Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier tube for 5U4G Western 300B 2A3 45 EL34 KT88 amplifier

The price is for one piece of Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rigid plate rectifier tube in blue glass enclosure with 30 days warranty.

Sophia Electric Princess mesh plate 274B and rigid plate 274B tubes have been widely praised as the best sounding rectifier tubes ever made. However there is a catch - the first capacitor after the rectifier tube needs to be small. The max value allowed for the Princess 274B mesh plate is 4uf, or 8uf for the Princess 274B rigid plate. But for a typical 300B single ended amplifier, it is usually larger than 8uf.
To overcome this limitation, Sophia Electric came out with a newly designed Aqua 274B rectifier tube to raise the limitation from 8uf to 47uf. This Aqua 274B can directly replace 5U4G in most amplifiers with great sonic improvement.

User feedback:

Received date: June 20, 2016

First impressions on Aqua 274B and Classic 300B….

The Aqua 274B rectifier is a beautiful sounding tube period! I rolled that one first using the existing 300B (don’t know it’s manufacturer) and brought LIFE back into this older Sophia…detail, clarity and soundstage was just brilliant. Next I rolled the Classic 300B, it refined the sound, broaden the soundstage…great tube.

And these are not broken in yet, so looking forward to the next step in sound/music.

System components:

Sophia Electric 91-01 monos
Audible Illusions L1 tube pre amp
Spatial Audio M-4 speakers

Sources:

Apple AirExpress with iTunes
Avid Ingenum turntable with Ortofon 2m Black - Lehmann Statement phono stage
JA Michel GyroDec with ZYX R-100 - PS Audio

ChrisC in Littleton CO
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Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier tube with Audio Note Kit1 300B amplifier

Hi Sue,

I just wanted you to know that I received the tubes yesterday in perfect condition. At first I tried the (Aqua) 274B with my Shuguang 300bs still in place. I could immediately hear the difference right away, better extension in the highs, more dynamic, the bass is deeper with more slam. Needless to say I am quite impressed, I listened to one cd that I'm quite familiar with.

Then I inserted the Royal Princesses....I found the differences here more subtle so far, but I really love the overall presentation so far. The immediate impact was not as much as I noted with the 274B, but I realize that the 300bs will take some time and some hours before they really start to shine. Having said that though, so far, they are superior to the Shuguang black bottles. I'm happy I made the choice.

I'll give you another report after a few hundred hours.

Cheers,

Stuart, Canada
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Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier tube with Audio Note 300B Amplifier

Received date: June 9, 2016

So we are now about 30 hours into burn-in of the Sophia Electric new Aqua 274B pushing the Royal Princess 300Bs. I have been listening to my Audio Note Meishu and 93db speakers for 21 years now and I have frequently considered going back to a high output, perhaps even SS amp to get the weight and scale that large-scale symphonic music demands. I also considered a self-powered sub to get the body/fullness that I've been missing.

Got it. The new 274B seems to do it all (or at least enough for me).Thelma Houston's Pressure Cooker on Sheffield rocks without clipping. The power is there. Ansermet and the Royal Ballet on RCA fill the room and transport me once again to the Royal Opera House. The imagery is completely believable. It isn't 600 watts into a B&W but the balance of finesse, warmth, immediacy and power is just fine for my tastes. Great tube! I wonder what it will sound like after 100 hours.

Regards,

Herman, Canada

Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier tube with Audio Note 300B Amplifier

Received date: June 2, 2016

Have installed the new Aqua 274B in my Audio Note Meishu 300B amplifier.The blue glass is interesting.
The tube has only a couple of hours on it but I am immediately struck by the immense size of the acoustic image. It is very, very real.

Herman, Canada