Psvane Acme Series (new flagship series)

[astrotoy]

Larry did you ever try the eml mesh 2A3 tubes ?

No, never tube rolled my amps. In almost 20 years I went from the stock Riccardo Kron 2A3's to Shuguang to Psvane to Psvane Acme's. Thanks, Larry

 

[Dthagerty@aol.com]

I must thank you all for stimulating me to think more about my system. The last time I tried different 300Bs, I had a solid state preamp. Since then, I’ve purchased a Shindo Monbrison. With the Monbrison the sound has been nice and warm, but lacking in some high frequency extension. So today I put the EML300B XLS tubes back in my amps, replacing the TJ300b/c Tubes. Greater clarity, detail and high frequency extension. Not as warm but warm enough. I’ve only listened to them on a few tracks, but so far I am really liking what I’m hearing.

So thanks everyone!

 

[bonzo75]

I thought the TJ were quite poor compared to EML, KR, Elrog, etc when it came to extension and complexity.

I suggest you try Elrog and KR, on amps I prefer Elrog. They are more neutral, less warm than the typical 300b

 

[Dthagerty@aol.com]

I thought the TJ were quite poor compared to EML, KR, Elrog, etc when it came to extension and complexity.

If by “complexity” you mean being able to separate out individual instruments from a complex mix (e.g. orchestral music), I definitely agree with you. I think the imaging is better, more stable, too.

 

[Ovenmitt]

I thought the TJ were quite poor compared to EML, KR, Elrog, etc when it came to extension and complexity.

I suggest you try Elrog and KR, on amps I prefer Elrog. They are more neutral, less warm than the typical 300b

Ked, do you have any experience with the Elrog 845’s? I wonder if your sentiments generalize over the entire range of tubes they offer..... they are pricey beasts for sure.

 

[bonzo75]

Ked, do you have any experience with the Elrog 845’s? I wonder if your sentiments generalize over the entire range of tubes they offer..... they are pricey beasts for sure.

No, only with the 300b.

 

[JoeyGun]

So I just got my new Psvane ACME 300b for my Cayin HA-300 just a few days after I got the new Psvane CV181-T II. The Acme replaced the JJ Full Music 300b and the CV181 replaced Shuguang WE6SN7. My headphone is the Audeze LCD-3 with source coming from a Windows 10 desktop to iFi Nano iUSB3.0 to Chord Qutest DAC.

I bought it on March 12th from China-hifi-Audio.com and it arrived at my door on March 18th. Pretty amazing, considering all the lockdown that's happening because of Coronavirus.

So first of all, when I only rolled the CV181-T II, from what was already an excellent 300B SET amp in stock form, I immediately gained more body and slam in the bass, smooth treble extension, beautiful vocals, and larger soundstage. There was a beautiful "roundness", a tube sound that's well articulated, but smooth with great energy and musicality.

The stock tube sometimes give a bit of a shoutiness in the mid-treble register of female vocals when belting, but not so with the CV181. Only small complaint I have with it is that sometimes the mid can get a little dense if there's a lot going on, but otherwise, instrument separation is well done.



Today, I rolled the ACME 300b, and what I got was an even bigger soundstage and incredible clarity and resolution. I mean, every single instruments and vocals are very distinct and separation everywhere. It's if everything before was slightly foggy and I never knew that. Like breathing air in the middle of National Park vs the city. All of this seems effortless.

But there is one problem. I feel that the midbass lost some of its weight and fullness. The Bass is a bit leaner but tight and not as slamming either. So my question is this. How does your ACME 300b sound after 50-100-200 hours of burning? Will I expect more heft in the bass or I'd have to find a different way to add it, like warmer cables (all of my cables are Morrow Audio) or adding the Schiit Loki (which is actually on its way)?

I really hope I can get some of that meaty bass-midbass that I had with the stock JJ Full Music 300b tubes, because everything else so far is perfect!





Here are some closeups of both my new Psvane tubes.







Here's how the Psvane ACME 300b and Psvane CV181-T II look next to the stock tubes.

 

[adamaley]

I would say give it about a week or two before getting critical about what you're hearing. IMO if it's still lacking what you need at that point, rolling the 6SN7 would be the way to go to inject what you feel is missing. There are many NOS variants that would give you what you seek. For example, a pair of National Union Black Glass might do the trick.

 

[JoeyGun]

I would say give it about a week or two before getting critical about what you're hearing. IMO if it's still lacking what you need at that point, rolling the 6SN7 would be the way to go to inject what you feel is missing. There are many NOS variants that would give you what you seek. For example, a pair of National Union Black Glass might do the trick.

Funny thing, several days ago when I switched from the stock Shuguang WE6SN7 to the Psvane CV181-T mkII with the stock JJ Full Music 300b, I was getting that more full body mid-bass and bass. Once I switched the JJ Full Music 300b to the ACME 300b, that mid-bass and bass got a bit thin, although the bass is super responsive and tight. The mid and up do sound great on the ACME 300b. It's still smooth like the previous CV181+Full Music 300b, but has better extension and way better instrumental separation and staging.

I also have a Schiit Loki coming in a few days, so hopefully I can add some of that body back. Hopefully with more burning in, the bass will also open up more than now.

 

[adamaley]

Funny thing, several days ago when I switched from the stock Shuguang WE6SN7 to the Psvane CV181-T mkII with the stock JJ Full Music 300b, I was getting that more full body mid-bass and bass. Once I switched the JJ Full Music 300b to the ACME 300b, that mid-bass and bass got a bit thin, although the bass is super responsive and tight. The mid and up do sound great on the ACME 300b. It's still smooth like the previous CV181+Full Music 300b, but has better extension and way better instrumental separation and staging.

I also have a Schiit Loki coming in a few days, so hopefully I can add some of that body back. Hopefully with more burning in, the bass will also open up more than now.

Good stuff. Keep us posted.

 

[JoeyGun]

By the way, has anyone tried the ACME 300b vs the Psvane WE 300b? How do they differ? Which would give a more full bodied mid-bass and bass slam?

 

[highstream]

@JoeyGun If you’re looking for instant information and gratification, I’m afraid you will find yourself none the wiser, but definitely poorer and frustrated. I’ve found new tubes, like most everything else, need 300-400 hours to find themselves. What I do now is pull the other tubes and leave the unit on most of the time — a bit of downtime helps too — until I need to run the unit. That's recently been the case with both an RK and Psvane WE recti replica in the Lampi TRP, and NOS Brimar 13d5s in a preamp.

 

[JoeyGun]

Well the good news for me is that the bass is now starting to develop and become more full body after about 50 hours in. The soundstage closed up a bit, but I am optimistic with the Acme 300b, though.

@JoeyGun If you’re looking for instant information and gratification, I’m afraid you will find yourself none the wiser, but definitely poorer and frustrated. I’ve found new tubes, like most everything else, need 300-400 hours to find themselves. What I do now is pull the other tubes and leave the unit on most of the time — a bit of downtime helps too — until I need to run the unit. That's recently been the case with both an RK and Psvane WE recti replica in the Lampi TRP, and NOS Brimar 13d5s in a preamp.

 

[chaccone]

Just wanted to share my experience with Psvane, not very impressed with their customer service and product quality.

I have been using the ACME 845 for 4 months. One of the tubes started to develop problems over time. After I switched the amp off, one of the tubes remained bright for almost 14s while the other didn't have this issue. And the side where the tube remained bright, the speaker would emit some noise before the tube finally cools down. The seller insists that the tube is fine and asked me to continue to use it.

However, it got worse. The side with that problematic tube started to have a cracking sound every other second so I quickly switched the amp off.

I should have heeded the warnings at the beginning of this thread. I thought I wouldn't be so unlucky but I should have learnt not to take chances for such an expensive tube. I asked the shop to send me a replacement pair but the seller on taobao insists that i send the tubes back so that they can send to the factory for testing; they will replace if they test that there is an issue. So even if your tube blows up, they will insist you send it back to the factory. Will see how it goes and if they eventually replace it for me but it will be a long wait....

So yes, you might want to consider other more reliable tubes if you don't want to go through the hassle of replacement and dealing with Psvane on the warranty. It's a pity that Psvane didn't do any better, I was really liking the sound of the ACME 845.

[update]

After more than a month (having to ship to and fro china), I finally received the replacement from Psvane, took them a week or so to test and confirm they will send replacement (guess it's ok considering the covid situation over there).

I must say the ACME sounds better than the stock tubes, there is more texture and details to the sound that makes it more engaging to listen to without sounding bright.

I guess on balance it's worth the price of entry and Psvane does provide a replacement if your tube has issues.

 

[highstream]

I wonder if dealing with Psvane directly is the best idea to start with, rather than one of their agents (sales network listed on their site). I'm not sure they are set up to deal with end users properly, especially during the CV outbreak. I don't know where you are, but one very reputable agent that does quality testing (for a price of course) is Grant Fidelity (Rachel) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Its tube site is http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/. Another seller I dealt with through eBay for a WE274B replica is HiFi Exquis in Hong Kong (https://hifi-exquis.com/). Psvane verified the tube was genuine, though saying they didn't know the seller.

 

[PLGA]

Hello @highstream
Can you please share with us the Psvane official website?

 

[highstream]

psvane.com -- to get English click on the left three character text of the two in the upper right corner.

 

[JoeyGun]

Here's the English version of the offficial site: En.Psvane.com

 

[marty]

I've posted on the PSvane ACME 274
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...lling-review-thread.26478/page-33#post-624497

Excellent tube. I have a as-new ACME 274 for sale (as well an as-new pair of RK KR PX25s and a new RK KR5y4g) PM me if interested.
Marty

 

[dminches]

Here’s a tip for the 6sl7 - Tungsol made a low noise military version called the 6su7. Is a similar build to their much revered round plate 6sn7 and on a similar performance level. Very rare though.

Mark, I have several pair of the 6SU7s. I like them but for 6SL7s I prefer the Millard ECC35s.