[Wes S]

Since I have the PSVane CV-181-T-MII I'll be able to compare once Fedex manages to deliver the packahe

That's right, I forgot that was the exact one you have. I can't wait to hear your thoughts, and that should put that question to rest.

 

[reg66]

Keen to hear both of your impressions comparing the 2 (Apos Reserve and PSvane Classic TII)

 

[robo24]

They certainly wouldn't be the only company to design elsewhere and have manufactured in China. Audio Note UK says they've designed tubes but PSVane is the actual manufacturer.

 

[ThanatosVI]

They certainly wouldn't be the only company to design elsewhere and have manufactured in China. Audio Note UK says they've designed tubes but PSVane is the actual manufacturer.

Same for Sophia Electric, TAD, BTB and certainly many others

 

[TLO]

They certainly wouldn't be the only company to design elsewhere and have manufactured in China. Audio Note UK says they've designed tubes but PSVane is the actual manufacturer.

What do you mean by design? The construction is exactly the same physically...as for the sound tuning, you must have a R&D lab setup...with the investment and the know how manpower involved, I doubt many companies will go into this development if they are not into tube manufacturing....and when I said tube manufacturing, I meant you must have the support of OEM manufacturers. You can't turn profits by just doing retail....like selling some tubes to @Wes S and expect your production plant to survive...lol
If it is so easy as people thought, WE would have launched their 6SN7 1 or 2 years ago.....FYI, they have a working prototype ready and have sent them out to registered testers. Until now, they have not made any announcements on the launching.

 

[Designsfx]

That price of convenience is why concierge services exist. Give us a review. I’m glad I only have a Lyr+ so I only have to roll one tube. Imagine doing it with quads or more makes me wonder why people in this hobby aren’t homeless.

That would be me! Quads and octets- lucky me.

 

[Tom-s]

I only remember the release add here on head-fi. In particular this part.

• Fewer than 5% of the tubes commissioned for production meet our voltage, current, and sound signature standards

Still in the first post here (for now):

For me this was such a weird way of advertising.
Saying we have tubes that are generally not good enough to be sold. Or not “good enough” to be sold by Apos Ray.

When I first read this I thought someone should get fired in their production area. Since only 5% make the cut; 95% isn’t good enough. With that information I wouldn’t be all assured buying a tube from that 5%.
Sure enough 95% “production failure rate” was in line with their warranty terms.

The alternative being the Apos and Psvane are the exact same production line. They are then “selected” and badged accordingly.
That’s how I interpreted this odd way of marketing .

 

[Designsfx]

“and you can get a backup for it anytime you want if needed”.

Not so fast there- I have a pair of PSVane tubes (6CA7-TII) that I purchased thinking that finding another pair to make a quad would be easy peasy. No such luck- when the time came the answer was “we don’t carry these anymore” and “these aren’t made anymore”. Same with Sophia Electric- I get an email once in a while saying “we have xxxx available now” and then when you call it’s like “sorry, we only had 20 pairs and they’re already gone” or “we aren’t selling these in quads right now”. I would keep the set you bought in a humidor with a nice pillow below it- who knows what will happen next month or even tomorrow!

 

[LobalWarming]

Keen to hear both of your impressions comparing the 2 (Apos Reserve and PSvane Classic TII)

And finish up with the Linlai E-6SN7. The Elite 6SN7 from the quality people who left PSvane who previously left Shuguang.

 

[triod750]

I only remember the release add here on head-fi. In particular this part.


Still in the first post here (for now):

For me this was such a weird way of advertising.
Saying we have tubes that are generally not good enough to be sold. Or not “good enough” to be sold by Apos Ray.

When I first read this I thought someone should get fired in their production area. Since only 5% make the cut; 95% isn’t good enough. With that information I wouldn’t be all assured buying a tube from that 5%.
Sure enough 95% “production failure rate” was in line with their warranty terms.

The alternative being the Apos and Psvane are the exact same production line. They are then “selected” and badged accordingly.
That’s how I interpreted this odd way of marketing .

This would be how some C3g became C3g-s. Selected after testing. The tubes weren't marked 's', just the boxes. So you only need boxes marked 's' to sell them as selected.

 

[psy472]

This would be how some C3g became C3g-s. Selected after testing. The tubes weren't marked 's', just the boxes. So you only need boxes marked 's' to sell them as selected.

Let me get a permanent marker and write it on some of the tubes. J/king

 

[g0ldl10n]

This would be how some C3g became C3g-s. Selected after testing. The tubes weren't marked 's', just the boxes. So you only need boxes marked 's' to sell them as selected.

Good to know this is/was standard practice - makes me feel better about the new "spez" mark on a couple of my tube boxes which we were just discussing! They will sell for spezial pricing now

 

[triod750]

Yes, but the tubes that were marked with 's' ('S') on the boxes were legit when they left the factory. Then you could repurpose the box if you wanted to. They weren't manufactured for audio, or what we mean by audio. They were made for German Post.
So this was different. I was reminded of it by the testing/ selecting procedure claimed.

 

[Deleeh]

What we all don't know is what specifications the client gives to the manufacturer.
It doesn't matter whether it's Ps Vane, New Sensor or JJ.
If I say I buy 3000 tubes from manufacturer X but want it to be below the "5%", I as a manufacturer/seller/marketer/labeller am allowed to advertise this.
If the manufacturer does this but sells 95% of the tubes it produces under its own label or another label, this is just as legal.
Let's not fool ourselves.
Hoges, for example, was a labeller who had bought cheaply from Mullard, Brimar, Gec but the tubes were affected by a higher failure rate than the actual manufacturers.
Ultron also had its tubes manufactured by RFT, as well as in Russia, Asia and America.
They passed as a "German" brand to name just one more.
In the meantime, even Nos tubes have to be categorised, as in the Nos area as well as New Stock.
Westinghouse has a type that only fulfils the purpose, in New Stock it is Tad or JJ and many others.
Take Sylvania for example, they have a huge range of 6SN7's covering all areas from hweck to holy grail or bad boys.
In terms of new stock, it's not as widespread as it was back then, because a lot of things have died with it.
But why spend $1200 on a Brimar CV1988 when a Linlai Elite or Apos Reserve plays at a similar level?

At the end of a labeller's career you also want to earn something, that's also clear, if I were a labeller I would have done all the work that I roughly imagined.
And I have also pre-financed everything, logically enough, and there's no need to mention that I want to get my money back.
And if the review of the tube is very good, you should give it a chance if you can afford it.
On the other hand, I can understand the critical camp, such as those who bought Ps Vane and the like 10 years ago.
The reservations like failures, sound typically Chinese bright and garish far from a Nos tube ect...
The name then quickly became a target in terms of quality and such things.

I find it funny that only the Asian region is directly attacked as soon as something comes from there.
Apart from that, where does your household come from?
Theoretically, you'd have to throw everything out now.
No seriously, what about the Russian tubes running under Tung sol, Mullard were all big names.
Strangely enough, there are no reservations about them, although there would be some from a sonic point of view.
Apart from the fact that the manufacturer was heavily sanctioned for certain reasons and I'm sure there are some who read this forum, you see relatively few new things while the Asian region is braver and tries to be innovative.
Why don't we see any legacy Mullard or Tungsol tubes where they made it big back in the day, even though they had the plans and rights and probably the ability to bring them back to market?
I suspect that in Russia there is also something that severely restricts the manufacturer, be it personnel, material or other things.

In the end, it's up to everyone to decide what they spend their money on.
And having reservations is also okay, as are concerns.
But you should also be open to something new because it is not often that a labeler/seller here offers us something that could actually be very good.

 

[LobalWarming]

But why spend $1200 on a Brimar CV1988 when a Linlai Elite or Apos Reserve plays at a similar level?

If you're spending $1200 on a Brimar CV1988, you're spending it wrong.

Or do you mean a quad of CV1988s? If so, that means your amp builder is a financial sadist.

In the end, it's up to everyone to decide what they spend their money on.
And having reservations is also okay, as are concerns.
But you should also be open to something new because it is not often that a labeler/seller here offers us something that could actually be very good.

True. It's our wallets and ears. However, when one is accustomed to waiting 50-70 years to discover a choice 6SN7, it seems like cheating to get one only a few months old.

I didn't find the Shuguang CV181-Z particularly special, but perhaps these new 5 percenters are much better. Time will tell.