[TonyNewman]

  Lucky you have a set of the ER's reserved they must be all gone for now. be great if you can get together with matt and I while you over so you can hear the 234's with all the 300B's.

 
Have a set of ER300Bs and ER485s (for my big rig) reserved. Will be making a lightning visit for pickup in January - can't linger due to work commitments.
 
I am hoping the ER485s can deliver similar magic as the ER300Bs (best info I can find is that they will).

 

[isquirrel]

   
Have a set of ER300Bs and ER485s (for my big rig) reserved. Will be making a lightning visit for pickup in January - can't linger due to work commitments.
 
I am hoping the ER485s can deliver similar magic as the ER300Bs (best info I can find is that they will).

Shame NZ customs are a PITA, otherwise I would send them out to you as used radio parts.

 

[TonyNewman]

 
Shame NZ customs are a PITA, otherwise I would send them out to you as used radio parts

 
It's kinda random - most things go through without a hassle - but for a combined order of ER300B + ER845 it's worth jumping on some cheap mid-week flights and going across for pickup.

 

[bbophead]

Such a first world problem. 

 

[Krutsch]

  Thinking of buying the WA7 and PS for the partner, have to get her off my rig......

I'm still working on that problem...
 

 

[Krutsch]

New Tubes... 7236 Silvania Power Tube for the WA3:
 


A little less volume/power than the stock power tube for the WA3 (which was a huge surprise for me - I expected more power), but takes the edge off of the midrange I was experiencing with some tracks (e.g. Agnes Obel). I will give these some track time, then try the Tung-Sol 7236 for comparison (which also came in the mail today).
 

 
I have Telefunken and Amperex driver tubes in-bound... loving this hobby 

 

[Clayton SF]

After a year in storage Ultrainferno has convinced me to listen to my WA22 (Nov. 2011) once again. It is warming up. Have a nice weekend!
 
Tubes:
Mullard GZ37
CBS 6SN7GT cleartops
Chatham 2399 (gift from Ultrainferno--thanks!)
 

 

[isquirrel]

Received the EML 300B mesh plates yesterday. I was expecting a warm lush sound but I find the sound one dimensional and lacking depth and emotion. Hopefully they will improve with more hours on them. EML recommend running the tubes for no more than 4 hours during burn in.
 
My gut feel is that the real battle for top 300B is going to be between the Elrog's the Takatsukis and the WE's. I have gone back and listened to the other 300B's and nothing compares to the Elrog's. They have a shocking realism, very clean sound but rich in texture. Congrats Tony for the heads up on these !
 
Hopefully the Elrog's and the Takatsukis will complement each other for different moods and music.

 

[bbophead]

So many first world problems, so little time.

 

[Krutsch]

The new tubes are here... the new tubes are here...!
 


Power: Tung-Sol 7236
Driver: Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8/ECC88
 
Warning up... and now, on to listening... 

 

[isquirrel]

  The new tubes are here... the new tubes are here...!
 


Power: Tung-Sol 7236
Driver: Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8/ECC88
 
Warning up... and now, on to listening... 

How's it sounding ?

 

[kazsud]

  Received the EML 300B mesh plates yesterday. I was expecting a warm lush sound but I find the sound one dimensional and lacking depth and emotion. Hopefully they will improve with more hours on them. EML recommend running the tubes for no more than 4 hours during burn in.
 
My gut feel is that the real battle for top 300B is going to be between the Elrog's the Takatsukis and the WE's. I have gone back and listened to the other 300B's and nothing compares to the Elrog's. They have a shocking realism, very clean sound but rich in texture. Congrats Tony for the heads up on these !
 
Hopefully the Elrog's and the Takatsukis will complement each other for different moods and music.

I've got the Elrog tubes at the top of my list for when I get my Wa5

 

[Krutsch]

 
How's it sounding ?

So, I've had the Tung Sol 7236 in the power socket for a few days and I'm not sure I don't like the Sylvania 7236 better (I need to go back and re-listen for particulars on the sound) - but both are improvements over the stock power tube.
 
On the new Amperex driver tubes; I let them warm up for 15 minutes and started playing my favorite "new gear demo music", which is my SACD copy of Steely Dan's Aja. The sound difference from the stock driver tubes was interesting and not subtle.
 
I was blown away by the clarity in the lower mids / upper bass frequencies. I hate to sound like a 6moons reviewer, but I really heard a separation of instruments, a clarity and, well, sounds I haven't heard before from this disc (which I've listened to quite a bit).
 
The bad side, however, was the a veiled sound to the treble frequencies (I'm not experienced enough to guess the frequency range), but the highs were muted - at first. I let it go, listened to the entire album, then switched to the SACD of Pink Floyd's DSotM and listened to that in it's entirety. By the end of that disk, the highs started to expose themselves more. Then I moved on to Wish You Were Here and by the end of that disc, I wasn't aware of the muted highs.
 
I am wondering if my sensitivity to the lower mids / upper bass was due to the muting of the highs, at the start. It was kinda cool to experience, though - it was like hearing a familiar disc for the first time.
 
Anyway, I am going to have another listen tonight and see how things unfold with some jazz and classical favorites. Overall, however, a substantial improvement over the stock tubes which I was not expecting (to be honest, I expected them to sound the same).
 
Next on deck for appraisal: the Telefunken E188CC/7308 drivers:
 

 

[TonyNewman]

  Received the EML 300B mesh plates yesterday. I was expecting a warm lush sound but I find the sound one dimensional and lacking depth and emotion. Hopefully they will improve with more hours on them. EML recommend running the tubes for no more than 4 hours during burn in.
 
My gut feel is that the real battle for top 300B is going to be between the Elrog's the Takatsukis and the WE's. I have gone back and listened to the other 300B's and nothing compares to the Elrog's. They have a shocking realism, very clean sound but rich in texture. Congrats Tony for the heads up on these !
 
Hopefully the Elrog's and the Takatsukis will complement each other for different moods and music.

 
I hope the Elrog's live up to their hefty reputation. I have had to put my purchase of the ER300Bs and ER845s on hold for a while - real life getting in the way of HeadFi

 

[isquirrel]

 
So, I've had the Tung Sol 7236 in the power socket for a few days and I'm not sure I don't like the Sylvania 7236 better (I need to go back and re-listen for particulars on the sound) - but both are improvements over the stock power tube.
 
On the new Amperex driver tubes; I let them warm up for 15 minutes and started playing my favorite "new gear demo music", which is my SACD copy of Steely Dan's Aja. The sound difference from the stock driver tubes was interesting and not subtle.
 
I was blown away by the clarity in the lower mids / upper bass frequencies. I hate to sound like a 6moons reviewer, but I really heard a separation of instruments, a clarity and, well, sounds I haven't heard before from this disc (which I've listened to quite a bit).
 
The bad side, however, was the a veiled sound to the treble frequencies (I'm not experienced enough to guess the frequency range), but the highs were muted - at first. I let it go, listened to the entire album, then switched to the SACD of Pink Floyd's DSotM and listened to that in it's entirety. By the end of that disk, the highs started to expose themselves more. Then I moved on to Wish You Were Here and by the end of that disc, I wasn't aware of the muted highs.
 
I am wondering if my sensitivity to the lower mids / upper bass was due to the muting of the highs, at the start. It was kinda cool to experience, though - it was like hearing a familiar disc for the first time.
 
Anyway, I am going to have another listen tonight and see how things unfold with some jazz and classical favorites. Overall, however, a substantial improvement over the stock tubes which I was not expecting (to be honest, I expected them to sound the same).
 
Next on deck for appraisal: the Telefunken E188CC/7308 drivers:
 

NOS Tung Sols are notorious for their long break in time and can sound sibilant and or flat in the treble region. Usually cleans up after a few weeks and then they are a different animal. Interesting to see how you go with the Tele's, usually excellent tubes.