Elekit TU-8600S. Best 300B’s?


Just finished building the Elekit TU-8600S kit.  Got the “cheap(er)” Cossar 300B’s with it, just in case I made a mistake and blew up the tubes.

Candidly I’m shocked how good this amp sounds.  Soundstage is wide and deep, SQ is very detailed and transparent.  Drums sound like drums, organ pedals shake the room.

The question is, are the new Western Electric 300B’s enough of an upgrade to be worth $1,500/pair, or is there more bang for the buck with another tube?

 

 

dougthebiker

Excellent question. I'll keep my eye on this thread.

However, I encourage you to put the idea of tube-rolling your amp out of your mind for a while. Enjoy that sumbitch the way it is, 'cause it's gonna be awesome. And constantly obsessing about what to tweak and what tube to roll might only lead to more questions like "have these new tube burned in long enough?" or chin-stroking in order to be able to declare that some other tube is better. 

I'm pretty sure that the the WE's would sound different. Probably better. There are many options out there. Apparently, most of them are excellent. But there are more 300B tube options available now than ever before in human history (can you imagine that!?) and nobody that I know has reviewed and compared them all. At most, they've compared a few and arrived at their own conclusions. But the human mind has a way of impacting our perceptions and rationalizing our thinking to protect us from feeling bad. I'm not saying others are wrong in their assessments of the various 300B options. I'm not saying that more $$$ doesn't buy better performance. I'm simply suggesting you've got a cool new amp and you should enjoy it without distracting yourself with "what if this tube sounds better" kinds of questions. 

@markusthenaimnut I'm with you there!  Loving the Elekit 300B amp.  Reveals everything my sources have to give.

But I always like to have a spare set of tubes on hand, especially since I'm going to sell my old monoblocks now, since the Elekit is so much better.  And if I'm going to buy more tubes, I'd like them to be endgame quality - but I don't want to spend twice as much for 5% better SQ.

Unfortunately, the only way to know is to buy the WE tube and try it.  Even if nine out of ten prefer it, personal taste or system synergy may put you in that minority group.  If you do like the WE tube, it should be your primary tube; why not enjoy the best first, and why waste the 5-year warranty sitting in the closet?

By the way, I’ve heard the Elekit amp and it sounds very good for not much money. On top of thar, you get the satisfaction from building it yourself.  Also, an itch to upgrade can be satisfied by buying and installing upgraded parts.

I would pick up some of the LinLai/Cossor 300B's while they are still available @ a reasonable price - as you like the sound.

With 12au7's as drivers you can have fun rolling them - plus the input/12ax7.

 

DeKay

Took the plunge and got the new Western Electric 300B’s from the Georgia plant.

All I can say is Whoa!

I thought this amp was great before.  The difference now is I can’t stop listening.  Every track I play makes me think of another I just have to hear with the new tubes.

And given the 5 year warranty, they are a long-term bargain.

Highly recommended!

 

 

 

 

That's great to hear....   I have a pair coming with my Toolshed 300b.    $1500 is a lot of coin, but it sounds like they are worth it.  I've heard nothing but great things about the Elekit....Enjoy

I'd suggest there is no single best 300B tube. All the premium/boutique 300B's have fair share of positive reviews, based on other's impressions I'm quite sure I'd be happy with any of them. The only issue I've seen with any of them is premature failure, and this may be an amp related issue, in that some manufacturers jack up plate voltages.

 

They all will be worthwhile upgrade over the standard grade 300B's. Upgrading power tubes in general is one of the most effective upgrades available, have major bearing on sound quality.