Still mulling over whether the LinLai E-Series will give the ACME 845’s a run for their money. Unfortunately my two monoblocks take a total of eight 845 tubes so either brand is an expensive proposition when one needs eight of them.
I am also looking at the LinLai E-series. I seems to be a quality tube from what I read. I think I might roll the dice and see how well it works with my amps.
I see. So, do you believe that next 100 hrs will still make any change then, as they described or was it definitely an exaggeration? Maybe the best is yet to come?
Honestly speaking, I cannot really tell how much the sound has improved as I have put on the KR300B about 20 hrs after the 805. Since then, about another 100 hrs has passed, however, I can surely say they sound much better and smoother than the stocks. One thing really bothers me now is those KR300B have the logos facing the rear...lmaoI see. So, do you believe that next 100 hrs will still make any change then, as they described or was it definitely an exaggeration? Maybe the best is yet to come?
I am wondering what made you decide to switch between this particular tubes? Have you tried any other?
No, I have not tried others. Initially, I was looking to replace the stocks with ACME 805 and EML-300B XLS based on the high recommendations from various users. Ended up with KR300B from the same seller as the price offered is quite attractive. Quite pleased to what I am hearing for now. Perhaps, I will roll other 805s or 300Bs in the future.
Sure, I understand. If you are pleased with the SQ you have now, there is no need to change anything.
I have a pair of MasterSound PF 100’s each of which takes 4 845 tubes. It came with the basic Shuguang Hi Fi series tubes. I’m springing for 8 ACME’s and I sure hope I will feel I made a good investment! 8 845 ACME’s are a pretty penny!
So it has been just over a year since I posted my comments about my new Acme 845's , at the time I had about 50 hours on them. They definitely continued to improve in sound quality up until around 180 hours. They would now have in excess of 500 hours on them and they still sound stunningly good a definite step up in quality from the WE replica's.
And yes the mesh continues to happily glow an impressive orange red with no negative effects so I would say that PSvane were telling the truth that this is normal operation.
I continue to run the bias at 80mA and I find this to provide the best sound in my amps, any higher and the lower treble really starts to become a little too prominent. What I find incredible with these valves is that they are able to provide really impressive levels of articulate bass and slam but still have a wonderful delicacy to detail and a very impressive richness to acoustic guitar.
I would be very sad if either Acme failed and I could not buy genuine replacements.
And yes the mesh continues to happily glow an impressive orange red with no negative effects so I would say that PSvane were telling the truth that this is normal operation.
I continue to run the bias at 80mA and I find this to provide the best sound in my amps, any higher and the lower treble really starts to become a little too prominent. What I find incredible with these valves is that they are able to provide really impressive levels of articulate bass and slam but still have a wonderful delicacy to detail and a very impressive richness to acoustic guitar.
I would be very sad if either Acme failed and I could not buy genuine replacements.
Did you notice any difference between hour 180 and 500 or did they stabilise completely after 180?
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In my amps they seem to stabilise completely at approx 180 hours, I am reasonably confident about the hours as I decided to try and be a little more scientific with these valves and I kept a spreadsheet on my phone which I logged the hours and also kept comments for reference, I just looked back at my comments and I note that the sound seem to vary a lot in the first 100 hours, at times they tended to sound on the brighter side with a little too much "shoutiness" but in time the bass became fuller and they became much more balanced. The thing I noticed immediately over the WE replica's ( which are no slouches ) is the Acmes have much finer detail and a tad less grit or distortion to them. Now after run in would say that they just have more of everything from detailed punchy bass and delicate fine detail.
I have both the PSvane WE replica's and the previous T2 845's and the ACME's really do blow them away.
I have both the PSvane WE replica's and the previous T2 845's and the ACME's really do blow them away.
That sounds like a really well conducted study. Did you use any special software to track/measure the behaviour of the tubes over time?
Haha, no no nothing scientific just my ears ! I was intrigued by the notion of run in with valves and how real it is so I wanted to make sure I kept a running record of the time particularly when I plugged them in for the first time and the mesh glowed and it was unknown whether this was normal or not so I was half expecting them to fail prematurely so I wanted to make sure I had an exact record of run time just in case I needed to fight my case for a refund .
I have also bought some PSvane CV181 which I was using as 6SN7 replacements in my pre-amp so I wanted to log the time for those as well, I found that they also needed some time to run in but they seemed to really settle down after only about 50 hours of running ( I only plugged these in once I had reached about 300 hours with the 845's and I was happy that they had settled down and were unlikely to change )
I have also bought some PSvane CV181 which I was using as 6SN7 replacements in my pre-amp so I wanted to log the time for those as well, I found that they also needed some time to run in but they seemed to really settle down after only about 50 hours of running ( I only plugged these in once I had reached about 300 hours with the 845's and I was happy that they had settled down and were unlikely to change )
What about CV181? Do you still use them in your pre-amp or you decided to keep the 6SN7 instead?
I have bought many 6SN7 valves and there are plenty of threads in forums discussing the merits of the different brands and types, in my instance I have replace Meltz 6SN7's with some vintage Kenrads with staggered plates in my main amps, in my opinion the Kenrads are fantastic but given they are old who can guarantee what you get with buying old stock.
In my pre I tried many 6SN7 valves on the input and output , I have ultimately settled on the PSvane CV181's in the input section , if you want to buy a great 6SN7 which is new I would highly recommend them ( but not cheap) , I have some Treasure light bulbs which are wideband top to bottom but ultimately I found them to lack musicality and finally I purchased some 50's Sylvanias which are pretty good and I use them in the output section. The new Tungsols which came with my pre are OK and in isolation sound fine but they are veiled and thin compared to any of the other valves when you do a comparison
In my pre I tried many 6SN7 valves on the input and output , I have ultimately settled on the PSvane CV181's in the input section , if you want to buy a great 6SN7 which is new I would highly recommend them ( but not cheap) , I have some Treasure light bulbs which are wideband top to bottom but ultimately I found them to lack musicality and finally I purchased some 50's Sylvanias which are pretty good and I use them in the output section. The new Tungsols which came with my pre are OK and in isolation sound fine but they are veiled and thin compared to any of the other valves when you do a comparison
U_J...have just installed 1 pair each of the Psvane ACME 845s in my SET Grail SET monoblocks along with the Psvane ACME 300B tubes that I already had .I was not prepared for the immediate, significant improvement.i have had the Psvane WE 845s but these are in another league.i also tried the new WE 300B Rossville,Ga tubes but like the Psvanes much better.
Awesome Calloway ! Expect improvement over time. How much does the mesh glow ? Do you know what the Grail bias is set to ?
The mesh is not significantly bright..I am able to bias the 845s myself and have started low at 50mA. will gradually raise them to about 70 mA
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