Someone know something about quality & sound?
The price is very tempting.
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! 91,19€ | Fire Crew Golden Voice 300B Vacuum Tube Replaces 300BL 300B-T 300BS 300B-Z HIFI Audio Valve Tube Amplifier Kit DIY Matched Quad https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ex2n1AJ
The price is very tempting.
Just found this amazing item on AliExpress. Check it out! 91,19€ | Fire Crew Golden Voice 300B Vacuum Tube Replaces 300BL 300B-T 300BS 300B-Z HIFI Audio Valve Tube Amplifier Kit DIY Matched Quad https://a.aliexpress.com/_Ex2n1AJ
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I have no experience with the GV 300B but the construction looks very similar to the GV 2A3C.
This happened 3 times with the GV2A3C I ordered from AliExpress! The tube would work for a week and then fail in the same exact fashion.
Finally the AliExpress seller gave up and sent me a pair of PsVane 2A3Cs. That pair has been fine for the past 3 months.
FWIW, I've been using the PsVane and Linlai 300Bs for over three years with no problems.
This happened 3 times with the GV2A3C I ordered from AliExpress! The tube would work for a week and then fail in the same exact fashion.
Finally the AliExpress seller gave up and sent me a pair of PsVane 2A3Cs. That pair has been fine for the past 3 months.
FWIW, I've been using the PsVane and Linlai 300Bs for over three years with no problems.
I just bought regular 300Bs, nothing fancy. I chose Chinese 300Bs because I had Shuguangs from the 90s that had more flying hours than my pair of reissue WE300Bs, also from the 90s. The Shuguangs still test good but one of my WE300Bs died while the other is at the end of its life.
Granted the WE300B reissues were slightly more refined, however, I couldn't justify the cost. I'd rather put my money into quality iron and voice the amps with US made input/driver tubes.
The PsVane was from Viva Tubes, about $140/pr. and the Linlai was $160/pr. from a Chinese seller who's no longer registered. I purchased them during lockdown (late 2020-early 2021).
Since I checked my eBay history, I saw a pair of EH300Bs I also bought during lockdown. They both died soon after the 90 day warranty expired. I notified the seller but never heard back. I have a pair of Sovtek 2A3s from the early 2000s that are still going strong. They sound dark compared to regular RCA grey biplates. I found the EH300B to have similar character, while they worked.
Granted the WE300B reissues were slightly more refined, however, I couldn't justify the cost. I'd rather put my money into quality iron and voice the amps with US made input/driver tubes.
The PsVane was from Viva Tubes, about $140/pr. and the Linlai was $160/pr. from a Chinese seller who's no longer registered. I purchased them during lockdown (late 2020-early 2021).
Since I checked my eBay history, I saw a pair of EH300Bs I also bought during lockdown. They both died soon after the 90 day warranty expired. I notified the seller but never heard back. I have a pair of Sovtek 2A3s from the early 2000s that are still going strong. They sound dark compared to regular RCA grey biplates. I found the EH300B to have similar character, while they worked.
I haven't seen a 300B with guide pins on the base in years. They look like old Sovteks rebranded. I would stay away. If they're Sovteks, they were prone to filament failure. Also, don't buy 300Bs from eBay are any mass market site like Alibaba. I purchased two pairs of Psvane Hi-Fi from China on eBay. Two of them arrived broken, one loose from the base, the other with a dead filament. It was a nuisance to return them, though I did actually get most of my money back. I also had very bad luck buying EH Gold Grids from eBay a few years ago. Three out of four died after a couple of months.
A matched quad of Psvane Hi-Fi from Viva Tubes has been holding up okay, at least they weren't broken from the start. Psvane is now selling their new Horizon line direct on Amazon in the US. They are said to be matched and burned in. Don't know if they are available in Europe.
A matched quad of Psvane Hi-Fi from Viva Tubes has been holding up okay, at least they weren't broken from the start. Psvane is now selling their new Horizon line direct on Amazon in the US. They are said to be matched and burned in. Don't know if they are available in Europe.
Found same on AliExpress, ordered the 300B+ for $140/pair. Running as drivers in front of 845 ouput tubes in a Willsenton R800i 845. Have 50+ hours on them. Swapped out a pair of Gold Lion PX300Bs.
Honestly, I really like them, second stage driver not as distinct as signal tubes or output tube in a signal chain, but compared to the Gold Lions, more bass, stronger midband on male and female vocals, acoustic guitar, etc., treble about same. Gold Lions “smoother” more linear, and slightly taller, deeper soundstage. I would describe GV as warmer and the Gold Lions as more transparent.
We’ll see about longevity, the Gold Lions are 2 years old and 100+ hours with no trouble. GV has several grades all the way up to WE replica, and WE Plus, but $$$. Too expensive to experiment with an unknown brand. So far so good with the 300B+.
Also have a Cary Audio 300B SEI LX20 running KR 300B XLS @ $1,000/pair. Clearly no comparison to Gold Lions or GV. Different amp, different sound signature, simply superb. As far as 300Bs go, I’ve found the Gold Lions a good choice absent jumping up to WE, KR or EML. So why have I kept the GV in? I really like them.
Honestly, I really like them, second stage driver not as distinct as signal tubes or output tube in a signal chain, but compared to the Gold Lions, more bass, stronger midband on male and female vocals, acoustic guitar, etc., treble about same. Gold Lions “smoother” more linear, and slightly taller, deeper soundstage. I would describe GV as warmer and the Gold Lions as more transparent.
We’ll see about longevity, the Gold Lions are 2 years old and 100+ hours with no trouble. GV has several grades all the way up to WE replica, and WE Plus, but $$$. Too expensive to experiment with an unknown brand. So far so good with the 300B+.
Also have a Cary Audio 300B SEI LX20 running KR 300B XLS @ $1,000/pair. Clearly no comparison to Gold Lions or GV. Different amp, different sound signature, simply superb. As far as 300Bs go, I’ve found the Gold Lions a good choice absent jumping up to WE, KR or EML. So why have I kept the GV in? I really like them.
Hello Felipe,
I have some quite good experience with the Linlai 300B versions with titanium coated plates. After they had become available in Europe I built an amp where I wanted to see how much I could push them - just as Titanium is quite an effective high temperature getter in high vacuum - which should result in increased vacuum (better stability and longevity), just when applied to the hot anode surfaces. Linlai named them 7300B-D. I also like their egg-shaped bulbs. 🙂
So I built this amp as a class AB2 layout to be able to push the 300Bs up to the grid current region at peak power - also, I ran them very hot for the first 1000 hours (470V @ 80mA), then I stepped down to 60 mA. In the meantime, the amp has run for about 1500 hrs (each of my amps has an hour counter, so I can tell quite exactly).
Just recently I had to exchange one tube - the rightmost tube, which showed quite early already an intense brown deposit (contaminations) on the glass bulb - emission was decreasing, maybe due to some emissive layer intoxication by too much contamination? But 1500 hrs at full plate load already is not that bad, I think. The other three tubes continue to run perfectly fine, I don't remember having to re-adjust bias currents, so they are very stable. All supply voltages (plate, too...) are stabilised (glowtubes + Mosfet regulation). So the next mark is 2000 hours.....
The amp is an all-triode-design. 14S4 input stage, 14F7 LTP phase splitter, Linlai 6SN7-D voltage and UL44 current driver, galvanically feeding the 7300B grids from the UL44 cathodes. The Loktal tubes are system equivalents to 1/2 12SN7 and 12SL7. Sound is extremely smooth, I like it a lot. So far I didn't try any other 300B versions.
I bought the Linlai 7300B-D tubes from BTB elektronik: https://btb-elektronik.de/en/produc...series-linlai-ti-anode--factory-matched-pair/
the 6SN7-D (also Ti coated plates) from Aliexpress. I've documented the construction a bit on my Insta blog @tubeampuli.
all the best
Uli