For sale here is one brand new matched pair (2 tubes) Grade B Classic 300B tubes with 30 days warranty.
2016 New: Sophia Electric Classic 300B tubes
Background about vintage WE 300b tubes
The Western Electric 300b was introduced in the 1930s and is known for its legendary and magical mid-range but there were 2 big drawbacks - a lack of high-frequency extension and weak bass response. These were not considered limitations originally because the WE 300B tubes and amplifiers were made for cinema voice reproduction. There was no need for anything above 10KHz nor a need for deep notes. However, the lack of resolution and bass weight is a problem in today's amplifiers and for today's music lover and audiophile. Over the years, Sophia Electric has addressed these sonic limitations of the WE 300b.
Brief History of Sophia Electric 300b
In 2001, Sophia Electric introduced the Princess mesh plate 300B tube, a design that has a great natural voice with superior high-frequency bandwidth and full body sound. It was an instant success. Mesh plate 300B tube has gone through multiple upgrades and the latest version is still one of the best-selling 300b tubes.
In 2005, Sophia Electric introduced the Princess Carbon Plate 300B tube to deliver a sonic character similar to the Allen Bradley resistor. The Allen Bradley resistor is known for magical mid-range and full body bass extension. It has proved to be a cure for thin sounding amplifiers and a natural choice for push-pull 300B amplifiers.
In 2011, Sophia Electric introduced the Royal Princess 300b that combined the best virtues from mesh plate Princess 300B (natural sound, high-frequency extension and big sound stage) with the best virtues from Carbon Plate Princess 300B (magical mid-range and best bass extension ever). Royal Princess 300B has proved to be the best of the best in 300B technology for the most desirable sound you would ever imagine. It is expensive, but it has proved to be the biggest 300B tube success story to date. The success of our Royal Princess 300B is due to the use of rare earth materials and the cost of these exotic materials has increased several folds since the tube was introduced. It has forced Sophia Electric to look back to the WE design of the 1950s.
Introducing Sophia Electric Classic 300B & Aqua 274B
After a few years of experiments and audition comparisons, Sophia Electric is proud to introduce Classic 300B tubes to the audiophile community. The Classic 300B has a unique blue glass but has the identical glass shape and metal plate structure of the vintage WE 300B. Most important, it has the soul and mid-range magic of the vintage 300B. To address the high frequency and bass limits of the original WE 300B, Sophia Electric has created a new rectifier tube - the Aqua 274B. The Aqua 274B will deliver exceptional high frequency and bass extension in the circuit to compliment the Classic 300B sonic character. Together this duo will produce the magical midrange of the original WE 300B as well as the high end extension and powerful bass response of a live performance.
Comparisons
How does this new Classic 300B + Aqua 274B compare with the current top of the line flagship Royal Princess 300B? The answer is that both achieve first class audiophile sound, however they have different sonic characters. The Classic 300B + Aqua 274B combination has the metal plate character for a more natural presentation (closer to mesh plate); the Royal Princess has the exotic rare earth material carbon composite plate for greater resolution and nobleness.
If you have listened to either the Royal Princess 300B or Carbon Plate 300B tubes then the Classic 300B + Aqua 274B will be a new, fresh and unforgettable experience.
If you have not listened to Royal Princess 300B and money is not an issue, go for the Royal Princess 300B.
The above discussion is for 300B single ended amplifier that Classic 300B tube is preferred to team up with Aqua 274B.
For push-pull amplifier design, the circuit itself has plenty of extension on both ends. Lean sounding is the problem for push-pull design, so that audiophiles seek to use oil caps to roll off the highs to make mid range more listenable. Thus, the Classic 300B is the perfect tubes for push-pull amplifiers.
User feedback:
Received date: June 28, 2016 |
Received date: June 20, 2016 |
Received date: June 9, 2016 My review after 100 hours: Voices, voices, voices! The new Sophia Electric Classic 300B tubes are fantastic for vocals. Comparing to my previous favorite pair, the “Genalex Gold-Lion PX300b”, it’s like lifting off a filter and invite the artist to my living room. When I close my eyes to listen, I feel that the Sophia Electric's sounds incredibly natural and kind of spooky. I never heard anything like this before. It is very important to give the tubes more than 100 hours break-in time. Right out of the box the voices did sound a bit hard, so be patient, it will sound better in a few hours. The soundstage is very detailed and everything is natural and warm. The Genalex are also very good tubes, I prefer Genalex for some instrumental classical music. As of today, Sophia Electric new Classic 300B tubes are my number one pair of 300b tubes (I have 4 pairs of different brand 300B tubes to compare with). Thanks for giving me the feeling of closer contact to the soul of the artists that I love. Music used for test “Classic 300b” vs. “PX300b”: |
Received date: May 25, 2016 My initial response is that the Classic 300B tubes have a quality that I find very appealing but I have only listened to some small ensemble and acoustic recordings. No Mahler, Shostakovich or Tchaikovsky yet. With my limited listening I have been struck by how human performances sound and feel. I hear not only all the things important to audiophiles like soundstage, tonal balance, timing, pace, etc. but I am aware of human beings creating music. This was most striking when I played the cd of Grieg songs sung by Anne Sophie von Otter. I not only heard her voice beautifully rendered but I could sense her human presence in the room with me. Her voice was more human than I have ever heard before. Jim, Washington, D.C. |