[magiccabbage]

 
My mate Tony got a set of the 300B. They blew up. He sent them back and they replaced. They blew up again so they went in the bin. They last 2 days at a time.
 
He said when they weren't blowing up they sounded average.
 
He's now running the Tak 300B's with no issues.
 
I wouldn't put a Chinese tube in my amp. They have a bad reliability history.

They are Chinese? really? didn't know that. Is tony the guy thats always blowing stuff up.  

 

[jerick70]

They are Chinese? really? didn't know that. Is tony the guy thats always blowing stuff up.  

Sophia is an American company that sources their tubes from China.

www.hifiwigwam.com/sophia-electric-royal-princess-300b-output-tube-an-examination-of-provenance-quality-and-production-costs-in-the-murky-world-of-audio-tube-manufacture/

 

[Badas]

  They are Chinese? really? didn't know that. Is tony the guy thats always blowing stuff up.  

Yeah! He has had bad luck. Always with Chinese tubes. 300B's from other parts of the world work fine. EML and TAK.
 
I had a set of TJ's Full music 6SN7 drivers which are Chinese. They lasted 2 sessions and blew up also. I wouldn't touch a Chinese manufactured tube ever again.

 

[MIKELAP]

 

  Anyone heard the new sophia electric 300b classic or the new aqua 274b? 

My mate Tony got a set of the 300B. They blew up. He sent them back and they replaced. They blew up again so they went in the bin. They last 2 days at a time.
 
He said when they weren't blowing up they sounded average.
 
He's now running the Tak 300B's with no issues.
 
I wouldn't put a Chinese tube in my amp. They have a bad reliability history.

Get your 596 rectifiers yet? I really like them. Compare them to your SS rectifier ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

[Badas]

  Get your 596 rectifiers yet? I really like them. Compare them to your SS rectifier ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Yip. I've got 4 of them. No adapters yet. The adapters on the way. I will compare to the SS rectifier and the Tak 274B when they arrive.
 
To be honest I'm having a hard time turning the Woo on anymore.
I finally installed my dream SS amp (Violectric V281) and it destroys the WA22 in every way possible.
 

 
I'm really wrestling with the thought of tubes. I can't hear any advantages.

 

[MIKELAP]

 

  Get your 596 rectifiers yet? I really like them. Compare them to your SS rectifier ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Yip. I've got 4 of them. No adapters yet. The adapters on the way. I will compare to the SS rectifier and the Tak 274B when they arrive.
 
To be honest I'm having a hard time turning the Woo on anymore.
I finally installed my dream SS amp (Violectric V281) and it destroys the WA22 in every way possible.
 

Let's say its a different flavour 

 

[Badas]

  Let's say its a different flavour 

Problem is it's a considerably weaker flavor. Then it comes with all the hassles of tubes.

 
 
Every sound aspect of the V281 is better.
 
Treble is sweeter with more treble detail. Not energized or spitty (nor is the WA22 with the right tubes).
Mid-range. I thought the WA22 was better 6 months ago when I did the shootout. Not so. The V281 sounds fuller.
Bass. No contest. SS kicks tubes butt. More and better defined.
Holographic effect. About the same or V281 is slightly better. I have very holographic tubes installed on the WA22.
Soundstage. No contest. V281.
Noise floor level. V281 by a mile. At 100% volume there is no noise.
 
So it's every aspect.
 
I've been a big tubes guy for a while now. However now I have to admit tubes are beat.

 

[2359glenn]

 

  Let's say its a different flavour 

Problem is it's a considerably weaker flavor. Then it comes with all the hassles of tubes.

 
 
Every sound aspect of the V281 is better.
 
Treble is sweeter with more treble detail. Not energized or spitty (nor is the WA22 with the right tubes).
Mid-range. I thought the WA22 was better 6 months ago when I did the shootout. Not so. The V281 sounds fuller.
Bass. No contest. SS kicks tubes butt. More and better defined.
Holographic effect. About the same or V281 is slightly better. I have very holographic tubes installed on the WA22.
Soundstage. No contest. V281.
Noise floor level. V281 by a mile. At 100% volume there is no noise.
 
So it's every aspect.
 
I've been a big tubes guy for a while now. However now I have to admit tubes are beat.

Does it sound better then Tony's amp with Tak 300Bs in it.

 

[Badas]

 
Does it sound better then Tony's amp with Tak 300Bs in it.

I haven't heard Tony's amp with my DAC or HP's. Only with his insane Bricasti DAC and his HP's. HE-6, Utopia and Ether Flow.
I would suspect that Tony's 300B amp beats the V281 with the right 300B's.
 
His preferred method is using the Ether Flow directly from the DAC. No amp used at all. I have heard this once and Wow! He also has the V281 and says that beats the 300B amp with EML plate tubes (not mesh). However he suspects the 300B amp will beat the V281 with Tak 300B's or EML 300B mesh plates.
 
He is burning in Tak 300B's right now. Early December I'm going over to have a listen. It should be good.

 

[IndieGradoFan]

 
I'm really wrestling with the thought of tubes. I can't hear any advantages.

 
If you decide to let go of some of your TS BGRPs, let me know. 

 

[Badas]

   
If you decide to let go of some of your TS BGRPs, let me know. 

Will do. I have 16 sets of them (32 tubes). I've been thinking I will never use them all.

 

[Badas]

  Get your 596 rectifiers yet? I really like them. Compare them to your SS rectifier ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 
What was the other tubes in your setup? I might setup a similar arrangement when testing the 596.

 

[MIKELAP]

 

  Get your 596 rectifiers yet? I really like them. Compare them to your SS rectifier ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

 
What was the other tubes in your setup? I might setup a similar arrangement when testing the 596.

596 ,ECC31/NR73 as drivers and 5998 as powers i find its a very detailed balanced sound  .Thats with Senns HD800S                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

[Badas]

596 ,ECC31/NR73 as drivers and 5998 as powers i find its a very detailed balanced sound  .Thats with Senns HD800S                                                                                                                                                                                      

That is a sweet setup. I might not be able to scrape up somethng as good.

I think I will use 596, TSRP 6C8G and 6BL7. It should be okay.

 

[davehg]

  Well, I may have spoke to soon.
 
The recently arrived WA5 is distorting in the right channel. I've swapped tubes and sources left to right, and it wasn't cured. The first time it happened, it took about an hour of warm up and the problem seem to disappear. I get a loud pop when the powering down too, and I also noticed when the amp is on and I am close to the rectifiers, I can hear a "rushing sound". 
 
I've swapped out different tubes too thinking it was a bad rectifier or 6SN7, but they work fine on the WA22, and swapping didn't cure anything.  
 
Any ideas? I hate to think this amp has to criss-cross back to Brooklyn for an assessment.

 
So I sent the amps back to Woo to assess, turns out there were a few things going on - one rectifier tube was bad, solder joints to the filter chokes broke off (likely occurred when the seller originally shipped to me) and Woo reinforced a few other solder joints just to be safe. The volume control was out of synch (left to right balance) so they replaced it, along with the power switch (which kept rotating when turned on) - these seem to be defects from the original owner's use as the amps were about 7 years old.
 
The repair costs were very reasonable - actually less than the cost of shipping both ways. A conversation with guy who sold me the amps leads me to be optimistic I will be rebated the repair and shipping costs.
 
A big shout out to Woo - they were super responsive and extremely communicative, on a pre-owned piece too. Mike and Jack were fast to respond to emails and sent me very detailed repair estimates complete with pictures, and Jack also recommended some sensible upgrades at very reasonable cost. He completed both the assessment and repairs within 24 hours of receiving the amps!
 
I've dealt with Woo a few times now on upgrades, recommendations, and now a repair, and their customer service is easily the best I've had during this hobby for the past 20 years. Now I just need to get those WA5's back here and hear for myself what I've read so much about on this thread.