Not a different production line, but different selection grades.
Thats what has been always done for grading tubes, strong selection of the best production pieces.
If someone wants to buy bad tubes, buy cheap tubes.
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Because valves change over time. EML 300B keeps up a prolonged uniform listening experience compared to less expensive products. It is your choice to buy three pairs of cheaper tubes instead.
Do not misunderstand me, I am happy with my JJ EL34-II quad (€68) and do not want to invest in Sophia Electric (€600). Although reproduction is bettered the price difference is simply too steep for me.
Hello guys,
My Gold Lions died at this point after good year of use. It was filament failure...
Very disappointed
Amp is Tubelab TseII, 380v plate, 60mA...
What now?
At that moment I don’t have the money for EMLs... I’m afraid to buy Russians once again...
Do you think that JJ are sonicall on same lavel as GL?
BR
Goran
I strongly suggest you forget Russian 300Bs. They are poor for reliability. Filament has always been their weakness, despite they say it has been fixed. Now and then it reappears....
JJ 300B or good Chinese replicas are miles better for this aspect and also perform very well, if used properly. Do not believe what people say about comparisons with the usual uncontrolled tube rolling....
My favourite Chinese 300B at the moment is the Billington Gold Special Edition. These are the best measuring 300Bs of their Chinese stock, carefully tested, selected (for both measurement and appearance/construction) and guaranteed 12 months. Wholesale price is 76 GBP per tube. They are sold in matched pairs.
To get the wholesale price you need place an order which amounts to 240 GBP.
If spend less it becomes much less convenient because you must add +50%....
They have a huge catalogue:
Billington Export: UK supplier of electronic tubes and valves
JJ 300B or good Chinese replicas are miles better for this aspect and also perform very well, if used properly. Do not believe what people say about comparisons with the usual uncontrolled tube rolling....
My favourite Chinese 300B at the moment is the Billington Gold Special Edition. These are the best measuring 300Bs of their Chinese stock, carefully tested, selected (for both measurement and appearance/construction) and guaranteed 12 months. Wholesale price is 76 GBP per tube. They are sold in matched pairs.
To get the wholesale price you need place an order which amounts to 240 GBP.
If spend less it becomes much less convenient because you must add +50%....
They have a huge catalogue:
Billington Export: UK supplier of electronic tubes and valves
On the subject of Billingtons, I asked for confirmation of a price on a tube, which was listed as £10 and they quoted me £20. When I questioned it and pointed out the catalogue price they said they could "hold the price at £15 for me" adding the 50%. Make of that what you will.
I've never had a 300b fail on me, but I only use Rod Coleman regs, never AC, and I run them well below their potential at 2a3 operating points. I'd guess that the combination preserves them more than in some other systems.
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I had a look through the Chinese budget 300b tubes, and whereas in the past there were several variants, it seems that the two currently being offered are these:
Shuguang 300b-98
PSVane 300b HiFi
Has anyone used either, or can compare them?
I read one review of the Shuguang 300b-98 which was positive:
"Half the price of others, better sounding, over all, than JJ or EH. This is the “benchmark” tube that got stuck with the 7.5 rating by default. But the cheapest tube in the roundup is good, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment listening with the 98. This is the tube you’ll see shipping with any number of China-made 300B amplifiers. Shuguang has several grades of the same tube, in any case, this is a warm, musical tube with plenty of detail and lots going for it. 7.5"
Shuguang 300b-98
PSVane 300b HiFi
Has anyone used either, or can compare them?
I read one review of the Shuguang 300b-98 which was positive:
"Half the price of others, better sounding, over all, than JJ or EH. This is the “benchmark” tube that got stuck with the 7.5 rating by default. But the cheapest tube in the roundup is good, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment listening with the 98. This is the tube you’ll see shipping with any number of China-made 300B amplifiers. Shuguang has several grades of the same tube, in any case, this is a warm, musical tube with plenty of detail and lots going for it. 7.5"
Having looked online at number of varieties of budget 300bs, I see most of them have the same anode structure as the cheaper Shuguang and PSVane ones, long plates with 5 ribs and 4 holes just like the WE original.
The exception is the "mesh" or perforated plate 300b-N version from TJ and PSVane. This looks line the model to go for, according to reviewers who seem to like it quite a lot.
The exception is the "mesh" or perforated plate 300b-N version from TJ and PSVane. This looks line the model to go for, according to reviewers who seem to like it quite a lot.
Thanks. I have some EH. Could you compare the sound of that compared with the Shuguang?
It would be hard to compare because the Shuguang 300b was over 10 years old and it's not Shuguang 300B-98 either. There is nothing wrong with Shuguang 300b tubes except I like to get a new quad. It's amazing that the bias is pretty much the same when I check every year. The EH is very well balance between bass and treble and the clarity of vocal that I really like. There is a youtube guy that builds amp for his customers, he always use Shuguang 300B-98. I am going to listen to EH for 2 years then try Shuguang 300B-98. I also have my eyes on WE 300B but still think about it.
Do all the 300b-Z have mesh plates? Impossible to see in the photos because of the black glass. In addition there are a couple of different types calling themselves 300B-Z e.g.
Matched Pair LINLAI Z Series 300B-Z HIFI Audio Vacuum Tube Amplifier Classic New | eBay
1 Matched pair premium Shuguang Treasure 300B-Z Vacuum Tube Replace 300B WE300B | eBay
And is the "mesh" plate the usual perforated one, as in the 300b-N?
Matched Pair LINLAI N Series 300B-N HIFI Audio Vacuum Tube Amplifier Classic New | eBay
And is "Linlai Store" in any way connected to Linlai or is it a rebadged PSVane?
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