New Valve Supplier in UK

[ListeningEar]

Do you have a valve amp and have been thinking of upgrading your glassware,...maybe you have imported or purchased a cheap Chinese import valve amp and feel something is missing!

New to the UK market - Sophia Electric valves are coming. All valves being offered with a choice of a 30 day or massive 12 month warranty (estimated that 12 month warranty will incur an additional £30 per pair of valves but TBC).

Contact me for full stock and price list. Valves supplied are:

300B Royal Princess
300B Carbon Princess
300B SET Princess Mesh Plate
300B Mesh Plate Globe

For 2A3 Amplifiers
300B Carbon Princess 2.5v
300B SET Princess 2.5v
Princess 2A3 Mesh Plate
2A3 Mesh Plate

KT88 Carbon Plate

845 MK III

211 MK III

45 Mesh Plate

Princess 50 Mesh Plate

PX4 Mesh Plate

PX25 Mesh Plate

274A
274B

300B+ Carbon Plate

205D Rigid
205D Mesh Plate

206 SET Princess

Input / Driver:
6SN7
6SL7
12AX7
12AU7

Sophia Electric are stunning valves and are highly regarded around the Audiophile world. Pricing is yet to be confirmed for UK market but please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or stock request.

Best regards,

Craig
The Audio Bahn

[Marco]

Hi Craig,

I've given you a trade account, as you appear to be needing one! ;)

Marco.

[ListeningEar]

Thank you Marco ;)

[Marco]

No worries - I'm surprised you didn't ask! :)

Btw, where are Sophia Electric valves made? I presume that they're either Chinese or Russian, as I believe that those are the only two countries these days left producing valves.

Marco.

[synsei]

Any 6L6's or equivalents amongst that lot Craig? Sorry, I'm new to this valve malarky so my knowledge is sparse :eyebrows:

[The Grand Wazoo]

...where are Sophia Electric valves made?


There is a rather large and historically important city called Sophia right smack in the middle of the Balkans which, if they come from there, would mean they are Bulgarian.

[Dingdong]

'Tis an American company.

[Marco]

Mmm... But are the valves acutally made there or is the company simply based there? That's the question.

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

They are made in China AFAIK.

[Marco]

Ah, as I suspected....

Marco.

[The Black Adder]

What are the carbon plate 88's like I wonder?

I wish someone would put up a few (+ a few more) million quids to start producing original spec Mullards etc. again..

[Ali Tait]

They tried and folded. The demand just isn't there. I think we tend to forget we are in a small minority of a small minority when it comes to valves.

[The Black Adder]

Did they?.. I didn't realise that. That is a shame.

[Ali Tait]

They brought out some new design small signal valves and were intending to restart production on some of the original range I think. As you say, a shame.

[gregdee]

Do you have a valve amp and have been thinking of upgrading your glassware,...maybe you have imported or purchased a cheap Chinese import valve amp and feel something is missing!

New to the UK market - Sophia Electric valves are coming. All valves being offered with a choice of a 30 day or massive 12 month warranty (estimated that 12 month warranty will incur an additional £30 per pair of valves but TBC).

Contact me for full stock and price list. Valves supplied are:

300B Royal Princess
300B Carbon Princess
300B SET Princess Mesh Plate
300B Mesh Plate Globe

For 2A3 Amplifiers
300B Carbon Princess 2.5v
300B SET Princess 2.5v
Princess 2A3 Mesh Plate
2A3 Mesh Plate

KT88 Carbon Plate

845 MK III

211 MK III

45 Mesh Plate

Princess 50 Mesh Plate

PX4 Mesh Plate

PX25 Mesh Plate

274A
274B

300B+ Carbon Plate

205D Rigid
205D Mesh Plate

206 SET Princess

Input / Driver:
6SN7
6SL7
12AX7
12AU7

Sophia Electric are stunning valves and are highly regarded around the Audiophile world. Pricing is yet to be confirmed for UK market but please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or stock request.

Best regards,

Craig
The Audio Bahn


HI Craig

good to see that
may I have a price for a pair of 45 mesh and WD 101D replicas ?

txs

[Ali Tait]

Hi Greg, can you send me a price list please?

[gregdee]

Hi Greg, can you send me a price list please?

You meant Craig , did you ?
I already asked the same ;]

[Ali Tait]

:doh: Been a long day!

[ListeningEar]

Sorry for late response, been very busy on various projects. The valves are Chinese but are ordered by Sophia (US company) to very high exacting standards. They are manufactured in a city called Tian Jin but Sophia Electric valves should not be confused with the TJ brand. Rule of thumb; not all valves are created equal ;) The designer of the mesh plate 300B for example, Mr. Z. Liu is in partnership with Richard Wugang, owner of Sophia Electric so that Sophia tubes are the premier valves of this type.

Sophia Electric have the rights to select the very best valves for their own clients. Thus the cream of the crop are chosen and sent to Sophia Electric in the US for further testing and grading before a 30 hour burn in. These steps insure the valves offered by Sophia Electric are the best sounding and most reliable valves available. Indeed, the valves are so well inspected, graded and tested that Sophia is able to offer a full one year warranty.

Valves can be supplied in matched sets (for matched pairs there is no charge but a small fee is charged for matched quad's).

The goal of Richard Wugang of Sophia Electric is to offer a real world competitor to the legendary Western Electric valves, Sophia are now directing that we as dealers mention that build quality and sound quality has exceeded the WE valves.

[ListeningEar]

Could anyone wanting a price list please PM me with your email addy please ;)

[ListeningEar]

Any 6L6's or equivalents amongst that lot Craig? Sorry, I'm new to this valve malarky so my knowledge is sparse :eyebrows:

Hi chap,

Very sorry but Sophia do not offer a direct 6L6 replacement.

Can you use different valve types such as KT88? We can get KT88's but Sophia will have KT66 and KT77's out in the near future.

[DSJR]

They tried and folded. The demand just isn't there. I think we tend to forget we are in a small minority of a small minority when it comes to valves.

I don't think it was Tech-Tube's fault, more the parent company (Philips?) pulling the plug on a whole host of smaller subsidiaries from memory.. These new valves were based on very long lived and reliable CRT innards IIRC and "reverse engineered" into an audio capable form.

[Marco]

It was a shame what happened, however the tubes sounded quite poor, IMO (the ECC83 equivalents I bought, anyway), and certainly nothing like original Mullards from their golden era (1950s/60s).

Marco.

[AlexM]

I don't think it was Tech-Tube's fault, more the parent company (Philips?) pulling the plug on a whole host of smaller subsidiaries from memory.. These new valves were based on very long lived and reliable CRT innards IIRC and "reverse engineered" into an audio capable form.

Yes Blackburn Microtech were a division of Philips that made CRT electron gun assemblies. They were looking to develop a market around that technology producing small signal tubes as demand for their core product dropped off.

They showed some promise, but suffered badly from Microphonics IIRC.

Look at the internal structure of their 12AX7 equivalent - quite odd!

http://www.head-fi.org/t/433210/techtube-e813cc-12ax7-ecc83

[Ali Tait]

Sorry for late response, been very busy on various projects. The valves are Chinese but are ordered by Sophia (US company) to very high exacting standards. They are manufactured in a city called Tian Jin but Sophia Electric valves should not be confused with the TJ brand. Rule of thumb; not all valves are created equal ;) The designer of the mesh plate 300B for example, Mr. Z. Liu is in partnership with Richard Wugang, owner of Sophia Electric so that Sophia tubes are the premier valves of this type.

Sophia Electric have the rights to select the very best valves for their own clients. Thus the cream of the crop are chosen and sent to Sophia Electric in the US for further testing and grading before a 30 hour burn in. These steps insure the valves offered by Sophia Electric are the best sounding and most reliable valves available. Indeed, the valves are so well inspected, graded and tested that Sophia is able to offer a full one year warranty.

Valves can be supplied in matched sets (for matched pairs there is no charge but a small fee is charged for matched quad's).

The goal of Richard Wugang of Sophia Electric is to offer a real world competitor to the legendary Western Electric valves, Sophia are now directing that we as dealers mention that build quality and sound quality has exceeded the WE valves.

So is it correct these are made in the TJ factory and are identical internally, it's just that the most reliable and closely matched are selected to become say the RP 300b?

[falcoron]

the top of the range 300b are supposed to be the best available anywhere. sophia electric amps use these and they get fantastic reviews in the states.

[artist]

just to clarify there is no production of valves is the usa are modern valves are russia or chinese no matter what brand they have on them.

I stocked up on nos valves years ago for my guitar amps bought at a time when they were cheap