[innocentblood]

I have a feeling that Woo may not recommend a tube that they themselves are not selling. for what it is worth, I do hope you thoroughly enjoy the Elrog while it lasts on your amp.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I have a feeling that Woo may not recommend a tube that they themselves are not selling. for what it is worth, I do hope you thoroughly enjoy the Elrog while it lasts on your amp.

It's not about recommending a tube, It's about what happens during start up.
This affects all tubes used.

There are quite a few reports about rectifiers dying after only a year.
It's just that it's very obvious with the bright Elrog glow

 

[pippen99]

No reply from Woo yet but did not really expect one this quick. I have had 3 tube failures in 3 years with the WA33. The 2 Tak 274B rectifiers and a EML 300B 2.5v. I would attribute the EML failure to the general shoddiness of EML tubes but I am not capable of impartiality due to conflict with EML on warranty policy. My concern is that no other rectifier I have used has exhibited this behavior and I have tried more rectifiers than any other tube.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

No reply from Woo yet but did not really expect one this quick. I have had 3 tube failures in 3 years with the WA33. The 2 Tak 274B rectifiers and a EML 300B 2.5v. I would attribute the EML failure to the general shoddiness of EML tubes but I am not capable of impartiality due to conflict with EML on warranty policy. My concern is that no other rectifier I have used has exhibited this behavior and I have tried more rectifiers than any other tube.

I think Elrog has fixed their QC issues now that Thomas Meyer has taken over and re-engineered the tubes and put new QC processes in place. I think in all the discussions I've seen about new-generation Elrogs, I've seen exactly two issues of bad tubes (mine being one of them). There are plenty of folks in the 300B, Felikz Envy, and Cayain threads who have no issues with theirs. FWIW.

 

[kwilkins]

I've been stalking the WA33 Elite for a while and have decided to get one. If anyone is interested in selling theirs please PM me. I'll pay with wire transfer or PayPal F&F if you prefer. Thanks.

Ken

 

[pippen99]

I have now passed 50 hours on the Elrog ER5U4G. It has begun to open up nicely. At first somewhat opaque like 6 year old headlight covers. You knew there should be more light but the music could not quite shine through. That veil has lifted for the most though it takes time even now. My SOP is to let the amp warm up at least 15 minutes before starting to listen. The Elrog (at least at 50 hrs) takes another 15-20 minutes to get to full SQ quality. My hope is that more hours will reduce this performance interval. Another plus is that the amp seems quieter. As we all know some WA33s are hummers mine included. With the Elrog the hum is more muted. Right now I would rate the Elrog on the same level or even slightly ahead of the KR 274B. At this point it does not possess the clarity or precision of the Tak 274B. My hope is that with more use it will rival the Tak in all aspects.

Now the bad news. No one wants me to use this tube. The following are the statements from Thomas Mayer of Elrog and Mike Liang of Woo Audio

So Woo Audio thinks tubes that flash (per my video that I have posted) do not meet Woo Audio standards. Even though the WA33 is designed for a 5U4G Mr Mayer does not recommend the use of the ER5U4G in this case. So what is a man to do? Woo says the 274B is compatible with the WA33 yet the Taks keeping burning out. Mr Mayer says 274B should not be used in an amp designed for 5U4G yet he does not want his 5U4G used in the amp.

At this point it is a little late to ask PartsConneXion to take the Elrog back and I would not ask them. They are great people. So I will continue to use the tube. The following scenarios are what I see Best case to Worst.

1. Everbody is wrong. The Elrog continues to improve and the two of us enjoy thousands of hours of musical bliss.
2. Someone wants to trade me a KR 274B or Tak 274B with very low hours(maybe third times is the charm).
3. The Elrog blows at 11 months. I get PCX to credit the replacement towards a new Tak or I get a new Elrog and sell or trade it. Would probably go back to KR 274B.
4. I give up and go back to my Cavalli Liquid Gold. Not really the worst since I love my Lau.

Who the hell knows!

 

[paradoxper]

I have now passed 50 hours on the Elrog ER5U4G. It has begun to open up nicely. At first somewhat opaque like 6 year old headlight covers. You knew there should be more light but the music could not quite shine through. That veil has lifted for the most though it takes time even now. My SOP is to let the amp warm up at least 15 minutes before starting to listen. The Elrog (at least at 50 hrs) takes another 15-20 minutes to get to full SQ quality. My hope is that more hours will reduce this performance interval. Another plus is that the amp seems quieter. As we all know some WA33s are hummers mine included. With the Elrog the hum is more muted. Right now I would rate the Elrog on the same level or even slightly ahead of the KR 274B. At this point it does not possess the clarity or precision of the Tak 274B. My hope is that with more use it will rival the Tak in all aspects.

Now the bad news. No one wants me to use this tube. The following are the statements from Thomas Mayer of Elrog and Mike Liang of Woo Audio





So Woo Audio thinks tubes that flash (per my video that I have posted) do not meet Woo Audio standards. Even though the WA33 is designed for a 5U4G Mr Mayer does not recommend the use of the ER5U4G in this case. So what is a man to do? Woo says the 274B is compatible with the WA33 yet the Taks keeping burning out. Mr Mayer says 274B should not be used in an amp designed for 5U4G yet he does not want his 5U4G used in the amp.

At this point it is a little late to ask PartsConneXion to take the Elrog back and I would not ask them. They are great people. So I will continue to use the tube. The following scenarios are what I see Best case to Worst.

1. Everbody is wrong. The Elrog continues to improve and the two of us enjoy thousands of hours of musical bliss.
2. Someone wants to trade me a KR 274B or Tak 274B with very low hours(maybe third times is the charm).
3. The Elrog blows at 11 months. I get PCX to credit the replacement towards a new Tak or I get a new Elrog and sell or trade it. Would probably go back to KR 274B.
4. I give up and go back to my Cavalli Liquid Gold. Not really the worst since I love my Lau.

Who the hell knows!

As the one manufacture explicitly states don't use my product, can you claim a replacement at 11 months. Should you.

You need to dig deeper. Get Woo to divulge the topology and operations within the amp.

You can see Thomas Mayer gave his best insight and conclusion based upon these principles.

Why would you wish to risk these things considering your history.

I've always advised my friends stay away from Woo products.

Good luck with your choices.

 

[Roasty]

@pippen99 the elrog is a nice tube man. I still haven't swapped back to the tak yet, because I'm just enjoying the music too much.. and if it blows, then que sera sera. whatever it is, it'll be less painful than going thru an EML warranty claim LOL.

 

[pippen99]

Seems to be a little bit of CYA all around. As @Roasty says so what if it blows. At least it is a softer fall financially than the Tak so I will take my chances. As @Roasty and Doris say Que sera sera.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

While I don't have a WA33, my Elrog 5U4G's have worked perfectly since day 1 with both my Woo WA6-SE Gen 2's and my WA5-LE Gen 2. The only issue I've had is the occasional ringing sound from one of the 5U4G's. A slight tap seems to quiet it down. having said that, I have no brightness flare like your video shows. The WA5-LE takes 20-ish seconds to warm up, then *click* and away we go. The rectifiers, while impactful, aren't as significant a change as the 300B's are. Now in the WA6-SE, it's a different story, and the Elrog is a MONSTER in them. Beats every rectifier I have by far, including the KR, KR/RK, Tak, EML, 596, etc.

$.02, YMMV, etc.

 

[mahesvara]

I

So Woo Audio thinks tubes that flash (per my video that I have posted) do not meet Woo Audio standards. Even though the WA33 is designed for a 5U4G Mr Mayer does not recommend the use of the ER5U4G in this case. So what is a man to do? Woo says the 274B is compatible with the WA33 yet the Taks keeping burning out. Mr Mayer says 274B should not be used in an amp designed for 5U4G yet he does not want his 5U4G used in the amp.

For my part, I've had the Taks 274B with my WA33 (and then the Elite) since ... at least 2016 and nothing has ever happened to it. What a mystery.

 

[pippen99]

While I don't have a WA33, my Elrog 5U4G's have worked perfectly since day 1 with both my Woo WA6-SE Gen 2's and my WA5-LE Gen 2. The only issue I've had is the occasional ringing sound from one of the 5U4G's. A slight tap seems to quiet it down. having said that, I have no brightness flare like your video shows. The WA5-LE takes 20-ish seconds to warm up, then *click* and away we go. The rectifiers, while impactful, aren't as significant a change as the 300B's are. Now in the WA6-SE, it's a different story, and the Elrog is a MONSTER in them. Beats every rectifier I have by far, including the KR, KR/RK, Tak, EML, 596, etc.

$.02, YMMV, etc.

I was thinking you had one DOA or close to. Must have been someone else. On two occasions I have had a noise I would characterize as a sizzling bacon noise. I turned off the amp and waited a few minutes and turned it back on. No noise.

Very disappointed in the Taks. It does not make me hopeful about the longevity of the Tak 2A3.

 

[musicinmymind]

I

For my part, I've had the Taks 274B with my WA33 (and then the Elite) since ... at least 2016 and nothing has ever happened to it. What a mystery.

+1
using tak and kr since 2020, no issue till now. tak gets 80% usage and on weekend I use WA33 with tak as pre to speaker amp, playtime is more than 6hrs straight.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I

For my part, I've had the Taks 274B with my WA33 (and then the Elite) since ... at least 2016 and nothing has ever happened to it. What a mystery.

If I had to guess your Wa33 emits no transformer hum whatsoever, is that right?

 

[mahesvara]

If I had to guess your Wa33 emits no transformer hum whatsoever, is that right?

It does hum.