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Thread: How long is a 300B good for?

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by steveinspain View Post
    Hmm, this may have swayed me away from valves - we have music playing for about 12-15 hours a day here every day.
    My little solid state amp gets left on all the time !
    I used to have both and intend to do so again once I get my 300b monoblock OTL’s up and running. Casual listening with the SS amp or valve amp using cheaper valves, and save the 300b for serious listening.
    “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”

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  2. #12
    Join Date: Sep 2009

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ali Tait View Post
    I used to have both and intend to do so again once I get my 300b monoblock OTL’s up and running. Casual listening with the SS amp or valve amp using cheaper valves, and save the 300b for serious listening.
    I lent a friend my old Beard P11/P500 valve pre and power amp about 15 years ago and can't see me getting them back any time soon. I have been toying with the idea of getting something but may wait till I've got some form of income again...

  3. #13
    Join Date: Nov 2011

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    It sounds as if experience says that 300b's getting over 1500 hours use is good, so maybe be my expectations were unrealistic. Thanks for all the replies.
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  4. #14
    Join Date: Feb 2008

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    Indeed!
    A...
    Quote Originally Posted by Sixty2 View Post
    Hi Anthony,

    Yes, I agree. Like a lot of things these days, quality can be compromised for profit!
    Western Electric do have a reputation for reliability. I did own a pair of WE 300B’s for many years, used them very lightly then sold them to a dealer. Wonder what they’d be worth now? Oh well!!
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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by anthonyTD View Post
    Hi Mark,
    The 300B, [and possibly the 300A] were used in telecomunications, indeed, i think this was the main reason for their development/production.
    Where valves are concerned, the saying "They don't make em like they used to" is very apt, I suspect a good set of original Western Electric 300B would last much longer than any modern equivilent made today!
    Exactly... I was saying the very same to someone else the other day, when the subject of 300Bs came up. The sad fact is, most valves now, even the expensive 'audiophile variety' are made in China - and cheaply!

    As you say, current production valves simply aren't made with the same quality of materials that the originals were.

    Therefore, my advice to anyone investing serious money in valves is to spend it on NOS ones, from reliable sellers, which have been properly tested, and not to be fooled into thinking that just because they're new, that those being produced now are definitely going to be more reliable, or even sound better than NOS ones, as the harsh reality is likely to be the opposite.

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