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In Reply to: RE: UPDATE: Just the New WE 300B! posted by Gerry E. on March 24, 2020 at 10:01:38
Been waiting on your review :)
Edits: 03/28/20Follow Ups:
I haven't done any critical listening or comparisons yet because I want to give the tubes some "break-in" time. My Takatsuki 300Bs sounded best after approx. 50 - 100 hours of use. However, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly so far:
The Good: The tubes were shipped 2-day express at no charge. I assume the latter was due to the ridiculous manufacturing delay. They also included a couple of very nice WE T-shirts and another WE tchotchke.
Of course everyone wants to know about the sound. I'm very impressed with what I have heard so far. The bass sounds sounds full and extended, the mid-range very smooth and the highs "silky". Based on my experience with the Takatsuki 300Bs, I expect bass and dynamics will improve but they are already more than acceptable. One of the better qualities of these new WE 300Bs is the sound staging. Instruments are well defined in their own space with lots of "bloom". If I had to sum it up, a very beautiful sound.
The Bad: I'm not really sure if this is bad but it's not good either. The tubes tested 78/58 and 79/58 on my TV7 tester. Actually, those are pretty strong readings but my 4-month old Takatsuki 300Bs still test 88 and 92 (I tested them immediately after the WE 300B test). Even my old 1998 reissue WE 300Bs, which I no longer own, tested 86 and 87.
The Ugly: The seals on the bottom of the individual tube boxes were already broken when I received them. When I asked WE about this, they told me that "...for your particular order, an additional round of testing was performed on each 300B after the (boxes) were sealed." I'm not happy about this but I was going to break them anyway, so I won't make a big deal about it.
In summary, a few questionable attributes but there's no denying the sound quality. After a little more usage, I plan to do more critical listening and a direct comparison to the Takatsuki 300Bs. I probably won't keep both pairs and as of now, it could go either way. I'll post another update after the direct comparison.
Gerry
"mid-range very smooth and the highs silky"
I just bought some Takatsuki 300B's, so we'll see.
It's hard to know exactly what someone means by "smooth" and "silky," but I actually tend to avoid tubes that have sonic signatures (to me) that lean towards "smooth" and "silky"
I prefer my tubes (audio in general) clear, vivid, breathy rich.
We do our best to describe what we hear. Of course it's very easy to question someone's descriptive words. If you don't like "smooth" and "silky" then you must love Art Dudley's and Herb Reichert's word du jour "colorful".
I'll take the high-road and define smooth and silky for you:
Smooth - This should be self-evident but to me it means the opposite of rough or uneven. Another example would be "well balanced".
Silky - The opposite of harsh or raspy. Silky seems especially appropriate because of the phenolic coated cloth diaphragm my tweeters use.
After additional listening to the new WE 300Bs I would add "honest" and "truthful" as opposed to "flashy".
Gerry
And I hope you didn't misunderstand my previous post, as it's hard to communicate the intended tone when writing stuff. I was just typing out loud and guesstimating what things might sound like.
that I purchased in the early 2000's, right before he closed down, as 'neutral' and 'uncolored'.
Not bright and certainly not 'warm' or 'tubey'. And they stayed that way up until about two years ago when they went into storage due to a move.
Be good if the newest editions are the same.
A huge plus for 300Bs.
I know people who have been waiting for much more than 10 years for their tubes to arrive (they pre-paid for the tubes). I haven't heard the latest, but, if they are like the 1990's reissue, they should be quite good. Those 1990 reissues were also quite durable, except for mediocre gluing of the tube to the base.
The price certainly beats hunting around for original WE 300b's with engraved base.
And had to re-glue one or two bases.
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. "
― W.C. Fields
Gerry E.,
Thanks for the review/insight of the WE300B/Takasuki 300B.
Before I purchased my present amp/pre-amp from Don Garber,
I met him at his house (I had previously purchased a Super X)
and listened to a pair of his 300B mono's with 1950's WE's. They were
wonderful. Even though Don offered to build me an identical
pair with WE tubes (at a nominal markup, $500 I believe) I went in
my original direction, 421a and Evo pre-amp. As an aside, the 421a
that Don supplied me with, date code 58-52, still has has all it's flashing
and tests better than 100% for emissions, after 12 years of constant use.
They/it also sound wonderful.
I have never heard the Takasuki's, but have heard only good things about
them. I'm not a big fan of any re-issue, tube or vinyl, as I believe that they
probably lose something in translation.
Good luck in your final selection, Regards...mike
Got to leave those Fed Ex and UPS packages out on the porch for 72 hours for all those coronoviruses do die off.
UV radiation helps, also 190F for a few hours (6-8?) might do the job.
That said, reading a three day old newspaper every morning is getting old. :-(
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