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The New Western Electric 845 Replicas

It is a little confusing because, while both versions are copies of the Western Electric 284, the Psvane WE845 Replica's are a copy of the 284 A, which was the first version. They list for $798 and have a street price of around
$700. The Shuguang WE845 Replica's are copies of the later and superior 284 D version. United Electronics copied the Western Electric 284 D in the 1930's to 1950's. UE dubbed their version the 845 W. The "W" stood for
"warrized", which meat in today's jargon that they were "ruggardized" for military purposes. The Shuguang's go for about $450 a pair, I am not sure of the official list price. In my opinion, they are priced backwards.
The Shuguang WE 845 Replica's are the best 845, which I have heard since the United Electronics W's of which I owned a pair. They are now the best reason to own 845 output based equipment. If you are listening to 300 B's in a push-pull circuit because you need the extra power, these new 845's represent a viable alternative.
845 equipment owners, roll the correct new WE845 in and rejoice!
I will be back after I get a chance to listen to the new Shuguang 211's, which feature the same top chamber that their 845's and UE W's do. Western Electric used the top chamber to remove excess gas, which is why it was featured on many of it's larger output tubes.
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trivema's avatar
trivema
84 posts
 

Have a Willsenton R800i 845 and upgraded stock LinLai HiFi series 845 to Shuguang 845B, the Amperex 845 replica. HUGE improvement. Smooth, powerful, linear frequency range with great balance and force. Realize the Willsenton is not a Cary 805, but also have a Cary 300B SEI LX20 w KR 300B XLS power tubes, and way too many NOS pre-amp tubes to roll into both amps. The Willsenton uses a 300b as a driver tube and competes well against the Cary. A slightly different sound signature since Cary’s output tubes are 300B, but the Willsenton holds its own when it comes to sonic delivery. The Cary with KR tubes @ $1,000 pair does have a heavenly midrange from 300b output tubes that no other power tube can match. 

Found a good deal on a pair of new Shuguang 845WE @ $400 pair which are on order, will report back once I have 100 hours on them. From what I’ve found on various sources, both Psvane and Shuguang 845WE are built based on both the WE 284 and RCA 845 construction. Psvane based on the 284A and the Shuguang based on the 284D.  Not exactly sure what the combo of WE and RCA means, the WE 284 had a molybdenum plate and RCA 845 had a graphite plate? The Shuguang 845B is identical to the Amperex 845 design, again a great tube @ $240 pair. Once the Shuguangs arrive, I’ll compare to pictures of WE and RCA construction. 

pindac's avatar
pindac
2,864 posts
 

@trivema I am a 845 user and not on a position to Valve Roll these Valve Types.

I have Valve Rolled the Input Valves to support the 845's with a very successful outcome.

Your own Valve Investigations are of great interest to myself yes 

trivema's avatar
trivema
84 posts
 

The first pair Shuguang WE 845 ordered never shipped, AliExpress issued an auto refund. The second pair ordered from different seller arrived, both broken and gettering white, meaning vacuum lost. AliExpress quickly processed a refund once returned, impressed with AliExpress!

There’s a little glass pipe tube at the top of the WE 845 connecting the plate structure to the top of the tube, I presume to strengthen the internals. Both were broken. I’ve read several threads where folks have experienced the same breakage. Seems to be a common problem. Undecided whether to order another pair. Frankly the internal construction of the Shuguang 845B looks to be much better. And I’ve found it to be an excellent sounding tube and very reliable. The 845B developed in 1998, the Nature series in 2012, and the WE in 2014. Maybe the last iteration just not as well designed or built.

The other option is the Nature series 845-T. I have a pair of Nature Series KT-88s that I run in another amp. Very clear, clean, transparent sound with good bass and treble extension. Internal construction of the 845-T looks to be less complex than the WE 845. Maybe it can survive the journey better! 

 

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