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I have the money, I am ready, and really want to pull the trigger. I have dreamed about WE 300B for years. But gee whiz, $3k vs $800 for a quad of 300B. I have been running the same set of Genalex for years and they are running strong and sound good. Will a modern production of Western Electric last so long and sound so much better than the Russian tubes that there is no question they are worth it?
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I have tried reissue WE, Takatsuki, Shuguang (came stock with the amp), and TJ mesh plate. I got a Line Magnetic 210 IA in 2020 or 2021, so my experience is limited to that amp and that time frame, but to my ears in my room with my system, the WE are what I prefer. By a large margin. Bought an extra new pair as back ups because I liked them so much more than the others.
I use the 300B amp with approx 100db sensitive EV Sentry IVB horn speakers.
Only caveat to this is that my workhorse amp has been an ASL Orchid 2a3 amp manufactured and modded at the turn of the century. It's in the shop getting necessary maintenance as well as a capacitor upgrade. When I get that amp back, the 300B is going back in the guest room. As far as 2a3, to my ears (same system, room, and speakers described above) the WWII or earlier era RCA (especially the ones that look like they have a tar-like coating on the plates instead or bare or shiny metal) are the "magic" tube to me, even more so than the reissue WE 300B.
Don't mean to start that debate over again!
For me, as far as 300B goes, the reissue WE was definitely worth the extra cost. If you have an amp that uses the 310A as driver tubes, I also found the original WE tubes to be similarly worth the extra cost in terms of extra smiles per song...-.
Having gone thru different amplifiers using 300B tubes (Cary 805 AE ,then AN Conquest Silver Signatures),I found a particular fondness for the Audio Note 4300B.It was impossible to use these in the Carys.Couldn't hold their bias after a few days.Same installation in the Cary,the WE re-issue sounded "dark" and would have driven me crazy waiting for the top-end to open up.The Sophia Royal Princess had the better top end and transparency.These were also the most stable in the 805s and my friend (who now owns them) confirms their reliability.
Back to the AN 4300.What this tube requires is an auto-bias circuit.They are perfectly at home in the AN amplifiers and allow them to strut their stuff.
Most of the affordable 300B tubes that I listened to either didn't have the transparency or imposed a grain structure over the music-especially in the upper frequencies.
YMMV !
If you have a top flight amp, just get a WE set and compare. Sell them for minimum loss if you don't like them.
Edits: 07/04/24
Not very impressed
It was only a short time ago that particular person was asking and learning how tubes work. Now they're qualified to compare them. SMH.
That's more of a commercial for various vendors and tubes than a real unbiased review. But people love to watch youtube videos and for some reason believe they are candid and unbiased.
I've run Genalex, TJ Full Music 300B/n, Shuguang and Electro Harmonix. All slightly different but still 300Bs under the hood. A lot less money. I think it totally comes down to the electricals under the hood. The output tranny, what kind of rectifier and everything else. No reason to spend a fortune for current 300B types. Mix them up and see what sounds better to YOUR ears. You might be quite happy with the sound while saving a chunk of change!
I've played around a bit and found the Genalex to be a good bit superior to the JJ and various Chinese variants I've tried. Which is why I thought the WE might offer a real sonic improvement. Maybe not though, which is why I'm asking. Thanks for the thoughts.
I have pairs of JJ 300Bs and the new WE 300Bs. To be honest, I have been preferring the JJs due to their totally unaggressive mid-to-upper-mid presentation compared to the WEs, which can get slightly "crunchy" -- in my setup -- to my ears.
I will, of course, go back to the WEs for another listen at some point.
Your Mileage May Vary.
I keep a small stable of matched pairs of different make to just turn things around. They are so close. But I get used to their sound and then bored so I mix it up. I play music, and they are used for video as well. For me, tubes are an everyday thing.
Just a reminder: The WE 300B was released in 1937 and they were predominately used to power the telephone system. They were installed in systems expressly designed to run 24/7/365 with reliability and stability in the forefront of their operating parameters. Thus came the expected 40,000 hour survival rate.
There was no competition. Now we are all benefiting from the tooling being sold to Russia, China, Slovakia and Japan since they are making these little beasties again purely due to market forces.
...and we are still farting around with vacuum tubes! What a world!
Well functioning output tubes of the same type are very hard to distinguish between brands. The high dollar stuff of the past had more to do with durability than sonic nuance. The original WE 300b tubes were very durable and long lived.
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