300b vs 845

I have a Viva aurora 845 driving Trios using regular chinese tubes. I have had thoughts I would like to try a 2A3 or 45 amp. I know it is less power,only a couple of watts. With the trios it should be enough though. Does anyone have any comments on the comparisons between these tubes and 845. Also, what about cryoed 845. So far I have heard mixed opinions.

I like the 845B tube best. I have tried standard 845's, 845B's, and 845C's. The 845B is clearly superior to the standard 845's. It has a much richer sound with lots of texture. I found the sound of the 845C's too bright for my tastes. The 845C's have more detail and tighter bass, but the sound is a little thin in my amps. On the other hand, the 845B's midrange is very full and pleasing at the expense of the frequency extremes. It kind of reminds me of the WE 300b sound.

Jeff

Regarding the use of 845B's with a Viva amp. The ones I used on my viva Solista glowed a most attractive cherry red colour before they quite rapidly failed. Presumably the voltage on the Viva is a tad too high.

I forgot to say, that i enjoyed this thread immensely, I learnt alot and one day upon replacement, id get a nice pair of 845B or 845M. I missed audiogon for ages, returning back into music listening after spent much time renovating. Actually i apologise for not staying on topic as per subject of the 845 tubes (valves), just noting that sometimes you can get good result on a budget with smaller, less costly NOS tubes thats are drivers if not 'output valves'. but i guess chances are that if a better 845 tube the overall result would be ever better.
cheers

I have a pair of ASL 845 (AQ1006 mono blocks) driving Bottlehead Straight 8's.
nothing wrong with the ASL's you just got to tweak it. Maybe the chinese are bland but also they seem to last a long time. ASL using regular chinese 845 however i took a different approach, instead of chasing the pricy, exotic 845's, I changed the drivers tubes to a 2 pairs of CBS (1956/1958) 5692, a famed 1952 Sylvania 6SN7 tall boy, and also pulled out the stock chinese 6L6 for a near-NOS GEC KT66 in place. It made it really detailed, the bass is strong, no flab, highs just sweet not too bright or harsh in anyway.

I recall "Jack G" from Audio Ayslum apparently had the intergrated ASL 845 "Layla" he had spend alot of time buying and trying out combinations of various 6SN7s, and liked it alot and it seemed that the old valves' esp the high-end of 6SN7 and KT66 taking place of 6L6's responded very well to the ASL (845) topology.
If I still have my amps and need to replace the 845's I'd liken to try these 845M or 845B the deciding factor would be which i can afford.
a guy in my hometown, an audiophille of more experience than me, come over for a visit, and listen he was godsmacked saying my midrange is insanely detailed he has never heard anything like it.