I'm currently working of a Bottlehead Kaiju 300B speaker amp. I'm planning on upgrading the caps when I install the DC filimant upgrade later on down the road. For right now I'm looking for 300B suggestion to try out on the Kaiju. I already own a quite a few different pairs of the 5670 input tubes so I'm set on that front.
I am currently looking at getting a set of Mesh/Perforated Chines tubes. Like the Linlai 300B-N, Cossor 300B, Psyvane 300B-NSen and the Linlain 300B-T2. I've looked at the EML tubes but they all have a higher amp level than is recommend for the Kaiju. Anybody have experience with the Chinese mesh tubes? If so how did they sound/how reliable are they?
I'm also looking at getting a pair of Linlai E-300B, since I love the Linlai E-6SN7, or the GL 300B.
I'm willing to spend around $1000, in total, for the tubes so I'm also open to any suggestions
I am currently looking at getting a set of Mesh/Perforated Chines tubes. Like the Linlai 300B-N, Cossor 300B, Psyvane 300B-NSen and the Linlain 300B-T2. I've looked at the EML tubes but they all have a higher amp level than is recommend for the Kaiju. Anybody have experience with the Chinese mesh tubes? If so how did they sound/how reliable are they?
I'm also looking at getting a pair of Linlai E-300B, since I love the Linlai E-6SN7, or the GL 300B.
I'm willing to spend around $1000, in total, for the tubes so I'm also open to any suggestions
Also, Linlai says there E series tubes sold in West are different from those sold in China. Does anyone know if that is true?
I see I can get a pair of E-300B for around $600 off of Aliexpress but they have Chinese characters on it. Which according to Linlai has a different sound than the ones bought from western dealers.
I see I can get a pair of E-300B for around $600 off of Aliexpress but they have Chinese characters on it. Which according to Linlai has a different sound than the ones bought from western dealers.
These sound REALLY good and it looks like they have 1 pair left.
https://youdaelectronics.com/products/premium-shuguang-300b-z
https://youdaelectronics.com/products/premium-shuguang-300b-z
I recommend the JJ 300B. They're quite affordable by 300B standards.
I tried a pair of mesh plate 300Bs from eBay. They looked really pretty in the dark. Sadly one of them kept wanting to commit suicide by thermal run-away so I returned them to the seller.
Tom
I tried a pair of mesh plate 300Bs from eBay. They looked really pretty in the dark. Sadly one of them kept wanting to commit suicide by thermal run-away so I returned them to the seller.
Tom
I second the recommendation for JJ 300B, I have been using them for about 24 years - they have proven both reliable and good sounding. I have gotten in excess of 10K hours of service out of some pairs.
I also like the EML300B, but they are quite expensive, although much less than current WE300B.
Here is a link to JJ 300B, I recommend them over the EH and other Russian made variants.
https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/vacuum-tube-300b-jj-electronics
I also like the EML300B, but they are quite expensive, although much less than current WE300B.
Here is a link to JJ 300B, I recommend them over the EH and other Russian made variants.
https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/vacuum-tube-300b-jj-electronics
Buy used. 300b junkies buy every new type which appears on the market and sell the ones which are not up their valley which does not necessarily mean your" valley "won't like them.
WE 300b is awesome if you can swing the money. I'd advise not spending money on a kit which is not on the level to showcase the best tube. Soon enough you will be upgrading. Buying a mediocre kit is the worst of both worlds. Why not to buy a used amp with good iron and upgrade passive parts ? Being poor means that you have to spend money once. Not many times over
WE 300b is awesome if you can swing the money. I'd advise not spending money on a kit which is not on the level to showcase the best tube. Soon enough you will be upgrading. Buying a mediocre kit is the worst of both worlds. Why not to buy a used amp with good iron and upgrade passive parts ? Being poor means that you have to spend money once. Not many times over
JJ tubes are manufactured in Slovakia. They are a descendent of Tesla, short term survivor after the fall of the iron curtain.
The problem is the price they're quoting for honestly laughably small output transformers. You would be better off researching heavily into output and power transformers, a good 300b SE circuit (as long as you're okay with <10W), and then just grabbing some JJ 300Bs. I wouldn't spend $2000 on something that looks that pathetic, honestly.
I honestly don't know anything about custom building an amp. The most I've done is replace caps. So I wouldn't even know where to start as far as building your own would go. I was looking at the Elikit TU-8600. Is that also considered pathetic by you?
The Elekit TU-8600 sounds great and looks like a serious (if small) amplifier. There is also an option for Lundahl output transformers. I design and build my own gear but if I were in the market for a kit this is one to seriously consider.
Sun Audio out of Japan also has some really nice kits, but I am not sure what they cost these days..
Sun Audio out of Japan also has some really nice kits, but I am not sure what they cost these days..
They are small because it's a parafeed design. The output tube load is a plate choke, which is cap-coupled to a small but high-quality output transformer. This relieves the output transformer of having to handle DC current and allows for a smaller but better-bandwidth design. It's intentional.
Thank you for this information! I was weirded out by Bottlehead being called pathetic. Since I've only had positive experiences with there kits.
There's nothing "pathetic" about Bottlehead kits, IMO. They are cleverly designed and use high-quality components. OTOH, I have an Elekit 8600 right here, on loan. It is very quiet, very clean, and has excellent bass. But I also find it uninteresting. It's a well-designed kit, also with quality parts, but I feel as though they have tried too hard to make it "clean" and quiet at the expense of musical excitement.
My main concern with the Elekit, and why I ended up choosing the Kaiju over the Elekit, was it constantly being called clean and tight. I was worried it would be to similar to a solid state amp and I would lose out on the whole tube flavor I am looking for in an amp.