[sebrof]

2A3 probably comes closest to the 300B. In fact I run JJ 2A3-40 tubes in my SET, and the 2A3-40 is JJ's 300B with a 2A3 filament.

The other tubes you mentioned are not triodes but Pentodes and Tetrodes.

[Emil]

2A3 probably comes closest to the 300B. In fact I run JJ 2A3-40 tubes in my SET, and the 2A3-40 is JJ's 300B with a 2A3 filament.

The other tubes you mentioned are not triodes but Pentodes and Tetrodes.

Ah, yes. Thanks
2a3 not enough power for me.

Subject line changed

[borism]

Another triode to consider is the Russian 6C33 "Mig-fighter" tube. In an SET amplifier it puts out up to 18W. I have a 2A3 SET (using the JJ 2A3-40) and recently bought an Almarro a318b SET using the 6C33. In my system in comparison there are no disadvantages and I see only positives (more dynamic and bass).

[BobRex]

The 845 has long been cited as a 300B on steroids.

[rockadanny]

Tho not done any comparisons with others, but my Audio Mirror 45 Watt SET monoblocks (pair of 6C33C in parallel on each amp) sound terrific to me. Clean, clear, depth, and enough power for my medium sensitivity (87dB) speakers.



 

[ArthurDent]

  rockad, so pretty, and with all that chrome lots of mirror too   

[targa02]

I agree Arthur!  Rockadanny's Audio Mirror is plain lustful!   

[Wind Chaser]

The 845 has long been cited as a 300B on steroids.

I find the 300b to be rather lethargic sounding, so the 845 would be interesting. I much preferred the 2A3 to the 300b. Despite its weaknesses, I think my overall preference goes to the SV83.

[rockadanny]

so pretty, and with all that chrome lots of mirror too

Rockadanny's Audio Mirror is plain lustful!

Agree, thanks! And at 42 lbs each, they're the real deal.

[sunnydaze]

The 845 has long been cited as a 300B on steroids.

Having not tried every SET flavor I'm no expert, but I've owned both of these and I much prefer the 845.  Gives the beauty, presence and palpability that SET lovers crave, along with a real healthy dose of grunt and drive.  And at about 22 wpc is able to drive many speakers that other single watt SET amps can't touch.

[Emil]

What about the Kt120 tube?

Thoughts?

https://trueaudiophile.com/audion-super-sterling-120-worlds-first-single-ended-kt120/

[FullRangeMan]

300B was king just in the audio press, til the PX25 have better sound than 300B along big triodes too. And EL34 and KT66/88 in SE are much better value than 300B in the Western tubes.

In the Russian tubes there is many great sound tubes as GU50 just $5 each a value well below its manufacturing cost price. The big tubes rank are this below according I realize along the years:
1) GM70/GK71
2) 211
3) 805
4) 813
5) 845
For further details you could read the Japanese book 100 Best Sound Tubes from the 1970s years, unfortunately I was not able to find this book so far, but a local audio reviewer mentioned the first place was the original Germany AD1 from 1936.

[Jon L]

I own/owned 45 SET, 2A3 SET, 300B SET, EL84 SEP and listened to many others, and in the end, it really does come down to the speaker choice. If you must use moderately sensitive speakers, then do go with at least 845 or 6C33. 
I have heard poor-sounding 300B SET and some great-sounding 300B SET as well.  When builders build them around warm-sounding tube rectifiers, oil capacitors, tone wire, etc, then yes, they will sound syrupy and lethargic.  On the other hand, some of the clearest and most dynamic amps I've heard have been 300B SET as well, properly mated to true high sensitivity speakers.

[FullRangeMan]

The usual old fashoned warm tube sound are most provided by the EI OPT, for a more transparent sound should be used an C core OPT as sucessful made by Yamamoto.

[SET Man]

Having not tried every SET flavor I'm no expert, but I've owned both of these and I much prefer the 845.  Gives the beauty, presence and palpability that SET lovers crave, along with a real healthy dose of grunt and drive.  And at about 22 wpc is able to drive many speakers that other single watt SET amps can't touch.

Hey!

    Yeah, there's something about the 845 tube isn't it? Beside the power you can get from a single 845 and sound it can reproduce, that glow, it got that old Sci-Fi feel to it. Hard to believe that tube came out in 1931! But man the downside, the heat! 40 watts just to heat the damn thing! Not a good thing to run in summer or if you are in the tropic places. A pair can turn your room in to a sauna in a hot summer months

I own/owned 45 SET, 2A3 SET, 300B SET, EL84 SEP and listened to many others, and in the end, it really does come down to the speaker choice. If you must use moderately sensitive speakers, then do go with at least 845 or 6C33. 
I have heard poor-sounding 300B SET and some great-sounding 300B SET as well. When builders build them around warm-sounding tube rectifiers, oil capacitors, tone wire, etc, then yes, they will sound syrupy and lethargic.  On the other hand, some of the clearest and most dynamic amps I've heard have been 300B SET as well, properly mated to true high sensitivity speakers.

   I'm actually a believer in tube amps with SS rectifiers. Well, after all both of my SET amps have SS rectifiers. Of course there's nothing wrong with tube rectifiers. And by the way, I still like oil caps, preferably paper in oil copper foil caps though.

Buddy

[FullRangeMan]

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[Docere]

When I think of an SET amp, I think of the 300B tube but I'm seeing manufacturers using EL34s, Kt150, Kt120s, KT88s you name it.

Assuming that the 300B is still king, what tube comes closest?

Any personal experiences here?

What would you like  to achieve? What speakers will you be driving? Rough idea of room size? What type of music and how loudly do you like to listen? Any preferences about how you like music presented that might help?

300B is a King of convenience... or maybe competence: good power (but don't run them >30W dissipation, less if possible), low rp, linear (low distortion), decent practical gain, sonics tweekable via operating points, and available in a range of flavours. Good solid tube.

Sounds slow? Yeah, lots of 300B amps do. I'd be looking at the amplifier circuit and build and tube manufacturer. Simply needn't be the case. I tend to agree with Jon L's take.

And yes, the 845 can sound dynamic in most any circuit - a trait of TT filaments. They are not all things to all people. A 300B on steroids? Not really.

It really depends what you are looking for. If I was looking full-range performance and needed 1.5-4 good Watts, I'd be in PX4 or AD1 territory. If I needed more power, an EML 1605 looks very interesting indeed.  If I needed a more widely available, cheaper tube, a 300B could be nice for 4 to 7 Watts, if you get the operating points right (I'm not talking classic points!). Maybe if I did not need to drive bass, a Type 50 would be okay. I'm moving away from IDH filaments in general so KT-120 & Co. Would not be on my list.

JMO.

[E55l2]

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[FullRangeMan]

I am sorry to say but the outputtransformers are not ideal in this set up. They have to have 2 coil to perform optimal. As an alternative there can be used a double c-core, that will increase the magneticflux losses but decrease the capacity losses

Iam not surprised, even the power transformer looks small.

[E55l2]

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