User Reviews/Feedback for Sophia Electric Aqua 274B Rectifier Tubes

Hello,

I recently discovered your Aqua 274B and I liked it, no, make that LOVED it, enough that I purchased a second one as a back up. This after trying, and I'm not exaggerating, at least 30 different rectifier tubes in my Lampizator DAC. It is an amazingly musical and enjoyable tube.

So let's just say I'm now a big fan of your company. I am intrigued by the Magik Box and am considering purchasing the open box unit on your web site. Based on the reviews I've read, I expect I will love it, and I will know very quickly (in the first few minutes) whether it's a good fit for my system or not. My question is, if I decide after a one-day trial that it's not right for me, can I return it for a refund?

I seriously want this thing to become a permanent part of my setup -- but I need to know I can return it if I'm not impressed. (I suspect I will be.) If you say yes, I will place my order immediately.

Thank you,

Kevin

I cannot begin to tell you how pleased I am with my recent acquisition of your (Aqua) 274B rectifier tube. I installed it in my new 300B amp, replacing the stock, vintage GE 5U4 that was supplied.

WOW!!! Everything was better immediately: Bass, highs, mids, soundstage. ALL of it! It was hard to turn my system off at the end of the night.

I now have my sights set on the EL34-ST that I will use in another amp and the 6SL7.

Thank you for providing an outstanding product, quick ship and excellent customer service. You have a company I can certainly do business with.

Best Regards,

Harry from Canton,Mi… Harry Rajt

Hello,

Just to let you know that the Aqua 274B tubes arrived safely late last week thank you so much! They are the most gorgeous tubes I have ever seen and they match the deep royal blue paint that is on the transformer end caps on this amplifier so the visual is extremely pleasing.

I have installed them in the fully operational and restored 300B amplifier that was gifted to me and they are working perfectly in parallel and the sound is just as gorgeous as the appearance of them. I am extremely happy, now I will have to save up for a pair of Sophia Electric 300B tubes which I hope will be in a few months time.

Thank you again and kind wishes!

Michael from Australia

Hola Sue,

Yesterday I finally received the Aqua 274B tubes I ordered from you. They arrived safely due to the good packaging. Congratulations on that. They are really beautiful, but I think I would have preferred a clear/shiny glass envelope to match the rest of my tubes even though I understand the purpose for the lite blue tint.

Into my Artemis Labs DP-2 2a3’s they went and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I am not going to bore you with the usual audiophile jiber jargon. These tubes make Eva Cassidy, Rosanne Cash, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Willie Nelson, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music and Steely Dan (just last night) come alive through my Avantgarde Duos 2.2. My wife had to force to turn the system off. Texture, tone, presence, soundstage, silence(lack of electronic noise) and body all were more readily presented without any discernible coloration. Bass is a tad tighter and dryer than my 1957 RCA’s 5u4g but I am sure that will improve with a few hours of break in.

Great product and even better sounding that my GEC U52.

Keep up the good work.

Best regards,

Roberto, Puerto Rico

From Audiogon Furum: "The Aqua 274B was a transformation in my Modwright Marantz SA 8005 SACD Player with a 9.0 PS; it was like a DAC upgrade in comparison to Mullards, Create, Gold Lion, Tungsol and Philips which was my 2nd best sounding tube.

The Sophia 6SN7 Blue tubes were utilized in both my tube amp and tube pre-amp and sounded better than my Sylvania VT 231, Sylvania W, Sylvania WGTA, Slyvania Bad Boys, Chrome Domes, Ken Rads, RCA 5692, CV-181 and Raytheon VT-231 Gray Glass; better imaging, detail, deeper and wider sound stage with lower floor noise but it’s the musicality that draws you in...

Also, the Sophia Blue KT88 beats all of my back-ups with a much more refined presentation and pin-point placement of images with-in the soundstage with more vivid colors and life-like sound quality, it just sounds real; compared to Ruby, Golden Voice, KT88Z and Gold Lions.

These Sophia tubes just have everything to include dimensionality, clarity, richness and warmth without sounding slow, bloated or congested and at some point will fill the remaining 6SN7s positions in both amp and pre :)

Wig

I received the 274B Aqua yesterday. All I can say is “wow”! 

I read a lot of blogs on your tubes and was expecting “some” improvement, however I did not expect to unveil this much.

Greatly improved imaging/stereo effect, excellent detail excavation and lower mid and bass punch (which was an added bonus).

Again, “wow” and thank you for the Aqua and please, please keep up the great work.

Best regards and new Sophia groupie,

Phil Collins
Huntsville, AL
Decware SE84UFO
Zu Mission-LC Spkr Cables
Klipsch Chorus 1 - Crites upgraded
Schiit-Gungnir DAC
Homegrown music server

First impressions on Aqua 274B and 6SN7 tubes 

Dear Sue,

I was extremely satisfied with your Aqua 274B and 6sn7 after only 50 hours, the result is a strong improvement of the whole audio spectrum. Improvement of the details, of the black among the instruments, more granitic bass, more refined high end stages. So please kindly send me a PayPal invoice for another set Aqua 274B tubes.

Thank you and greetings

Luigi from Italy

 

Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier tube

with Sophia Electric 91-01 300B mono-block amplifiers

 

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

 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

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

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

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