Amen. I have used Takatsuki 300b for several years. They are great. Expensive, but great. Sophia Royal Princess come close, but only "come close." Caveat: I have not heard WE or any of the new WE clones.
TAKATSUKI 300B VACUUM TUBE
The gravitational pull of tube rolling has brought me to the absurd Takatsuki 300B. Absurd in that it's that good. God save us from infernal Japanese OCD behavior which oft produces the best, albeit insanely costly product.
I was perfectly functional with Upscale Audio Genelex Gold Lion platinum grade cryogenically treated 300Bs. They sounded great in my Manley Neo-Classic 300B preamp easily trumping the stock EH. Then I started reading reviews. Prince of Darkness territory here for audiophiles. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew I had purchased a slightly used pair from a guy named Kenny in Korea posting on Audiogon.
This is what they do. They sing. They dissect instruments into little individually heard components. They place space around the instruments. They are dynamic as hell. They are fast. They resolve. The price of admission does give one pause...........but considering purchasing a whole new component upgrade would be your next step, it works. Ain't rationalization great? Anyway, what a delightful revelation.
System: Naim UnitiServe, Nordost Silver Shadow digital cable, Naim DAC V1, Manley Neo-Classic 300B pre, Manley Mah Mahi monoblocks with upgraded Genelex tubes, Patrick Cullen Crossover PCs, Decware ICs with SilverXhadow connectors, Decware Styx speaker cables, Target massed speaker stands, Quadraspire SVT equipment stand, Merlin Black Magic monitors with master Duelund caps, Furman Elite 15i power conditioner, Oyaide rhodium power outlet.
I was perfectly functional with Upscale Audio Genelex Gold Lion platinum grade cryogenically treated 300Bs. They sounded great in my Manley Neo-Classic 300B preamp easily trumping the stock EH. Then I started reading reviews. Prince of Darkness territory here for audiophiles. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew I had purchased a slightly used pair from a guy named Kenny in Korea posting on Audiogon.
This is what they do. They sing. They dissect instruments into little individually heard components. They place space around the instruments. They are dynamic as hell. They are fast. They resolve. The price of admission does give one pause...........but considering purchasing a whole new component upgrade would be your next step, it works. Ain't rationalization great? Anyway, what a delightful revelation.
System: Naim UnitiServe, Nordost Silver Shadow digital cable, Naim DAC V1, Manley Neo-Classic 300B pre, Manley Mah Mahi monoblocks with upgraded Genelex tubes, Patrick Cullen Crossover PCs, Decware ICs with SilverXhadow connectors, Decware Styx speaker cables, Target massed speaker stands, Quadraspire SVT equipment stand, Merlin Black Magic monitors with master Duelund caps, Furman Elite 15i power conditioner, Oyaide rhodium power outlet.
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I agree the Takatsuki 300B is one of my favorite 300B tubes! This is an interesting read: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/elrog-300b-vs-takatsuki-300b-tubes |
