Holy Grail?

I purchased a pair of Western Electric 300Bs today. I can’t even use them in anything yet, but I guess they are an investment of sorts.

I may get a Sunvalley Audio amp to use them in, although I have been tempted by some of Oliver Sayes designs, particularly his WE421 amp, so maybe something from him. We shall see. Maybe I could get a Shindo Cortese 300B to use them in…. but that would be silly. I am actually saving up to get a Shindo Montille CV391, to compliment the F2a based amp I have now. Maybe I will just sell them to fund other purchases, who knows!

So much has been written about WE300Bs over the years I don’t need to say much. They do fit the coveted item status, especially in their fancy engraved wooden box. Response charts for each serialised tube are of course included as well.

These ones are less than a year old, so no 1940s era NOS mortgage your house type things for me. I paid a very fair price.

According to the Western Electric website: “Engineered for high performance and long life What if the best sound was achieved decades ago? In 1938, Western Electric manufactured the first type 300B electron tube. It was a breakthrough power triode, but in those days it worked behind the scenes in the projection room. It was just another component in early Hollywood sound systems. The same great things that served moviegoers in those early days—low noise, ultra-long life, sonic purity and warmth—made it a standout tube for music lovers and vintage audio collectors as decades passed. Deep into the age of the transistor, communities around the world in search of original high-fidelity rediscovered the 300B and its exceptional performance. New amplifier designs brought the tube front and centre, its customary yellow lettering on proud display.”

So, at the moment just a nice thing to own and have in my collection, but they will get used at some point.

They have a nice spec sheet: