Elrog 300B vs Takatsuki 300B tubes

I have been a silent observer of this thread. After hearing all the pros and cons of the Elrogs I contacted George Lenz and purchased a pair.

Like many of you I own the Coincident Frank II's which are just superb amps. Can't believe how quiet they are and how cool they run. What a difference from my Joules!

At any rate I wholeheartedly agree with Charles that the Elrogs are something special. Unfortunately after about 100-150 hours one of them crapped out. George told me that these were the new improved versions suitable for the voltage levels of the Franks but apparently that was not the case with mine.

George was very gracious about returning them and currently I am waiting patiently for a replacement pair. They are supposed to be shipped to George on 11/23 so hopefully I will have them soon.

Hopefully the replace to pair will be more robust. They sure make listening to music a joy. Just not the same without them in the system.

I have also been a silent observer of this thread. I own a Lampi SE Golden Gate DAC and so have been very interested in what tubes might be best for me. today I called George Lenz and ordered the Elrog 300b's. he was very helpful over the phone.

currently I have the Psvane 300b WE replicas, the Psvane 101d WE replicas, and the National Union 45's. i don't dislike any of them. I was seriously considering investing in some NOS vintage WE 300b'S but the big dollars caused me to look for a better alternative.

I appreciate all the great information shared in such a helpful positive way in this thread. I admit some/much of it goes over my head but ultimately it did allow me to be comfortable going with the Elrogs. I look forward to enjoying them.

Scifi and Mike,
This is exacly why I always mention/address reliability when discussing the Elrog ER 300b. Scifi, Snowpro, Brownsfan own the same amp as I do and are hearing the same results. The same seems the case for Lampizator Big 7 and Golden Gate DAC owners as well. If the Elrog engineers have corrected the failure issue then a superb tube is available for us to treasure.
Scifi, I wish you the very best outcome with your replacement Elrogs. You are right, the sound isn't quite the same without these tubes in use. I'll continue to post periodic updates on my Elrog 300b replacement tube experiences. I feel like a guinea pig(early adopter)) in regards to these new products, but that's my willing choice.

Scifi,
I've read nothing but high praise concerning the Joules OTL sound quality. I assume your speakers are pretty efficient if you're able to use the much lower power Frankenstein MK II SET.

Charles,

The Joules are a different kind of beast altogether. They produce voluminous amounts of heat given that they use the Russian 6c33b power tube and many of them at a time. You could literally roast weenies on top of that amp! LOL

They also have many other smaller tubes in the amp and require a variac and constant maintenance to keep the bias adjustments correct. Try to get service on them now. It is very difficult. BUT I'm not here to bash Joule because in the end those amps produce some beautiful music.

However with that being said, the Franks are just such a beautifully simple design. They are so darn quiet and run so cool for having a 300b in the mix. Of course it goes without saying that they create the most pleasant of sonic pictures. I have never been happier with a pair of amps!

Yes, my speakers are very efficient at 92dB but more than that they produce basically a flat impedance curve from top to bottom. They are the Audio Kinesis Zephrins designed and produced by Duke LeJeune. Duke is a joy to work with and together we plotted out the type of wiring I wanted in the speakers as well as exactly what compression driver would sound best. It was fun to have input into the process and the result has been outstanding.

As far as the Elrogs go, in talking with George very few of the latest Elrogs going into Franks have failed. He stated that aside from mine there had only been one other. Actually one of the tubes was just fine but George wanted both back so that he could replace them with a matched pair. George provides nothing but first class service and I'm hoping that this even newer set will result in many hours of happy listening because that tube is truly extraordinary.

Scifi