Sophia Electric Princess 300B Mesh Plate vs. TJ Full Music 300B Mesh Plate tubes

I am a staff reviewer for the website hometheaterreview.com and recently started a reviewing process of 300b tube based push/pull amplifiers. I also have been collecting information on the most highly regarded current production 300b tubes to select which brand has the most to offer regarding sonic performance. The tubes by Sophia Electric kept making the "best" of lists and top recommendations according to many professional and lay reviewers. I had in house for review a wonderful sounding 300b intergrated amplifier which was sent to me with the Full Music 300B mesh plate as stock tubes. Therefore, I was very curious how much the sonic performance of this piece could be raised by experiementing with better regarded 300b tubes. I'm a seasoned listener so I knew that great tubes can make a significant difference for the better in any gear that they are rolled into.

When I contacted Sophia Electric I had the pleasure of talking to Sue regarding the different aspects/sonics levels of 300b tubes her company produces. She was very informative and helpful and we decided to go for a matched quad of the Princess 300b mesh plates. Even before these tubes were burnt in, the following list of dramatic changes took place:

1) Much lower noise floor so micro-details were more apparent and clearer then before.

2) The top end was much more airy and extented with beautiful and natural timbres.

3) The bass was much more extented with better control.

4) The layering in the soundstage was more precise, with more air around each individual player.

5) Finally, and this was just so beautful, was a much higher level of harmonic density and purity.

The performance of this already great sounding amp was taken to a much higher level by putting in the two pairs of the Princess 300b mesh plates. Just think, this is Sophia Electric's third best tube, what the heck would their Royal Princess 300b sound like! That will have to wait for future auditioning in my reviewing process. I give this tube a very high recommendation for both build quality and sonic performance.

Terry London, Staff Reviewer
hometheaterreview.com