Elrog 300B vs Takatsuki 300B tubes

Tmmvinyl, I certainly agree that one should get more than 6 mo out of a new set of tubes, especially at these prices. In fact, the longevity (or lack thereof) is worse than it appears, because for at least 2 of the 6 months I had very little listening time. Its not likely these tubes had 250 hours on them. Preliminarily, I don't think the amp was damaged. I replaced the tube with my spare Psvane T, and the amp seemed to be ok.

Elrog addressed the issue for Charles, providing him with tubes suitable for the Frankensteins. I expect the same customer service, or I am not going to be pleased.

The tubes deliver superb sonics, but I'm not spending 2K a year for tubes. I asked Matthais in this forum on 7/7/15 if, since Elrog knew there was a problem with their tubes in the Frankensteins, they would allow me to return the tubes for ones that were a suitable match for the amps. He chose not to respond to my question. Too bad.

I guess we will have to see what Elrog intends to do. Matthais, any comments?

George Lenz sure stood by me and other customers concerning the Elrog 300b. Bill did you get yours via True Audiophile? Well I hope who ever your vendor, they treat you appropriately. As you correctly acknowledge this is a superb sounding tube. I'm rooting for Elrog to get this tube right with the replacements such as mine. Larry, the Western Electric 300b reissues were very disappointing in my amplifier. EML XLS and Takatsuki were far superior sounding.
Charles,
Charles,

Charles, I initiated contact with the dealer (and alerted them to this thread) back when your tube failed and your dialogue with Matthais was initiated. I contacted the vendor immediately after my tube failed and I received a response within about 5 minutes. I am confident they will stand behind me on their end. However, I do want to ensure that I receive replacements that are suitable for the Frankenstein amps.

As I have said previously, the audiophile community needs to be supportive of companies like Elrog who are taking risks trying to enable manufacture of tubes that meet or exceed the standards of the vacuum state glory days. That support involves some risk on our part, too. But In all fairness to the AG community, I think folks who might be potential customers need to be aware of the Elrog failure rate and observe Elrog's response to the problem. Premature tube failure is bad enough, but Tmm's experience with substantial damage to his Dragons is another. If my amp had (or is) damaged, or if Elrog fails to provide a suitable replacement, you can be sure I will not be pleased.

Almost all of the newer tube makers have had problems, at least initially, with quality control and reliability. In time, if they are any good at it, these problems abate (e.g., EML had early problems, but, they appear to be reliable now.

In the various amps I've heard, the Western Electric reissues were okay sounding, but, I generally preferred the sound of the EMLs and Krons to the Western Electics. But, I did mention them because they demonstrate that it is possible for someone to make a very reliable and long-lived tube of this type.

Larry,
Our listening impressions of W.E. vs EML are similar, the W.E. reissue version is considerably more expensive despite its poorer sound quality. So it seems that durability is their best attribute. Last week my EML XLS pair were found to test identically to the results of 3 years ago when I got them new. They've had very frequent use in that 3 year period as well, so it appears they're likely to have commendable longevity. Larry you're correct, EML had problems with their initial offerings but were able to sort out and fix the problem. Now it's Elrog's turn to do the same. I'm cheering for their success. I'd be a shame for a tube that sounds this good to fail.
Charles,