Elrog 300b's for sale. Your thoughts?

I just passed the 1 year mark for my Elrog 300B tubes. I will admit that I have also been running the EML 300BXLS in my Art Audio Diavolo 300b SET Copper Reference amplifier as well. So I can say they have about 1000 hours on the Elrogs. Regarding sound quality, I enjoy both tubes equally and wouldn’t say one is particularly better, but the Elrog is a tad smoother, slightly more euphonic, and a tad less dynamic. EML 300bxls comes across as more dynamic and neutral sounding to my ears in comparison. I’m splitting hairs here as they both sound much more alike than different which surprises me as they are constructed differently. They are both superbly made tubes with excellent construction and looks, but the EML 300bxls are structurally built more robustly and are beefier in looks and stature whereas the Elrog feels a bit more delicate, but the Elrog probably would win a beauty content based on looks and that beautiful glow that you won’t get from the EML.

The real question is would I buy them again. Well, at their current prices ($1455), which is more than I paid a year ago, I will not be reinvesting in them because they have priced themselves out of the market imho. They simply aren’t worth the premium for that subtle of a difference. The EMLs have a much better warranty, proven reliability, and a much more affordable price point at around ~$900. More importantly, and correct me if I am wrong, but running a 300bxls at 8wpc should probably last significantly longer than a normal 300b as it’s designed to put out more wattage and they are basically loafing in my amp’s standard 350v/75ma voltage mode. If I flick a switch I installed into my amplifier it switches to the higher 450v voltage transformer windings. I then just tweak the auto-bias circuit pots from 75ma to 110ma & I get about 13wpc which is an added bonus and a very noticeable improvement in performance for certain types of large scale music that the higher wpc output setting does benefit from.

Hi jacarcopo,
I glad to hear that the current Elrogs are seemingly more durable compared to the earlier versions I had. Despite our different Amplifiers/audio systems I find our listening impressions virtually identical. Yes I’d say that the Elrog is just a little bit smoother, warmer and organic in presentation. The EML XLS is more dynamic and authoritative yet retains an organic character  and is by no means a "cool" sonic presentation IMO.

The XLS is as you note very robust and well built. There are reports that early versions of this tube are approaching 40,000 hours of use and yet still are able to test as new. By any standard this is impressive! I did enjoy the Elrog in my Coincident Frankenstein amplifier but honestly I don’t feel as though I’ve lost anything with the EML XLS (Just subtle differences and tradeoffs) . At this juncture I’m very pleased with them and don’t anticipate a tube change.

The XLS isn’t inexpensive itself but does offer excellent sound quality and apparently extraordinary lifespan/ reliability. After over 3 years of heavy near daily use mine tested exactly the same as the day I got them.
Charles

Jacarcopo,  Thanks for posting this report.  I've exercised considerable discipline in waiting things out for a year before making a decision on Elrog vs EML XLS to replace my Psvane Ts.   Much as I loved my Elrogs, I just can't get to a justification for taking that risk again, and even if the reliability issue has been solved, I'm not hearing either you or Charles reporting a huge separation in purely sonic terms.  Hopefully, I'll get around to this before a tariff on vacuum tubes is imposed. ;>)

Hi Bill,
It good see a post from you, it reminds me of the of the good old days on this forum 😊. To be fair you just might find the Elrog superior and may prefer it based on your own comparison. The Elrog certainly is a excellent sounding tube with its undeniable strengths. You could find the gap between the Elrog and EML XLS perhaps a bit wider than jcarcopo or myself.

As I wrote above when all is considered sonically across the full spectrum the XLS does acquit itself very well.Bill some say that the Psvane W.E Replica 300b is an excellent tube and probably a bit more organic and midrange centric relative to the EML XLS.

I don’t envision Elrog (or any tube manufacturer) producing a surplus of their tubes and dumping them here at ultra low cost, so I believe we’re safe from tariffs 😊😊.
Charles

Charles, I'm sure the EML is going to be just fine.  Its been a year since my 2nd set of Elrogs burned out.  That should be enough time that a comparison of the Elrogs and EMLs from me will be meaningless.   Over the years I've learned that we seem to hear the same things, and value the same things, so I have no inclination to run a very expensive experiment to ensure that that still holds true.   I do think that the Elrog design offers much to recommend itself, and I want them to succeed and continue to roll out new products.   But, they got off to a rough start, and I suspect they are going to have to offer something better than diminishing returns at premium prices to fully realize their potential as a company.   BTW, I am really enjoying the Franks in the downstairs system.   Nice having the luxury of a good SET system and a good OTL system based on the M-60's.