(The post below has been updated in Dec 2025.)
We have received so many inquires lately from customers asking us to help them to make a choice between the two tube brands out of China. So here is a summary of our take – OBJECTIVELY:
- Power of design:
High end product design need vision and dedication. Psvane had a track record of pumping out a few series of high end tubes for the worldwide audiophile upgrade market, since they initially launched ‘Treasure black bottle’ tube series back in 2008 till the recent ACME series.
That original Psvane design team includes the same key personnel who left Psvane to form Linlai. So, Psvane had proven track record. Linlai™ started off with good design strength too.
Conclusion: 1 for Psvane to 1 for Linlai = Even. We have absolute confidence in Linlai™’s design ability to pump out GREAT hifi tubes. Two brands provide varieties to the market – users can choose based on their own brand preference.
2. Business focus:
When a business grows, it does tend to increase product offerings to cover more market segments and generate more revenue. Psvane indeed had taken the golden opportunity to expand and filled the market void left by state-owned Shuguang tube factory’s shutdown in 2019 (due to sale of land and relocation – Shuguang now has resumed production in 2023). Psvane even had ambitiously set the stage for expanding into the mass production guitar amp market, which mostly use small signal tubes and EL34/KT88/KT66 etc. (Large triode tubes such as 300B/845 tubes are mostly used by HiFi market.)
Shuguang has resumed production in 2023. Psvane’s market share is certainly being squeezed. More importantly, we think the whole problem of Chinese tubes is about (lacking of) consistent quality. When Psvane grew to cover multiple market segments as Shuguang used to, the quality consistency at Psvane might suffer (this had been unfortunately confirmed by our received Psvane tubes test results before we drop the line in 2021.)
Opposite to Psvane’ aggressive expansion strategy (which was fueled by planned then failed IPO attempt), Linlai set itself as a niche player focusing on HiFi market only and do not appear to aggressively chasing market share at the expenses of quality.
Conclusion: 0 for Psvane, 1 for [Linlai Global] in this round. Psvane tubes quality consistency must be closely observed by diligent buyers.
3. Seeing is Believing. Numbers talk:
We have randomly taken 28 (300B) tubes from each brand that we have received and plotted their emissions. Blue line is Psvane, Orange line is Linlai™. We can clearly see a less deviation with Linlai™ measurements than with Psvane.
What does this chart tell us? It says: We are indeed getting superior quality [Linlai™ Global] tubes with consistent measurements than those we got from Psvane in the past. (Note: We cannot speak for Linlai tubes without [Linlai Global] label, due to lack of first hand measurements.)
In our opinion, those Psvane 300B tubes with plate current less than 45 (75%) should NEVER has been released to outside of China market. (We were told that China’s national standard only requests minimum 36 (60%) emission for 300B tubes – it appears to be reasonable in 1960’s but we don’t agree it should be extended to 2020’s when Chinese tube price has skyrocketed).
4. What if? – The Warranty question:
Both Psvane and Linlai offer a better warranty term than the state owned Shuguang brand used to offer. They are changing the reputation of ‘Made-in-China’ tubes.
Linlai factory backs up their [Linlai™ Global] tubes sold through their own website and their authorized overseas resellers. Buyers tempted by cheaper price and bought the Chinese version of Linlai tubes (it doesn’t have the [Linlai™ Global]) is only covered by their sellers (mostly located in Greater China).
Conclusion: Buying [Linlai™ Global] tubes does not leave the buyer to hold the bags when problems arise. Consistent quality with [Linlai Global] tubes means less warranty cases – it translates better user experience.
5. How do they compare, sonically?
We know this is the holy-grail question for audiophiles. But since this comparison is all about being ‘objectively’. We as vendor must leave this question to be answered by the audiophile community.
Objectively, we can shine some lights on Linlai™ design which will add to definite positives to the sonic performance. E-series with molybdenum material produce a much stronger electron emission than other type of plate material such as graphite or hybrid plate, and sustain higher voltage. This translates to more dynamic to the sound, better reliability and longer tube life. DG overhang filament series achieves better vibration control than other filament structures. With all these features, we trust that they are evident to well trained audiophile ears to hear the sonic improvements.
Conclusion: we have been selecting high quality tubes from China for 17 years now. Our past combined experience does tell us that Linlai™ is a brand with great potential for both sonic quality and reliability – so far we have not seen a single defective tube from our 4 Linlai™ shipments, except one tube broken in handling from China to us.
We hope by sharing the above information and data, worldwide music lovers and audiophiles can be confident in making a well informed choice between Psvane and Linlai brands.
Keep in mind: Enjoying music is a journey, so is tube rolling. It’s not a quest for the absolute best. If there were ‘absolute best’ sonic in the audiophile world, we wouldn’t have had today’s numerous HiFi brands competing at audio shows. Pricing is indicative of quality. If a product’s pricing is not in alignment with its quality, it will simply not last long on the market.
Happy Listening.
Rachel@ Grant Fidelity