New German made Elrog Er-211 transmitting tubes, amazing sounding, Psvane 211's good deal as well...

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Steve Hoffman, Apr 6, 2015.

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  1. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Wonder how they will perform in their original native application? Making RF on the AM band. Nice to see quality 211 being made.
     
  2. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    I bought a quad on eBay to have as extras for my Audio Electronics Constellation preamp. They were only $19.95 for the quad. I tried them out, not expecting much, due to the low, low price. I was pleasantly surprised on how well they sound. They are NOS military tubes. No quality control issues, using the 1st for over 6-months now.

    LOT OF 4 - NOS 6N8S OTK / 6SN7 Russian Dual Triode Tubes - US SELLER

    I bought another quad, too good of a deal for me to pass up.
     
  3. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Those are old, eh? Neat.

    I'm speaking of EH current. A bit too "lively."
     
  4. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    My first experience with tubes in the past forty or so years, was with the new J.J. Tesla tubes that came with my used Rogue M-120 monoblocks. I thought that they sounded excellent. The did take out some components when they died in one of the amps. I was aware of this possibility, but I was already planning to upgrade the amp when they died anyway.

    I decided that I wanted to stay with an amp that was designed for the KT-88 tube, so I went for the M-150 upgrade. The M-180 was more $$$ and was optimized for the KT-120 tubes.

    The Rogue upgrades ship with the EH tubes, wasn't too fond of the new amp at first, liked my old one better. In the middle of summer, two years back, I came to the realization that I have a middle ear infection in my left ear, Dr. confirmed. I had this odd feeling for three months before but I couldn't quite get a grip on what it was.

    I found out, that even after an infection is cleared up, it took months for my ears to get back to normal. Things were sounding harsh. I did the paper towel thing in the Klipsch tower's tweeter for a while.

    The amp does some NOS signal tubes from Rogue.

    By October, my ears were back to normal and the amp and tubes were well broken in. I did try two quads of Psvane EL-34's that were voiced to sound like UK NOS tubes. Sound was nice, but reserved, most bass went away.

    I put the EH back in the amps and the sound was full and perfect again. In these newer amps with large power supplies, the KT-88's have tight crisp bass, not at all bloated. The highs are pleasant on the A7's, not harsh.

    A few weeks back, I purchased a Deccware Mini Torii with 6V6 output tubes running in the pentode mode, 3.9 WPC, sounds sweet!

    Switching back to the Rogue's, the EH sound perfectly well balanced. I am considering some Treasures or similar product, but I can't find fault with the EH's.

    Why they seem to be almost universally disliked, leaves me scratching my head. Been running these for 18-months (with some other amps, Cronos Magnum and two First Watt designs).
     
  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    It all depends on what your gear was voiced with. Always use those tubes first, whatever they are.
     
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  6. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    S
    So Steve,

    Naive question from a huge music lover and A music gear fan, but not a gear audiophile.....

    Do the Elrog tubes deliver 5x performance to price over the Chinese version? ($249/pair vs, $1,500/pair)

    I say this with all appreciation how much better NOS RCA tubes sound in my pre amp section of my black face Fender Pro Reverb guitar amp, but it's not 5x compared to decent modern tubes in my experience. (By the way, I buy the NaoS tubes)

    Can you tell me where you stand comparatively?
     
  7. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Are you planning to buy a 211 amplifier?
     
  8. Ephi82

    Ephi82 Still have two ears working

    Location:
    S FL
    Nope, just interested in tube technology and how they contribute to an amplifier's sound.

    I have experience with them in guitar amps, and was wondering how they contribute in high end amplification for music playback.

    In my amp I notice that better tubes seems to produce a fuller and more musical sound. When pushed hard, they also go into distortion in a very pleasant way (something I assume you don't want for music playback)
     
  9. IanL

    IanL Senior Member

    Location:
    Oneonta, NY USA
    Has anybody heard the Elrog 845 tubes?

    Or, for that matter, any of the Psvane 845 tubes?

    My Line Magnetic 518ia came with Chinese 845's, but I'm not exactly sure what they are.
     
  10. GARY KLEIN

    GARY KLEIN Active Member

    Steve thanks- I am currently running the GE 211 and the famous RCA 5962 red base- The combo lacks a little bit of warmth- I am going to order the ELOG211 to try and open to suggestions on the 6sn7 tube- thks
     
  11. John Mee

    John Mee Forum Resident

    Location:
    West of Carthage
    Steve, now that you have had a few hours on the Elrogs (I assume on the AN Jinro or Ongaku) how have they been holding up? I have seen quite a few instances of reliability problems with them, however that was ~ a year or so ago.
     
  12. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    I have six of them in use, (Audio Note UK Ginrei monoblocks, AN UK Jinro). I've been using them for a long time now. They fire up every time, I've had no issues.
     
  13. IanL

    IanL Senior Member

    Location:
    Oneonta, NY USA
    After posting the other day I did some reading about the Elrog 845 tubes and came across a lot of problems with that tube too.
     
  14. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Those GE red base tubes are transient killers and the GE 211 is very bright and slightly thin. Change 'em!
     
  15. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Yes, the Elrog 211 delivers 5 times the neatness of the Chinese 211s. Worth it if you have a great system.

    That being said the PissVaughn (Psvane) 211's are great for the price. I use them as well.
     
  16. Mark broadhead

    Mark broadhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newcastle England
    I have a pair of series 11 psvane 211 in my line magnetic. I changed out the drivers ( EL34 ) with psvane too. No issues. Great sound.
     
  17. Mark broadhead

    Mark broadhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newcastle England
    I have a pair of series 11 psvane 211 in my line magnetic. I changed out the drivers ( EL34 ) with psvane too. No issues. Great sound.
     
  18. Mark broadhead

    Mark broadhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newcastle England
    this. View attachment 359565

    Happy listening.[/QUOTE]
    I have a pair of series 11 psvane 211 in my line magnetic. I changed out the drivers ( EL34 ) with psvane too. No issues. Great sound.
     
  19. Mark broadhead

    Mark broadhead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Newcastle England
    this. View attachment 359565

    Happy listening.[/QUOTE]
    I have a pair of series 11 psvane 211 in my line magnetic. I changed out the drivers ( EL34 ) with psvane too. No issues. Great sound.
     
  20. Steve - any thoughts on a good 6SN7, either NOS or current production? Thanks!


     
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  21. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Sorry, I don't know the new stuff, brightness issues (too much) is what I remember from casual listening. I have a stash of vintage Sylvania, RCA, GE 6SN7s and they seem to last forever. The pair of RCA 5692s (industrial version from 1960) that was in my Concert Fidelity tube amps lasted in there 8 years and they still test strong!
     
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  22. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    I have not heard an 845 of any kind in many years. Heard an amp in the '90s with (I believe) some really old ones but never a contemporary version, sorry.
     
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  23. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    Does anybody remember Jimmy Two Times, a character from Goodfellas? He seems to be the role model for some here... ;)
     
  24. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Steve;

    Are you still happy with your Elrog 211 tubes? You have had them for quite a while now and I am wondering how their reliability is holding up. it seems like a small group of people have had a lot of problems with them. I wonder if that is the case or if everyone is running into the same thing eventually.

    I speak as someone who has replaced both pairs of Sophia Royal Princess 300Bs and a Sophia Royal Princess 274B. So tired of tubes failing! Every other tube that I have purchased has worked fine in my amp. Sigh. (Yes, even the 1962 5U4GB RCA that you recommended. Why did I experiment?!)

    Oh and lastly, did you get to hear those Genrei mono blocks with the M10 preamp?! Holy crap that must be a near religious experience!

    Don't mind me, I'm on my way out the door, minding my own business. Just living vicariously through our host!
     
  25. John Mee

    John Mee Forum Resident

    Location:
    West of Carthage
    I, too, have some Elrog 211's in my AN amp. I bought them in Feb, but they were manufactured in 2013. The first pair I got (through AN) failed almost immediately after ~20 mins powered up. The second pair (manufactured on 8/11/13 (probably) or 11/8/13, depending on whether they used the European date convention or not) have performed flawlessly and the sound is extraordinary compared to the various NOS and/or used VT4C(including the factory originals) that I have tried.

    Speaking of the 5U4GB, I suggest that you look at the Philips 5R4GYS, as they, likewise made a real difference. I bought mine in Feb from Upscale Audio.
     
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