At home I use an AN (UK) Meishu Silver with WE 300b into Loth-X Troubadour 104 db speakers. Recently I was given an old Audio Note Japan Ongaku 211 (GE tubes) on long term loan which now sits side by side with the Meishu. I am in the process of making comparisons (very little rapid A/B switching, more long time listening then switch..this is the best way to see differences IMO) but it is quite interesting to be able to compare one make with two different SET arrangements. Interestingly, the first few weeks of testing show a lot less difference than I was expecting. The AN UK Meishu has a surprising amount of scale and better mids than the Ongaku, but the 211 additional output helps even out the performance throughout the frequency range. Given the price difference, the Meishu seems to be ridiculously good. We have an AN Tomei 211 (Elrog tubes) in our mastering studio which we use as a daily monitoring workhorse. It is fantastic, and being in an acoustically neutral environment where we are not thinking audiophile, but rather working, it provides a reasonable "control" reference. In conclusion (so far), a well executed 300b married with the right speakers will not be better, but can hold its own against the best 211 set up. Also note that if you are into tube rolling, one gets more tonal differences between 300B tubes than 211 tubes. So perhaps these WE 300B early reissues might be one of the main reasons the Meishu is up there?
Once you go 300b it’s hard to go back?
It’s been a while since posting here and total change in my system. I’ve been on the lower power trip and been using a first watt sit2 for years and rotating preamps. I’m now using Omega 1.5 Alinco speakers. I recently picked up a Line Magnetic 210, a 300b set integreted. I have been loving it. Barley pushing 1 watt according to the meter. Then I purchased some new tubes the Elrog 300b and EML rectifiers. Almost spending more on tubes than the amp it self. I have ignored responsibilities because it’s hard to step away from the music. Everything sounds wonderfully intoxicating. The simplicity of the integrated, and the lovely glow of sound coming from the tubes. I knew tubes could sound great but really impressed with an integrated amp.