Mesh plate 300B was developed in 2001. It’s one of the most matured tubes from TJ. It is popular for its warm sound. This was the one reviewed in EnjoyTheMusic.com. Mesh plate 300B is available in globe shape and ST (dome) shape.
300B/SE was developed in 2005. “Our panel agreed that the new carbon plate SE sounded much better than what we recalled from the mesh plate… Possibly I prefer the TJ-SE to the Western Electric in part because of its resemblance to the 211 in its ability to clarify texture, catch and release attacks, and maintain order in the harmonic structure” written by one buyer.
300B/CNE was developed in 2013 based on 300B/SE. The high is clearer while the base is preserved. It looks better too.
300B/Q was developed in 2017. It sounds as good as 300B/CNE while the plate is thinner and lighter.
Common issue of 300B/SE and 300B/CNE
300B/SE has been prone to damage in the past few years. At first the factory engineers suspected that the globe shape was the cause due to the heavy plate of 300B/SE. Since then we only ordered the dome shape. The replacement rate improved a bit but it is still higher than the mesh plate. What is perplexing is that the 300B/SE and the 300B/CNE were playing well in our system in Hong Kong. But it failed more after we shipped them out. We used to ship them via regular airmail. Therefore, one possible cause of failure is that the tubes were shaken too much. We will ship them by Fedex in the future and observe whether or not it will solve the issue. We are also designing a light but firm box to reduce the delivery shock.