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12/21/25 at 06:39:43 



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What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah? (Read 134 times)
RY
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What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
12/18/25 at 13:57:42
 
Hello all,

I have been combing over these forums and I have been delighted and excited, as I await for my first foray into Decware amps with the Sarah 300B SEWE300B.

I am trying to get a sense of the current, most up to date, word on tubes for this amp.

I will be getting a mint condition Sarah SEWE 300B with a complete bundle of the Wathen Cryotone tubes. From what I hear, this is a great set of tubes!

After reading through the forums, I become curious over potential tube rolling the 300B and the Rectifier tubes. I have already a bunch of nice 12AU7 gain tubes that I understand I can try in the Sarah's input tube... (yes?)

300B: I am curious about the Western Electric tube, of course, but I do not hear overwhelmingly positive remarks on the tube... and I am hearing about reliability issues as well... I will give a listen to my system with the Wathen Cryotone 300b's and take it from there... but have the reliability issues with the WE 300B been addressed?

RECTIFIER TUBES: I also hear that the Cryotone tubes are good here. I am curious about the Sophia Electric Aqua II, but I understand there are reliability issues with that tube in this amp. HOWEVER, it seems Sophia Electric has a new Aqua III which they claim addresses these issues.

Has anyone tried out the Sophia Electric. Aqua III Tube?

https://sophiaelectric.com/products/new-sophia-electric-aqua-iii-274b-rectifier-...
tube-with-live-like-sonic-performance

I also hear about the Stradi 5u4G tube, from Korea. How does this compare regarding sound to the Sophia Electric Aqua??

DRIVER TUBES: Are these the taller tubes in front of the 300b's? Are these worth rolling from the Cryotone?

VOLTAGE REGULATOR: Are these the three tubes in the center in front of the Rectifier? Are these worth rolling from the Cryotone?

THANK YOU ALL!
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Lon
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Re: What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
Reply #1 - 12/18/25 at 15:07:14
 
RY, I would say. . .use the tubes you get with the amps for hundreds of hours. No need to really roll tubes until the amplifier is seasoned in. Personally I'm not a fan of the Cryotone tubes, the output tubes are good, the rectifiers my least favorite in their line, and the input and driver tubes are good. . .  I just in general prefer a different sound and presentation than the Cryotone's give, and have stopped using those that I had and use NOS and Chinese tubes now instead.

Below is my experience after over two years with the amp. I have done a lot of experimenting but as always it's my room and tastes reflected in these choices. Other owners will hopefully weigh in with other experiences.

First off: you are correctly identifying the driver and voltage regulation tubes.

I do have a lot of exprerience with the Sophia Electric Aqua II, but not the Aqua III. I did experience a few glitches with the Aqua II in the amp, and so moved on to other rectifiers. I found heaven with the Psvane 274B-Z--that's my favorite tube, which I use with both Shuguang Black Treasure 300B-Z output tubes which I really do like, and also with Linlai Dream Series 7300B-D output tubes, which are very interesting tubes, more "analytical" sounding to me than the Black Treasures, and good for some listening sessions with some material. I also occasionally roll in another rectifier with either output tube pairs, a Linlai Dream Series 274B-D which is a great match to the 7300B-D and also give a bit of "pep in the step" to the Black Treasures.

For input tubes after a lot of rolling I have settled on Holland made 12AU7 as the input tube, but as you have a stock of 12AU7 when the amp is seasoned try what you have. And for driver tubes I've moved to French 7308 type tubes with slanted dimpled getters. . . these are a tricky match, but with the other tubes in this complement a very good one. For the voltage regulation tubes I have tried many combinations and keep coming back to English made 75C1 tubes, dark coated small tubes presenting with lots of texture and richness.

It's hard to make this amp sound bad, and with different tube complements can sound like a different amplifier. . . it's almost as if there is a multiverse of amplifiers in this one chassis. You'll have fun exploring after it has seasoned in and taught you what gain structure etc. you and your room like.
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RY
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Re: What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
Reply #2 - Yesterday at 21:39:23
 
Hello,

So I have hooked up my Sarah 300B, and I immediately needed to swap out two tubes that weren’t working.

The Input Tube by Crytone was not working, so I swapped out for a Mullard NOS, a Radiotechnic, and then I think the BugleBoy Amperex sounded best.

But then only one channel worked, and after swapping back and forth I realized it was the Driver Tube by Crytone. Luckily I had the original Chinese set, which I’m now running.


And so… First Question: What is the best Driver Tube I can get to replace the stock tubes?

Second question… my very first impression on mostly fresh tubes and a nearly mint amp, is that it isn’t as dramatic a step up from my Prima Luna Dialogue HP with Ray Tubes and Radiotechnic gain tubes…. Will burn in of the amp yield dramatic changes?

Also, the overall volume is a bit quieter that the Prima Luna, which is to be expected.

It’s a gorgeous machine, and there are hints so far that surpass my previous amp…. Will need to be patient as it “seasons”….

So, Any Suggestions on the best driver tubes for the 300B Sarah?

Thanks,
Richard
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CAJames
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Re: What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
Reply #3 - Today at 01:04:56
 
Quote:
Posted by: RY      Posted on: Today at 13:39:23

First Question: What is the best Driver Tube I can get to replace the stock tubes?


Yeah, right . Everyone has a different "best." I'd encourage you to read the threads here, and in the Reviews and 300B fora to get an idea of what other people like and what they don't. Spoiler, some people will like and others will dislike pretty much any tube out there. But I wouldn't necessarily run out to buy a bunch of driver tubes tomorrow, see below.

Quote:
Second question… my very first impression on mostly fresh tubes and a nearly mint amp, is that it isn’t as dramatic a step up from my Prima Luna Dialogue HP with Ray Tubes and Radiotechnic gain tubes…. Will burn in of the amp yield dramatic changes?


Short answer, probably yes. There are actually two different burn ins you need to consider. The first is the amp, do you know (approximately) how many hours it has on it? A brand new Decware amp can sound pretty funky for the first hundred or so hours, after that the changes and improvement are pretty slow and gradual. A bigger thing in my experience is the 300B tubes can take hundreds of hours to burn in. I had bargain Chinese 300Bs that took about 200 hours to sound their best, and Japanese 300Bs that took fully 500. So, I would definitely give it a while before you start seriously comparing the SQ. Another thing you will find by reading other posters experience, with the 300B and other amps, is a number of them are underwhelmed on first (and often second and third) listen, but after a few days/weeks/whatever they realize how great Decware amps sound. Good luck with your journey and keep us posted with your progress.
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RY
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Re: What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
Reply #4 - Today at 04:33:18
 
I must say…. After merely 10 hours of playback, the amp has already blossomed dramatically. (It was essentially unused so these are fresh currents)


Truly, it has already stepped significantly beyond the SQ of the Prima Luna.

…. It’s going to be an interested unfulfilling of the wings of this amp…!

Thanks all,
R.
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MM
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Re: What is today's word on tubes for the 300B Sarah?
Reply #5 - Today at 05:02:38
 
Interesting that the Cryotone tubes were bad. I’ve had the same Cryotones in my UFO for 4-ish years now, literally thousands of hours, and still going strong. I had an issue with some Cryotone rectifiers not playing nicely with my SEWE300b but never the drivers.

Anyway, welcome to the forums and your new addiction. Glad the new amp is blossoming- it will continue to get better and better.
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Cambridge CXN100, SRA Signature Hybrid Mamushi IC, SEWE 300b, ZSTYX SC, Lii F15 & W15 in open baffle.
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