He said its kind of in the late stage of development and he'll let me know once ready. I hope soon...
StradiTube.. review incoming (any requests?)
- Thread starter Treehaus Audiolab
- Start date
Exactly. I'm wrapping my head around why is that so. From technical standpoint (and I'm zero expert) somehow in my head following sentence from their website "rings" - "filament end loss structure" and for rectifier this is one of the things mentioned. For DHTs there are several things in the structure which are obviously changed vs WE300b hence I would assume this changes bring the difference we hear - and possibly the materials and process used. I've also never (at lest that I can recall) seen filament wire glowing below the bottom part of the plates...
Anyhow exceptional job done...
As far as rectifiers are concerned, I’m old school. Once I got the WE 274B and the WE 422a, I stopped searching. To me these are the gold (platinum?) standard. A lot of modern tubes just don’t stand the longevity tests. My WE 274B has been used by me for thousands of hours. There’s no change in its audible or measured performance. These old WE designs just last forever. I’ve been very disappointed by the newer WE 300Bs. No match to the original. I recently saw the classic WE 101d triodes are built to last 40,000 hours. Who designs tubes like that anymore? When it comes to tubes, olden is golden.
Thanks Rich for sending over the Stradi tubes—I had an amazing holiday weekend diving into some serious tube comparisons. It was a lot of fun pitting the Stradi 300B (both the S and non-S versions) against the TAK300B and WE300B.
My overall impressions align closely with Rich’s observations. For context, my setup is quite similar to his—both my 300B amp and speakers come from Rich! My DAC is Lampizator Pacific (using TAK300B and Bendix 6900), paired with a Thomas Mayer 10Y preamp. That said, one limitation in my experiment is that the TAK300Bs are the only tubes I have two pairs of, so I fixed TAK300B on Pacific for comparing tubes on the 300B amp.
Stradi 300B (Non-S Version): This tube truly stands out in terms of soundstage, dynamics, and bass detail. It reveals layers of bass texture I haven’t heard with either the TAK or WE. The bass is impactful, with impressive slam and extension—exceptional within the 300B category. However, its vocal presentation isn’t quite in my sweet spot. To my ears, vocals feel slightly recessed, dimmed, and distant, which isn’t ideal for my preferences if paired with Pacific.
Interestingly, when paired with my "little" DIY solid-state DAC (using 1541A chip), the vocal improves though still a touch distant for my taste, but enjoyable. This may actually work well for other solid-state DACs. In comparison, the WE300B delivers great vocals with the Pacific but falls short with my solid-state DAC, whereas the TAK300B shines with either setup when vocal clarity is the focus.
Stradi S300B (S Version): The Stradi S works well with Pacific in my system. Vocal has a good balance of texture and energy, without feeling dry. While it’s less rich in harmonic compared to others, it’s still engaging. Bass is tight and fast, and imaging feels more precise and pinpoint. However, it lacks some of the magic that makes the non-S version special—like the extraordinary soundstage, dynamic, and bass detail. With my DIY solid-state DAC, the S300B leans more toward what Rich described: it feels less emotional and less compelling overall.
I haven’t yet done a full comparison with all these tubes on Pacific. So far, though, each tube has carved out its own space in terms of strengths, It’s been a fun time to dive into these nuances! Thanks Rich again for being so kind and hopefully I will have sometime next week to try them on Pacific and update my thoughts here.
My overall impressions align closely with Rich’s observations. For context, my setup is quite similar to his—both my 300B amp and speakers come from Rich! My DAC is Lampizator Pacific (using TAK300B and Bendix 6900), paired with a Thomas Mayer 10Y preamp. That said, one limitation in my experiment is that the TAK300Bs are the only tubes I have two pairs of, so I fixed TAK300B on Pacific for comparing tubes on the 300B amp.
Stradi 300B (Non-S Version): This tube truly stands out in terms of soundstage, dynamics, and bass detail. It reveals layers of bass texture I haven’t heard with either the TAK or WE. The bass is impactful, with impressive slam and extension—exceptional within the 300B category. However, its vocal presentation isn’t quite in my sweet spot. To my ears, vocals feel slightly recessed, dimmed, and distant, which isn’t ideal for my preferences if paired with Pacific.
Interestingly, when paired with my "little" DIY solid-state DAC (using 1541A chip), the vocal improves though still a touch distant for my taste, but enjoyable. This may actually work well for other solid-state DACs. In comparison, the WE300B delivers great vocals with the Pacific but falls short with my solid-state DAC, whereas the TAK300B shines with either setup when vocal clarity is the focus.
Stradi S300B (S Version): The Stradi S works well with Pacific in my system. Vocal has a good balance of texture and energy, without feeling dry. While it’s less rich in harmonic compared to others, it’s still engaging. Bass is tight and fast, and imaging feels more precise and pinpoint. However, it lacks some of the magic that makes the non-S version special—like the extraordinary soundstage, dynamic, and bass detail. With my DIY solid-state DAC, the S300B leans more toward what Rich described: it feels less emotional and less compelling overall.
I haven’t yet done a full comparison with all these tubes on Pacific. So far, though, each tube has carved out its own space in terms of strengths, It’s been a fun time to dive into these nuances! Thanks Rich again for being so kind and hopefully I will have sometime next week to try them on Pacific and update my thoughts here.
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