Personally, any of those full music type 300bs work just fine and im a spoiled nos tube guy. Brought to reliable perfection by western electric usa and later by standard telephones uk as the 4300b, the 300b was very much intended and widely used for telephony amplification. Western electric pro audio equipment for sale ebay. This flare, along with stem and other glass parts, will eventually become the base of the mount more on that. What follows is a report on the resurrgence of the 300b through. I have put minimal hours on these but had bought them. In the 1980s it started to be used increasingly by audiophiles in home audio equipment. Hold an 845 or 211 in one hand and a 300b in the other. In the meantime, the new shuguang we300b tube is a new option were excited about and worth considering.
Get the best deals on western electric pro audio equipment when you shop the largest online selection at. If youve been keeping score, you know that the first sophia electric amplifiers i wrote about in issue 53 were the level 01 heritage 9101 300b mono amplifiers, which were inspired by the vintage western electric 91a 300b vacuum tube amplifiers used as professional cinema amplifiers in movie theaters in the 1930s. In my wavac im using the reissue we 300b but ive used the chinese versions as well with no problem. The unevacuated tube is placed into proprietary induction furnaces to heat the internal parts to several hundred degrees.
If mounted in a horizontal position, the plane of the filament, which is indicated in figure 2, should be vertical. Western electric tube data paperback january 1, 1994 by western electric author see all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Please note, the only tube out there that actually sounds like a real western electric 300b etched or yellow base valve is the reissue we. In this article, howard stone first leads us through a nostalgic history of the western electric type 300b audio amplifier triode tube. The company was responsible for many technological. To secure price and delivery information, contact your nearest graybar office. This tube seems to be far more linear than the type is generally credited for. Western electric 300b 95 pairs vacuum tube fs working properly d314. New production 300b tubes steve hoffman music forums. In that time it held patents over many of the major developments in telephony. In 1856, george shawk purchased an electrical engineering business in cleveland, ohio. The sophia electric 9103 300b stereo integrated amplifier. The book s emphasis on the relationship between the firm and the bell system is well placed and its arguments are convicing. Western electric vacuums are higher than any other 300b on the planet.
Whitener has not only maintained the tradition of quality at western electric, but has improved upon it. It was the major manufacturer of a broad range of telephone equipment. The history of the western electric phones is something of a history of the telephone itself. Western electric audio equipment models on audiogon, the highend audio community. Western electric president charles whitener steps away from the 300b manufacturing line to share a little history and his vision for continuing western electrics excellence in tube making. Western electric diagrams, schematics, service manuals. But, and having heard so many more tubes from different sources than most of us will in a lifetime, he was voicing the obvious question of what is it that. It has been around pretty much since the late 80s when western electric stopped production and richardson decided to fill the gap. Western electric diagrams, schematics and service manuals download for free. Get the best deal for western electric vintage amplifiers and tube amps from the largest online selection at. The upcoming tubes from western electric are the 274b, kt88 gold lion, and 308a among others. The most intriguing circuit in the book is the western electric 92a amplifier on pages 426 and 427. Peter was not necessarily asserting that materials are everything, i am sure. Noone can tell me or any other sentient being that the 300b costs more to manufacture than the big broadcast triodes yet premium new production 300bs are consistently costlier, and in a few instances, hugely so.
A similar parallelfeed circuit is found in the western electric 32a, which appears to predate the we 92a by at least a decade. Early in 1995, westrex corporation announced the reintroduction of the western electric 300b, but a series of delays slowed the actual reissue until the spring of 1997. The 205d, a directheated triode introduced in the early twenties, is plateloaded by the 1a retard coil, otherwise known as a plate choke. Western electric announce 300b to reenter production. The same things that served moviegoers back thenlow noise, ultralong life, sonic purity and warmthmade it a standout tube for music lovers. Manufacturing the future is a thorough and wellstructured book that clearly and succinctly in 218 text pages covers the most seminal points in western electrics history. When western electric stopped 300b production in 1988 they had exhausted their stock of original grid wire.
Tube manufacturing 000000000000 at western electric. From my experience the svetlanas sound a lot like the western electric 300b reissues. This is our diy tube amplifier with famous western electric 300b triodes and siemens c3g pentodes here strapped in triode mode. I wondered whether the new western electric 300b really could be as good as the old classic power tube. In 1938, western electric manufactured the first type 300b electron tube.
All of the glass parts needed to make the western electric 300b are made right here at the plant. The famous triode was developed at bell labs in 1933 in the form of its predecessor, the 300a, which was modified, patented, and then produced at. It developed breakthrough technologies in typewriters, vacuum tubes, radio, television, motion pictures, radar, and transistors. Western electric, a century of communication service. Technical inquiries it is the objective of the western electric company to furnish. Can anyone compare the new genelex px300b tube to either svetlana 300bs, western electric 300bs, sophia 300b mesh plates,newer kr300b tubes or electro harmonix 300bs. I tested these tubes on my heathkit tt1 tester as 300bs, since t is no entry on my data book for a 300a. They are in excellent condition and sound beautiful. Here we see tubing as it is extruded into the flaring machine. See more ideas about vintage telephone, old phone and westerns. The cetron brand 300b wasis made by richardson electronics and is a true veteran in this lineup.
Unfollow western electric 300b tube to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Western electric 300b vacuum tubes noteworthy audio. If we include the soupedup versionswhich, in fact, deviate from the original 1930s western electric we specificationsthe number of 300bs to choose from now includes about 15 different brands and types. It is very difficult to contact western electric so we do not know when to expect more 300b tubes. Since then its been used in several configurations, but the one that. It was a breakthrough power triode, but in those days it hummed away from behind a curtain in early hollywood sound systems. Western electric 300a triode tubes, pair, test weak. The tube is tipped off the evacuation tube is sealed. Bell labs soon became an early leader in global manufacturing. One often wonders, if there is a 300b, is there a 300a and what is the difference. I became interested in the history of the western electric 300b when i first learned that it was to be manufactured again.
The tubes may be mounted in either a vertical or horizontal position. The book is compact, no more than 4 34 inches by 6 12, so a magnifying glass is needed to examine the schematic in detail. Charles whitener president, western electric writes it is my distinct pleasure to announce that the we 300b electron tube will reenter production this year, in time for its 80th anniversary. Blue and white circuitboard illustration on the covers with a white label and black lettering on the front, and a black and white western electric logo on the back. Unlike certain adrenaline versions of modern 300b variants, this traditional western electric recipe avoids the occasionally metallic quality and somewhat mechanical mien ive heard elsewhere.
A listing of the main graybar offices throughout the country is presented on page 16 of this bulletin. This flare, along with stem and other glass parts, will eventually become the base of the mount more on that later. Discussion in audio hardware started by burt, nov, 2014. The 300b has good linearity, low noise and good reliability.
This tube combined everything good that can be found, to a smaller or larger extent, in the tubes described above. Western electric vintage amplifiers and tube amps for sale. The 300b tube has the bayonet pin so located that it may also be mounted in a western electric 100m, 115b or similar socket. In 1872, barton and gray moved the business to clinton street, chicago, illinois, and incorporated it as the western electric manufacturing company. The sophia electric 9103 300b stereo integrated amplifier if youve been keeping score, you know that the first sophia electric amplifiers i wrote about in issue 53 were the level 01 heritage 9101 300b mono amplifiers, which were inspired by the vintage western electric 91a 300b vacuum tube amplifiers used as professional cinema. New listing stunning tannoy 15 monitor black speaker 1947 rare grf western electric 300b. On december 31, 1869, he became partners with enos m. In electronics the 300b is a directlyheated power triode vacuum tube with a fourpin base, introduced in 1938 by western electric to amplify telephone signals. Inside the rossville works western electric youtube.
In the last two years, the available choices in 300b output tubes for ones lowwattage singleended power amplifier have become an embarrassment of riches. It was designed in the 30s specifically as a power valve for audio cinema amps specifically. Barton and then sold his share to inventor elisha gray. The glass is heated to melting point and the machine spins the flare out. The western electric 300b has a long and distinguished history, which i dont intend to go into here beyond this brief resume. The westrex people claim to make the new 300b with the same quality materials and some of the same manufacturing molds and tooling as the old western electric 300b.
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