Good, reliable and cheap 300B?

organ

Oh man, saw one of my 300B in my cdp flash (tube arc?) twice. Currently running Sophia Electric Mesh plates. The first time I was on the sweet spot and saw a flash but I thought maybe I'm just seeing stuff because I was very tired. About a week later I was very close to the cdp when it happened again. I had a JJ 5AR4 that did the same type of flash and died right away. My 300B's are still working fine after the flash, but I will not run them again. I did some reading on AA and they say, if a power tube flash, put it out of commission because it will only be a matter of time before it goes kaapuut. Only one of the two flashed. This is BS. They were $400/pr and only lasted 4 months of daily use (most of the time >12hrs/day). Oh well...

So anybody have experience with the EH300B? I'm thinking about that or the cheap Shuggies (<$200/pr). I had the cheap Shuguang on my 300B integrated, they sounded fantastic and they lasted. But never heard EH. Anybody heard them? Sound/lifespan?

Thanks

nguyendot

Dang that sucks... dunno however

zingo

The stock Shuguang 300Bs are decent tubes, but I've only used those, cheap Chinese no-name 300Bs, and the Shuguang 300B Treasure which I use now. Let me do a little digging for you...

BTW, do you have a pic and some info on your 300B CDP? I've got to see this thing!

zingo

I've also heard good things about the Shuguang 300B-98B / Mesh Plate which isn't too much more than the standard Shuguang 300B.

mhardy6647

Why does a CDP have a 300B in it? (not an entirely rhetorical question)

Unfortunately, I think DHTs are a little more prone to internal shorts than indirectly heated tubes. That said, the gen-u-ine WE 300Bs were profoundly ruggedized tubes built for long service (10,000 hour MTBF, if memory serves).

If the flash was instead internal arcing due to overload, changing the tube might not cure the disease.

I think that the cheap Chinese 300Bs are OK (*"ValveArt" was the name on them in the US back in the early days of the SET/DHT craze). "Cheap" of course is, unfortunately, relative.

organ

Nguyendot,
Yeah it sucks. Will probably be a while before I try another Sophia Electric tube.

Zingo,
Thanks. How does the Treasure series sound? Good thing you brought up the Shuguang mesh plate, I completely forgot about that. I may try that one. They're $50 more than the standard Shug.
I"ve attached an image of the cdp on the bottom.

Mrh,
I picked the 300B because it's my favorite tube when it comes to tone. They're just perfect to my ears. The cdp was built by Audio Zone. At first I wanted them to build me a tube buffer but the builder said it's better to use the tube section as gain, connected directly to the DAC. So I brought in my cdp (AZ prototype w/NOS DAC) and they went to work.
I'm very happy with the sound. This is my favorite source.

I don't think the flash was due to overloading (I sure hope not!) because when I talked to the guy who built it, he said the tubes are not being pushed hard at all.

Yeah, the Valve Art were the ones I had a few years ago. They were great. I'd love to have a pair of Western Electric but way out of my price range:(. Thanks for the help

mhardy6647

They certainly shouldn't be (pushed hard at all) in such a setting.

madmax

organ wrote: »

Currently running Sophia Electric Mesh plates.

So anybody have experience with the EH300B?

My preamp came with the EH and was upgraded to the Sophia Electric Mesh plates.

The EH is a little duller sounding and it is a little less open. The Sophia is superior.

organ

Thanks for the input. So I'm sure I will give the Shuguang meshies a try instead. Hope they sound good. Reason I can't spend much is because I have to buy 2 pairs. I'm also re-tubing an ASL 300B int. Why do 300B's have to be so expensive?:(

Oh yeah, I forgot one more thing. Hope someone can help me here. Is the 5U4G the same as 5U4GB? I heard the diffeference is the bottle style, but don't know if they have the same operating points or not.