Tube rolling leads to Nirvana, or what?

RoadTripper · « **on:** 29 Oct 2019, 07:29 pm »

I have a nice 300b "Inspire" stereo amp from Dennis Had. It has what I assume to be run-of-the-mill (read: bottom of the barrel) 300b tubes whose name I've never seen in any review/collection of vaunted 300b tubes. If I were to roll way up to the top (Western Electric, assuming they are ever available) will I, without fail, notice a difference? Or will the joke be on me?

rollo · « **Reply #1 on:** 29 Oct 2019, 07:47 pm »

Yes it can. 300Bs are NOT equal. Just depends on sonic character of manf and how much money you are willing to part with. Takatsuki from Parts Connection is my recco.

charles

Early B. · « **Reply #2 on:** 29 Oct 2019, 11:19 pm »

Quote from: RoadTripper on 29 Oct 2019, 07:29 pm

Or will the joke be on me?

This.

Once you go down the tube rolling road, your brakes will seize up and you won't be able to stop. Does Takatsuki sound better in your system than Western Electric or Psvane or Elrog or Genelex? There's only one way to find out!

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #3 on:** 29 Oct 2019, 11:50 pm »

What brand are your current 300B ?
Constant tube changes can loosen the sockets pins and also your wallet.

RoadTripper · « **Reply #4 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 12:02 am »

It is called "Linlai Tube 300b"

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #5 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 12:26 am »

Propably Shuguang rebranded, you are displeased with its sound?

Rusty Jefferson · « **Reply #6 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 01:16 am »

Nothing sounds as natural as the Western Electric 300b. Goddess only knows if they'll actually be bringing them back as promised. Sure hope so.

Tom Bombadil · « **Reply #7 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 01:25 am »

I'm almost positive those are manufactured by Shuguang. Usually sell for around $65-$70 per tube.

Dennis must have tested them and liked them to some extent. He is not known to install low quality tubes in his amps.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 02:08 am »

It shows made by K&D Industrial in Place of Origin: Guangdong, China
Same provine that Shuguang
Shenzhen Hanlongjia Technology Co
https://kdindustrial.en.alibaba.com/product/60805412383-807359338/Amplifier_Vacuum_Tube_300B_C_Lin_Lai_Valve.html

JakeJ · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 12:58 pm »

Quote from: FullRangeMan on 29 Oct 2019, 11:50 pm

What brand are your current 300B ?
Constant tube changes can loosen the sockets pins and also your wallet.

Tube rolling can be a blast but can also lead to "empty wallet syndrome".

Have fun.

RoadTripper · « **Reply #10 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 02:04 pm »

Seventy bucks?? Isn't that about the cheapest you can get? What could be further down in the barrel than that? FWIW, I don't have anything to compare them with so saying I have no qualms about them doesn't mean much. My amp sounds like a nice amp. But what if I got something half-way up to the cost of Western Electric?

It could be, however, there really isn't much difference at all, bottom-to-top (of the barrel). In which case it would make sense for Dennis Had to economize on the cost of the 300bs.

jriggy · « **Reply #11 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 02:06 pm »

With a ‘top shelf’ pair of 300b’s, in general, you should get a more refined, less noisy / quieter noise-floor sound, probably better/farther extension on both ends than you are getting now...and possibly more dynamic and faster.

Due to great new DHT gear, like the Lampizator Pacific and the Vinnie Rossi L2 Preamp, there is a string of 300b comparison reviews out there from recently, that do a good job is sharing the finer differences between a handful of them... Find the newly extended L2 Signature preamp review and the Living Voice 300b vs T-100 review, both on 6moons, as well as a tube rolling article for the Pacific from Hifi Knights.

Granted, all this talk is for linestage/signal circuitry and not power but....

mhconley · « **Reply #12 on:** 30 Oct 2019, 08:28 pm »

I'll just leave this here...

https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-engraved-base-300b-black-plate-late-1930-s-matched-pair

Martin

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #13 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 09:26 am »

Quote from: mhconley on 30 Oct 2019, 08:28 pm

I'll just leave this here...

https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-engraved-base-300b-black-plate-late-1930-s-matched-pair

Martin

These tubes are very strange, they both looks fully brand new but are dated 1930s that are near 90 years old. I though the price was 1,995.00

I have many 6C33 and GM70 from the 1960/70 and they looks old.

Tyson · « **Reply #14 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 02:56 pm »

I will say this - the Gold Lion 300b is about the best one out there for a reasonable amount of money.

I recently got a Psvane WE300b which is their replica of the original 300b. I'll report back in a few weeks if it's worth the price increase.

Man, I look at those Takatsuki tubes or the Elrogs and they are just not in my price range. It'd be nice to hear them but I'm just not going to spend more than $1000 on a pair of tubes.

I'll also say this - none of the 300b tubes I've used sound bad. Even the really cheap ones, they all sound very good. But it is true that as you spend more, it gets better and better.

jriggy · « **Reply #15 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 03:16 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 31 Oct 2019, 02:56 pm

I will say this - the Gold Lion 300b is about the best one out there for a reasonable amount of money.

+1 Great start.

RPM123 · « **Reply #16 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 03:42 pm »

Check out the Sophia Electric 300b tubes, at different price points.

mresseguie · « **Reply #17 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 08:38 pm »

Surely, if a pair of tubes could command a price of $20k, doesn’t the technology exist now to exactly recreate the original tubes??

mhconley · « **Reply #18 on:** 31 Oct 2019, 09:46 pm »

Quote from: jriggy on 31 Oct 2019, 03:16 pm

Quote from: Tyson on 31 Oct 2019, 02:56 pm
I will say this - the Gold Lion 300b is about the best one out there for a reasonable amount of money.
+1 Great start.

+2 I have Gold Lion 300b's in my PSET monoblocks. They sound quite nice. I was able to pick up a matched quad for less than a lot of these boutique 300b's sell for as single tubes.

Martin

SET Man · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Nov 2019, 01:24 am »

Quote from: mhconley on 30 Oct 2019, 08:28 pm

I'll just leave this here...

https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-engraved-base-300b-black-plate-late-1930-s-matched-pair

Martin

Hey!

Well, at $20K/pr and still that doesn't guarantee they will sound better than other 300B tubes in your system.

I doubt that someone who could afford this would really use them. They are more like a museum specimen of audio world. Than who knows, they might ended up in someone's system in Japan or China driving some original giant WE horns speaker system.

Anyway, just want throw out two more companies that make 300B, KR Audio and Emission Lab. Pretty much hand made tube there. I have no experience with their 300B tubes, but I'm using KR Audio 842VHD in my amps, not quite a direct 300B replacement though.

Buddy