Has anyone bought the Psvane Acme 300B Vacuum Tube?

That said, I’m unsure how the Taks were more resolving, I’d never felt that across the 3-4 amps rolled my 300Bs around with.

@blisshifi , just my experience. Maybe because the amp was designed to use the Tak, but I can’t say for sure. I’d add that I only put maybe 50 hours on the EML before I went back to the Taks, missing the openness and extension on top. Maybe they never burned in. I'll swap 'em back in sometime when I get antsy again. :)

See, this is where @charles1dad ’s statement that 300Bs are system-dependent rings so true. I have the Taks and the EML 300B-XLS. In my amp, a Luxman designed with Taks, the sound is nearly the reverse of what @blisshifi experienced. The Taks are more extended in the highs and more resolving throughout, whereas the EMLs are more midrange-centric and bloomier, more romantic, with less openness and air. Both are excellent 300Bs but the Taks are the clear winner for me. In another amp, as Bliss reports, that’s not necessarily the case.

I have to say, I'm still sorely tempted to pick up some of the ACMEs, though. I have a pair of the 2A3s in another amp and love 'em. They're the best I've heard since AVVT mesh plates back in the early 2000s, which were glorious but unstable.

And then there’s this about the Tak from "The Quick and Dirty 300B Shootout" in Stereotimes, which included the Elrog but not the EML:

This was definitely a crowd favourite and elicited plenty of excited superlatives. The Takatsuki is a very clear and open tube with the widest and deepest soundstage. The top end has incredible amounts of air, which created the most realistic acoustic space among the tubes on test here. I found the staging to be slightly forward, with noticeable midrange projection, contrary to the findings of one of the participants who felt that it had recessed soundstaging.

It had less tonal density and heft compared to the Elrog, and careful matching is required to avoid excessive brightness. Otherwise, it was the clear leader in terms of detail retrieval, imaging and soundstage precision. The crowd begged for the Valvo Heerlen 12AX7 to be put in place of the Telefunken (more details below), but I politely declined to maintain a consistent test base for our shootout.

Here are the comments from the other participants:

"Big soundstage, airy, good extension of highs and lows, slightly colored compared to elrog. Suitable for vocals and recitals."

"Open, lit, detailed. Excellent soundstage and so holographic sounding."

"Voicing "behind" the speakers, incredible microdetail and filled out the space. Extremely holographic, clean, and refined. the Takatsuki opened up the sound and removed the ANJ flavouring."

By no means definitive but more in line with my experience vis a vis the open top end and resolution. FWIW.

@blisshifi , So I went and inserted the EML 300B XLS back into my amp, just to check the sound after putting them away for 8 mos. I have to say, you are correct about the brightness, even slight edginess on top. Interesting that this is because of being under-driven at 60mA in my amp. I also noticed how much more robust they are through the whole spectrum, especially the bass and lower midrange. I think this bottom robustness is what I was recalling as romantic. The Taks have a gentleness that is nonetheless quite resolving. And because they are more electrically "correct" in my circuit, they have a rightness of sound that gives greater depth and precision to the presentation. At least that’s my interpretation, and it’s what I was hearing as "more resolving." I can also understand how this aspect could be heard as more romantic, as you say. Anyway, just wanted to clear this up. I appreciate your knowledge and insight.