Takatsuki Tubes

[Steve Williams]

there have been some members here who have been critical of the Tak 274B re longevity and noise. For my ears it was truly an epiphany. I hear no noise, only great music. Talking to Alex from Alex Sound Technology who is an USA distributor for Tak, He commented to me that there are no longevity issues with the 274B and not limited to 2500 hours as some have suggested here

 

[Alex Sound Technology]

Hi Steve!

And here we are, finally at the WBF!

As many experts know, the life time of tube changes very much depending on an amplifier or environment, so it is very difficult to say the guaranteed operation time.

Though this is just for reference, Takatsuki defines 300B is more than 20,000 hours with normal use, and 274B is about 6-7 thousand hours.
Alex.

 

[Alex Sound Technology]

Hi All,

To all those interested in Takatsuki tubes (TA-300B and TA-274B) I want to say that now they are always available from us, an authorized Takatsuki distributor in US.

Price and contacts are always on our website:
https://alexsoundtech.com/takatsuki/products

Anyone who comes to us from this forum will receive an additional $50 discount on a pair of 300B or 274B!

Alex.

 

[Alex Sound Technology]

Regarding Takatsuki TA-2A3.
These tubes will be available in August.

Their production will be significantly less than 300B and 274B due to Takatsuki's workload.
Like all Takatsuki tubes, the TA-2A3 will be produced also small batches.

https://alexsoundtech.com/takatsuki/products/ta-2a3

 

[Rejean]

Another testimonial regarding the longevity of the Takatsuki 274B rectifier tube. Well after 1200 hours he passed away. Obviously, I'm disappointed, but the sound quality of the Tak 274B is magical, the musical emotion goes perfectly with this tube. I can not live without it. So I ordered another one ($1600 CDN), the magic was back.

 

[Steven365]

I have been running Taka 300bs in my Wavac EC300b for about ten years. They are distortion free, quiet and very 3D transparent. The only tube I have found that better matches the Wavac is the EAT 300b: more body in the bass, overall better impulse dynamics. JJs, Sophia Electric, Psvane aren‘t even in the same Zip code.

How does the EAT 300B stack up against new issue WE 300B?

 

[marty]

Another testimonial regarding the longevity of the Takatsuki 274B rectifier tube. Well after 1200 hours he passed away. Obviously, I'm disappointed, but the sound quality of the Tak 274B is magical, the musical emotion goes perfectly with this tube. I can not live without it. So I ordered another one ($1600 CDN), the magic was back.

I just saw this. I would not call 1200 hours "longevity". My Tak blew at about the same- perhaps 1500 hrs. This has me worried. I will certainly not leave my Horizon on 24/7 now that I know this and will hope others to report their Tak expiration hours if they fail. Damn. I really don't want to go recti hunting again. Can we get WE to step up their 274b remake?

 

[cjfrbw]

I bought a pair of Golden Dragon (one with a loose base) 300b's on ebay many years ago, advertised as having heavy use beyond 15,000 hours. They had carmelization inside the tubes. They cost 99 dollars delivered. I used them in various capacities for twelve more years, and I always thought they sounded great. Finally, the cathodes melted on one, but they still work.

 

[ihmeyers]

I have both a pair of Taki 300Bs and a Taki 274B. My first Taki 274B failed prematurely (after about 18 months of light to moderate use). Because I bought the 274B second hand Taki wouldn't do much for me even though I was convinced it failed much too soon. I bought a replacement from them that has had no issues. In my gear, Lampi TRP, Line Magnetic preamp, Otomon amp, I found the Taki 274B a little bright. I go back to it from time to time because I find it lively and dynamic, but I usually end up tiring of it's sound pretty quickly. The best rectifiers I found for my TRP have been some Philcos, and JAN Sylvanias. The Taki 300Bs are hardly broken in because my 300B amps are packed away for now. I bought them from Parts Connexion in May.

I'm considering the Taki 2A3s for my LM preamp, but IMO they seem expensive for what they are. I'd be more inclined to try an Elrog 2A3 if they existed or an Audio Note/Psvane version than spend $1600 on the Taki 2A3s. But if they get stellar review on WBF...

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

I have 2 pairs of Taks 300B and both have 1 prematurely dead tube
have to get them measures on a tube tester to get proper status
while they lasted they were slightly more extended and analytical than my late 90s WEs
my present favourite and now on my second pair, is Living Voice 300B made on special order for Kevin in LV by Kron

 

[bazelio]

my present favourite and now on my second pair, is Living Voice 300B made on special order for Kevin in LV by Kron

To what other 300Bs have you compared these ?

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

to Taks and different years of WE300B from mid/late 90 and on
and also some cheaper chineese versions which I don´t recall

 

[bonzo75]

I prefer Elrog followed by KR 300b to Tak and EML XLS and Psvane

 

[DeadWax]

Just had a Taki 274B die on me with less than 1000 hrs so I ran a quick forum search to see if this was a fluke. Looks like not a completely isolated incident.

 

[Golum]

In my honest opinion I'm not really sure we are fair towards Taka and the longevity of at least 274b.

Why I'm saying that - reading through at least this post somehow, I have a feeling that majority of tube failures happened in the Lampi DACs. Now what I was told by Gunter Tobian is that rectifier tubes are prone to "early retirement idea" if they don't operate in the circuit which is specifically designed for the exact tube type. I'm not a tech guy and have zero knowledge in that sense, but I know he was stating first cap/second cap/choke values and looking into EML data sheet for 274b tube these are the values:

Typical Conditions​ for C-L-C filter See: Note 2​
DC output voltage	450Volt
Total rectified current	140mA
First capacitor, connected to Anodes	4uF
Choke	10 Henry
Second capacitor	max 20uF
For a total (C1 + C2) capacitance above 24uF, a limiting series resistor must be used, so the peak in-rush current through the choke is limited to the saturation current of the choke, or max 600mA, whatever comes first. Otherwise, tube damage can result. MUST MEASURE. Can not be calculated in a reliable way. For lowest hum, this resistor is in series with the choke. So, you get a C-LR-C filter. In this way 200uF is possible.

As we all roll xyz different rectifier types in Lampi DACs I'm not sure those values are met, hence we can expect premature death of the tube for which I cannot and would not blame the producer.
My example with Taka 274b used in Tobian preamp power supply unit, where the above technical criteria for 274b rectifier tube is met, is that Taka is doing its work without any issues way beyond the numbers members here are stating that their tubes died (also no rolling is advised by Gunter)

Above said is also the reason I'm not willing to play with hyper expensive rectifiers in my Horizon.

But as I'm not a tech guy I also might be wrong with what I wrote above so take it with a grain of salt.

BTW see the link for the 5u4g tube and see the difference vs 274b (5U4G Emission Labs Data Sheet)

 

[DeadWax]

Above said is also the reason I'm not willing to play with hyper expensive rectifiers in my Horizon.

I agree with your hypothesis and conclusion on the Lampi DACs. Furthermore, I'm really satisfied with the sound that even the more "pedestrian" rectifiers provide in the DAC. Just thought I'd share my experience as a data point. Thanks for weighing in.