[Yomaha]

Got a notification this morning so thought I’d share here...maybe some folks are interested. These aren’t cheap...I wonder if they can live up to the name and rep!

https://www.westernelectric.com/300b

[musicdre]

interesting.  someone must have bought the rights to use the WE name?

[Bemopti123]

They spend too many years setting up shop and for the price, they are facing multiple wanna be WE competitors from Far Eastern tubes to Eastern European tubes, will their tubes come on top against their competition, I am waiting to hear what reviewers and enthusiasts have to say about them.   

[jriggy]

I don’t know a lot about this and this is all from memory... I don’t know if they only bought the name and the ‘recipe’ or the whole factory but I believe they are using at least part of the original facility(?).
This has been in the making and known about for many years and they are indeed ‘clones’ of the great WE tubes being made with a lot of the same tooling. These tubes have been being perfected for at least three years now and people have had deposits down for like two years now. The deal was they were not going to release to the public until they reached a less than 5 or 7%(??) DOA or early-fault numbers in each batch... They tried a release like 5 years ago(?) but had to many early deaths, so they pulled em and went back to R&D.
 The reviews from those that have heard a new pair are good (there is a write-up or two out there). I know a couple people that have deposits down and still waiting.
Dont hold me to these details but this is the gist of it in part.

[Rusty Jefferson]

I knew they stopped taking preorders for the restart in 2018 but missed the announcement in the fall they were starting to deliver. https://www.westernelectric.com/blog/the-future-of-300b-manufacturing

I had a pair from the 1990s run and they were amazing. No other 300b came close in my Berning amplifier. I wish them luck getting it going. It would be great if someone could make tubes just close to what used to be available. So many great sounding tubes gone.

[SET Man]

Hey!

    With the price of some fancy 300B tubes from China and EU running $600+ per pair. I have to say I thought the new WE 300B would cost more. I know I know that's not a chump change for anyone. But if they are a perfect replica of the original then that's good news and with 5 years warranty I think $1500 per pair doesn't look that bad. Not to mention making things in the US of A these day is not easy especially when is come keeping price competitive with stuffs made in Far East and even in Europe.

    Well, at the end of the day, price doesn't mean a thing if you don't like the sound of it in your own amp

Buddy

[Tom Bombadil]

Tube Depot has a pair of NOS WE 300B, made in the 1930s and said to be closely matched.   They are asking $19,995.

[Bemopti123]

Tube Depot has a pair of NOS WE 300B, made in the 1930s and said to be closely matched.   They are asking $19,995.

It better be able to transport us back to the 1930s for that price.  Common man!

[SET Man]

It better be able to transport us back to the 1930s for that price.  Common man!

Hey!

    Yeah, I think you have to power your system with plutonium fuel cell and crank it up to 8 WPC!

Buddy

[krustykat]

With the price of some fancy 300B tubes from China and EU running $600+ per pair. I have to say I thought the new WE 300B would cost more.

  I think one of the biggest competitors that the new WE 300b will face is the Takatsuki 300b, which can be bought for $1600/pair from partsconnexion.com. The WE undercuts that by $100.  I'd be interested to see if anyone has listened to both tubes and what their opinions are.   

[jjss49]

Tube Depot has a pair of NOS WE 300B, made in the 1930s and said to be closely matched.   They are asking $19,995.

i'll have a dozen please... 90 day no questions asked returns, right 

[Bemopti123]

  I think one of the biggest competitors that the new WE 300b will face is the Takatsuki 300b, which can be bought for $1600/pair from partsconnexion.com. The WE undercuts that by $100.  I'd be interested to see if anyone has listened to both tubes and what their opinions are.

$100 only?  I think Takatsuki's have been around and thus somewhat proven but the new batch of WE 300bs, while tapping into their illustrious history, why did the new issues have such amount of failures?  Does it really tap into the original line which is renown for their durability and longevity?  Big questions that need to be answered. 

[Yomaha]

Having trouble getting my pics to post right side up from my phone. Any suggestions appreciated. Will try to fix when I have more time. Gorgeous packaging, no details were spared there...

[Docere]

  I think one of the biggest competitors that the new WE 300b will face is the Takatsuki 300b, which can be bought for $1600/pair from partsconnexion.com. The WE undercuts that by $100.  I'd be interested to see if anyone has listened to both tubes and what their opinions are.

There is a thread on AA SET started by GerryE, who has done just that, albeit briefly. Long thread and I think these were his final thoughts:

For now I'm keeping both pairs but eventually will sell one or the other. They are so similar sounding it's hard to differentiate. After additional listening I *think* the Takatsuki 300Bs are very slightly more upfront/forwarding sounding but not in a bad way. If that's correct then one's system and personal taste may dictate which one would be preferred.

In several postings you made the very important point of longevity, a Western Electric trademark. AFAIK, the Takatsuki 300Bs have passed the "longevity test". Of course we have no idea about these new Series 3 WE 300Bs (the serial numbers start with a '3'). However, they are offering a 5 year warranty if you send in the warranty card within 10 days (I did).

If the WE 300Bs continue to improve up to 500 hours of use, as Charles W. indicated, I will probably keep them and sell that Taks. I'm surprised by this because they set a very high bar.

You might be able to dig out a bit more than I did over there.

$100 only?  I think Takatsuki's have been around and thus somewhat proven but the new batch of WE 300bs, while tapping into their illustrious history, why did the new issues have such amount of failures?  Does it really tap into the original line which is renown for their durability and longevity?  Big questions that need to be answered.

Maybe they 1) have tighter tolerances than (some) others, and/or 2) took longer than expected to get their reliability and performance within tolerance before release; maybe the durability and longevity will be there because of the work they have put in? My guess is some manufacturers don't take that level of care and others have but didn't promote their wares until the tubes were ready.

[Yomaha]

Here’s the Test certificate for anyone interested

[Rusty Jefferson]

Here’s the Test certificate for anyone interested.

So, you've just received a pair then? Congratulations on that.

[Terence T.]

Here’s the Test certificate for anyone interested

Can anyone share the interpretations of the data in the WE 300B Test Certificate? How to know whether two WE 300B tubes are a matched pair?

Terence

[Yomaha]

Thx Rusty! I ordered on the first day and they showed up two days later. I was shocked at how fast they got here!  Was not expecting that at all.

Swapped out the TAKs and put these in and there was quite an immediate difference in my system. It’s still wayyy early and I suspect they will change so more, but so far they seem more lively than the taks, hearing more details and more tautness and definition in the bass. And a touch more depth in the image.

On Tom Waits ‘Picture in a Frame’ my wife said she could “see the expression on the singer’s (Tom Waits) face”. I took that as a good sign.

So far, so good.

[Yomaha]

Can anyone share the interpretations of the data in the WE 300B Test Certificate? How to know whether two WE 300B tubes are a matched pair?

Terence

Here is the card for the other matches tube, Terrance. Came as a matched pair.

[Yomaha]

Here is the card for the other matches tube, Terrance. Came as a matched pair.

And for the record I don’t really know how to interpret the data either!