIIs, which was a no brainer. They were subtly different, but I didn't have a clear preference for either, so I went with the Ts based on price.
I was told both the Ts and TIIs were substantially better than the Shuguang Black Treasures.

How the Ts compare to the Sophia RP and Takatsuki 300Bs, I can't say. I asked a fellow whose opinion I respect and he advised sticking with the Ts, which surprised me, in view of the glowing praise you hear regarding the RPs and Takatsukis. Once one gets up to 1K and above for a pair, it gets to be a pretty expensive experiment.

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!

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!

There are obvious problems associated with execution of the following proposal, but it almost seems as if there could be a huge demand for a vacuum tube lending library, or perhaps a tube co-op. I'd be willing to spend 1-2K on a pair of 300Bs, but I would certainly like to have assurance that I have invested in the tube that I found most satisfactory. I know some of you have a couple of flavors that you retain and use on a regular basis, but not many people are going to pony up for a pair of NOS WEs, an EML, Sophia RP, a WE replica, etc, just to run the experiment.

GSM, I'm not surprised. It is hard to think that one could operate a business that way, but a consortium of trusting and trustworthy gentlemen might be feasible, provided the proper safeguards are built in. I suggest we all let this idea simmer on low for a while. There may be a kernel of a good idea here. Charles is right, there are indeed some excellent folks on this site. I could see a number of ways this might work. Tube time-sharing, anyone? The League of Extraordinary Tubes? Triodes R Us? The Brothers Kinklesstriode?

Charles, I would have pegged you for a Brothers K. kind of guy.

Anyone heard anything lately about release of the Elrog 300b tube?