Rec a 300B for Wavelength Cardinal Monoblocks

best bet would be to contact Gordon Rankin of Wavelength direct ... I BELIEVE there was a version designed specifically for the WE 300B but my memory could be faulty.

In any event Gordon most likely tried them with a number of 300B tubes during the development process

I have a Wavelength Triton Blue NCE and I use Western Electric 300B's, I bought them in 2000 and they still sound good.
I also have Treasure 330B's and they are ok for the money but not as good as WE.

If you get a recommendation from Gordon please post it , I was thinking about trying another 300b tube

Jrinkerptdnet - Thank you. I will indeed be contacting Gordon before pulling the trigger on different tubes. And I probably should have mentioned that, as I recall, the 300B tubes in my Cardinals are the ones that Gordon prefers. I just now took a look at those tubes and cannot easily make out the brand name.
Best Regards,
Steven

Parts connexion has a sale on shuguang black treasures. I believe those to be your best bang for the buck. Lots of folks talk about the takasuki's being all that but the ones I heard weren't so great. I would rank them
Sophia RP
Shuguang BT
Takasuki
JJ
I haven't heard the EML mesh but there is lots of positive press on those. While the Sophia's sound great I would stay away from those as they are notoriously unreliable. Ymmv

Abill - I'll bet your Trition Blue sounds wonderful with those WE 300B's. One of the options I am considering is the less costly 300B tubes made(?)/used by Line Magnetic in some of their amplifier offerings. If I understand correctly, the LM 300B tubes are designed to reproduce (as much as possible) the sound qualities of the WE 300B's. But I find myself wondering if anyone has found a 300B tube they prefer over a WE 300B!

Analogluvr - Shuguang BT and Takasuki are two other 300B tubes I have read many good things about and wondered if anyone would recommend either or both. Thanks for those suggestions as well as the heads up on the lack of reliability of the Sophia's.

Hi Steven,
It's very possible Gordon Rankin may voice his amps with the W.E. 300b and thus it 'may' be your best choice. I believe certain amplifiers sound better with certain tubes. My ranking of 300bs differs from what others have posted here. I use the Coincident Frankenstein MK II which could require different tubes in contrast to the Wavelength (due to different circuit,power supply design,capacitors,transformers,wire etc.). The very best in my amplifier/system,
1. Elrog ER 300b
2, Takatsuki-TA and the EML XLS (excellent in my particular amplifier).

Next tier were the KR XLS 300B, Sophia Royal Princess and the AVVT 32B SL.
The reissue W.E.300b was disappointing in my amplifier but could be excellent in the Wavelength models. I have not heard the "vintage" W.E.300b. In fact the Shuguang Black Treasure was preferable to the reissue W.E. So different amplifiers as well as other sets of ears are major variables for ranking tubes. The Elrog in the Frankenstein is a sublime match. There's no substitute for actual listening which is what I did.
Charles,

Hi Charles - Thank you for your guidance on all of those tubes, many of which I knew nothing about. Completely agree that listening in my amp and in my system is the best way to go. Hopefully I can find "the tube" without too much $$$ lost to trial and error.

I suppose, since I started this thread, it is "ok" for me to briefly sidetrack it to share something of possible interest to you and others. A couple of months ago I first heard the most remarkable speaker, the first speaker that actually makes me want to replace my Solovox. It is another one from Auditorium-23 - the Cinema Hommage. If you ever get the chance to hear this speaker, I am confident you will be impressed. For me, it has all of the things I love about the Shindo Latour, the Solovox, and the Vandersteen 7 - all embodied in one speaker that is actually smaller than any of those three. It is quite costly and currently has a low WAF, but I remain hopeful!

Best Regards,
Steven

4musica44107,
I have not found a tube I like better in the Wavelength than WE.

I have also tried
Sophia RP - edges too soft.

I am thinking of trying the Elrog when available.

a sleeper tube that is good in my Wavelength is Shuguang 300BS for about $200.Make sure it's the 300BS.It looks like a mesh plate with a black coating.I got mine 4 years ago and I don't know if they are still available.

Has tighter edges and closer to stage than Treasure 300B.
The Treasure has a little more bass and farther from stage

YMMV

Abill - Thank you for your follow-up reply and tube characterization comments. At this point I want the best tubes regardless of the cost and so am leaning toward WE, but I also will do some research on all of the tubes recommended thus far, hopefully do some listening, and of course talk with Gordon to get his input.

Best Regards,
Steven

Any updates here? 

Anyone try Elrog or EML Mesh, or EML 300BXLS in their Wavelength?