Most neutral 300B

[JJ15k]

Hello, title says it all, I m looking for the most neutral 300b tube which is REASONNABLY priced (unlike those WE ones going for >500). I just got a chinese amp where a 300b drives a 845 so I don t want too much coloration.
Thanks for the advice
JJ

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

J'en connais pas de marques. Et en chinois, ça doit pas être facile d'en trouver.
Je sais en tout cas que les chinois se sont mis à en faire des bonnes.

J'ai un vieux cahier de l'Audiophile chez moi sur un ampli avec des 300B. Je regarderai s'ils mettent une marque et si elle existe encore !

[Mastergill]

You will hardly find a more neutral tube than the EAT 300B from www.euroaudioteam.com. Regular price in Europe is 550 € per pair but because there's no distributor in France i got them direct from the manufacturer at 500 € / pair. These are much, much better than the Chinese Sophia/TJ 'meshplate' that you can get for 300 € / pair. Neutral to die for with a bass reponse that puts the fastest and cleanest transistor to shame.

As a driver tube i don't know if it really worth to spend a lot for the 300B, you'll need also a pretty clean 845.

Anyway if you try them and don't like, i'll be more than happy to buy them from you.

[JJ15k]

Hm, 300eur a pair is kind of expensive,especially since I need a good 845 The electro harmonix ones are between 100 and 150 for the gold plated, does anybody know what they are worth?
Oh and if you have suggestions for the 845, I had trouble finding any advice on those.

[Ko Nectic Jazz]

Maison de l'Audiophile used to sell 300B called CHINA or SOUTEF.
It was for the Amplifier 300B Legacy. Anyway at this time, their were costing 800 Fr (120€) for one tube.

[JJ15k]

Well, SOUTEF or CHINA tubes no longer seem to exist..(on google at least )

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by JJ15k

Hello, title says it all, I m looking for the most neutral 300b tube which is REASONNABLY priced (unlike those WE ones going for >500). I just got a chinese amp where a 300b drives a 845 so I don t want too much coloration.
Thanks for the advice
JJ

Check out some 300B comparisons first.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/channel/ch300b/

http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/300b_e.html

The TNT audio review more closely reflects my own feelings, especially regarding Svetlana 300B and TJ meshies.

For reasonably-priced 300B, I really love Svetlana 300B over most anything. It sounds natural, neutral, detailed, and beautiful. Unfortunately, Svetlana 300B has horrible reliability issues, often developing red hot spots on the plates, leading to shorts. You do NOT want that in a high-voltage 845 Amp.

That seems to leave JJ 300B in the reasonably-priced arena, but there are different varieties of "JJ 300B," only some of which are highly touted.

Since you're using 300B as driver tube, you might like the TJ meshies, but I don't like how that tube sounds (read TNT article, which I agree with).

For money-no-object 300B, some will swear by the latest production WE 300B, and they may be right, but I'm sure you (and I) are not crazy enough to pay that kind of money for a tube, any tube.

So my rec, if you can find it, would be AVVT 32B, which I use currently. Built like a tank with extra heatsinks to take anything you throw at'em, but they will plug straight into a "normal" 300B circuit unlike other KR or AVVT super 300B's. What's more, it sounds like the proverbial magic cocktail combining the best qualities of solid state with best qualities of 300B tube. BTW, if you find some, let me know where...