Tubes Asylum

RE: Genalex vs Western Electric 300B

69.53.55.248

mhardyman

A

In Reply to: RE: Genalex vs Western Electric 300B posted by Paully on July 02, 2024 at 21:46:19

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!

Follow Ups:

RE: Genalex vs Western Electric 300B - Paully 14:00:36 07/04/24 (2)
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.
- RE: Genalex vs Western Electric 300B - Tom 09:37:14 07/05/24 (0)
  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.
- RE: Genalex vs Western Electric 300B - mhardyman 14:25:43 07/04/24 (0)
  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!
Agree, your gain/driver section has 90% of the sonic impact tube wise. - Chip647 07:59:27 07/04/24 (0)
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.

Post a Followup:

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?

Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
	Remember my Moniker & Password (What's this?) Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:

Message:	(Posts are subject to Content Rules)

Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:	Automagically notify you when someone responds.

To view your new posting or follow-up, click on the RELOAD or REFRESH button on your browser.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.