Anyone try the NEW 300B Tubes from Western Electric? Worth the Money? Better or Different than older Ones?

cjfrbw

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Apr 20, 2010
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You forget the first principle of High End Audio: if it is merely cheap and effective, it isn't worth the money.
 
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cjfrbw

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Apr 20, 2010
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This device has no audio function whatsoever, but audiophiles insist THEY WANT ONE!

On the subject of new WE300b, they have (from internet blather) been reported to be nice tubes, but not close to the 'magic' of the original ones, and with some reliability issues.
Screen Shot 2020-04-10 at 10.43.28 AM.png
 

caesar

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May 30, 2010
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Yes, I think the bases had cracks in the prior generation of 300B tubes. So I am wondering if you are referring to that generation or the new generation.

I know Western Electric is way behind but just started shipping the newest ones. Would be a shame if they got it wrong right in the beginning.

https://www.westernelectric.com/products/300b.html
 

caesar

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May 30, 2010
4,290
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This device has no audio function whatsoever, but audiophiles insist THEY WANT ONE!

On the subject of new WE300b, they have (from internet blather) been reported to be nice tubes, but not close to the 'magic' of the original ones, and with some reliability issues.
View attachment 63839

Yes, guys swear by the ones from the late 30s. But heck, as much as I am crazy about audio, I'm not dropping $20K on a pair of tubes.
 
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caesar

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May 30, 2010
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Bump! My understanding is that Western Electric has finally started shipping the 300B tubes from their facility in Georgia.

Has anyone tried and compared them to any of the previous generations of 300B tubes?
 

bodhisattva

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Dec 5, 2020
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bump -- i too am interested to hear if there are any who have the most recent/current 300Bs from WE.
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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I am using a pair in my Lampizator Pacific. After about 150 hours the midrange is sounding great. The bass was pretty tight after 50 hours. The high end is still changing but it already sounds very good.
 

Tinear1

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Aug 24, 2019
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I received and installed a new pair of WE-300B's a couple weeks ago and have ~ 40hrs on them in my Coincident Frankenstein 300B monoblock amplifiers. My previous tubes were the Psvane Acme-300B's which are superb in my system. So, how do I like the WEs? They certainly have more air with more and tighter low end than the Psvane Acme. So if you are keeping score better at both frequency extremes. The area I'm still evaluating is the lower midrange. The WE has a lot more energy / presence in the lower midrange that makes my horns either slightly more dark or??? Time will tell, I'm going to listen a few more weeks and do a bit of 5U4 tube rolling in my amps as well. Oh yes, the WE packaging is really fancy wood box etc. etc.
 

JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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Hello Western Electric 300b!

Since my Psvane Acme 300b tubes flashed white and sent my Cayin Ha-300 amp to repair (replaced a wire-wound resistor) last month, I thought might as well upgrade my tubes, and the Western Electric 300b was the obvious choice.

Took almost 3 weeks to have one allocated and shipped straight from the factory, but it’s worth having.

Compared to the stock TJ Full music, this is already a much more dynamic, musical tubes. Better mids, open treble, tight bass, wider Soundstage, and much better image separation are what I noticed right out of the box.

This is also a better tube than the Psvane Acme 300b tubes, at least out of the box, but not by a substantial amount. I’d be willing to bet the sound will continue to get better after a few hundred hours, though.

What I also noticed at first power on, though is a lot of clicks, pops, and pings, which freaked me out, but they disappeared after a few minutes. I did read this is common with these new tubes, so crossin g fingers.

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Tinear1

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Aug 24, 2019
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So... I rolled a couple 5U4 tubes in combination with the new WE-300B's and wow things snapped into focus in the lower midrange. Very happy camper and with ~45 hours on as they loosen up I think these babies will be quite nice. Like @JoeyGun above not a tone of difference to the Psvane Acme but the WE300B frequency extremes are more extended on the top and tighter more tuneful on the bottom. And yes, my wait was about 3 weeks also but worth it.
 
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JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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So... I rolled a couple 5U4 tubes in combination with the new WE-300B's and wow things snapped into focus in the lower midrange. Very happy camper and with ~45 hours on as they loosen up I think these babies will be quite nice. Like @JoeyGun above not a tone of difference to the Psvane Acme but the WE300B frequency extremes are more extended on the top and tighter more tuneful on the bottom. And yes, my wait was about 3 weeks also but worth it.
Focus! That's the word I was looking for to talk about the improvement from the TJ Full music 300b to the Western Electric 300b tubes.

The music sounded more crisp and focused without sounding thin and harsh!
 

JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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Ugh, so sadly, my left channel Western Electric 300b developed a strange pitchy buzz after several songs have played. It sounds like a combination of air being let out of a balloon and static noise. Volume meter doesn't change it, nor does switching off the source. It's intermitten, comes and goes, and sometimes stay until I turn off the amp. It sometimes happen early on, other times much later after listening to music.

It was much louder yesterday, but now it's quieter but still there.
On the Cayin HA-300, I've swapped the rectifier and 6sn7 tubes with other tubes, and the noise still comes in. So then I swapped the WE300b's channels, and lo and behold, the noise traveled from the left channel to the right channel!

I have since swapped the stock TJ Full Music 300b and after a good half hour, still dead quiet whenever there's no music playing.

So yea, looks like I have a problem 300b which I only had for a month. Just horrible, ugh!
 
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JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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From Western Electric's email for support and RMA: "Based on the detail you've given us, you may have what we call a "leaker," or gassy tube. This problem can be quite difficult to detect during final inspection and sometimes goes for years without notice. "

Ugh, what awful luck
 

Tinear1

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Aug 24, 2019
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WE is covering under warranty I assume.
 

JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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WE is covering under warranty I assume.

Yes they are. It was a very process, actually. I filled out the RMA form yesterday, and by today, I already got an e-mail that a replacement tube is on the way. Once it arrives, I'll apply the prepaid label and repackage the bad tube back to them to do tests with.

I guess the only bad thing is that they'll only replace one of the tube, and will send me a "computer-matched" tube. I suppose since I only had the tube for a couple of weeks (they arrived June 1st and it's now June 11), my tubes are still fairly new.
 

Tinear1

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Aug 24, 2019
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Great to hear WE is taking care of you. Thus far my new WE 300Bs are performing perfectly but I will remain watchful.
 

JoeyGun

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Feb 12, 2020
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Great to hear WE is taking care of you. Thus far my new WE 300Bs are performing perfectly but I will remain watchful.

This also makes me wonder. I have heard the "pings" of the WE300b when they are warming up, but I've had people said that they shouldn't be making such noises. I know for sure when I had my Psvane ACME 300b and even the stock TJ Full Music 300b, they don't make these "pings", either.

Do yours do that?
 

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