Elrog 300B vs Takatsuki 300B tubes

Amtrans is a Japanese vendor of various audio and other electronics. I have bought a couple of pairs of Takatski 300b from Amtrans. I have found them totally reliable and honorable. Only sometimes they are slow to answer emails from the US. (I once had a Japanese friend call Amtrans after my emails had gone unanswered; Amtrans immediately emailed me. Not sure whether the issue was a server or language depending on who was the office.) Amtrans has also been helpful in working with Takatsuki to cull a pair with a low mA as recommended by my amplifier designer.

Takatsuki has had three US distributors: Axiss, Amazon, and now Trueaudiophile. The US price has always been higher than the direct-from-Japan price: 140,000-150,000yen (the price was increased when they introduced the black bases) vs 1800USD from Amazon and now almost 2000USD from Trueaudiophile. When Takatsuki has a US vendor, Amtrans will not sell direct to the US. Not sure about other Japanese vendors, but it might be similar.

Whenever I have bought something from Amtrans, it has been shipped EMS. Delivery has been fast (less than one week - often a matter of days) with no import duty. In my experience Amtrans has always accepted PayPal; in fact, Amtrans insisted on it.

If I needed something from Japan and it was available from Amtrans, I would not hesitate.

Hi Wyan001,
I know of others who tried Tak, EML and AVVT 32SL like I've done. As expected the ranking order varies amongst the listeners. As a group I felt that all three of them were excellent 300b options. I wasn't sure if the Elrog could exceed that elite trio but they did. Quite an achievement. I have heard nearly all of the highly regarded 300bs with the exception of the "vintage" version W.E. 300b. They're just too expensive for me to sample.

Gary,
Yes, Amtrans is very solid and reliable to deal with. After placing my order(via bank transfer) the Takatsuki pair, they arrived in only 2 days from Japan.

Wyan,
Do you rotate between your Frankenstein and First Watt J2 amplifiers driving your Voxative speakers?
Charles,

Wyan001, I was told by TA the Elrog can only handle DC heating, despite what manufacturer claim. It is my understanding the Big 7 uses AC heating. So I would be very careful.