[SET Man]

Hey!

    The past 11 years I've been using KR Audio tube in my SET amps of which are design to run KR Audio 300BXLS or 842VHD tube. The price of these tubes have gone through the roof.

    These are special tubes and I remembered there were one other company the AVVT that made tube that can be direct sub for those KR mentioned. But I think they are now gone.

    But came across the Emission Labs. I've heard about them before but I didn't know they do have direct sub for the KR 300BXLS. And the price is lower too!

   So, dose anyone here using or have used Emission Labs tube? How is the sound and build quality?

http://www.emissionlabs.com/index-en.htm


Take care,
Buddy 

   

[Berto]

Buddy,
            Although I just sold it, i absolutely loved my EML mesh recitifier in my Modwright Transporter. It was the most extended, musical and smooth sound out of any others Ive tried.  Including the Wycombe that was more pricey. I forget all the #s   The Modwright TP orig had a high voltage and was giving the EML tubes a bad rap based on incompatibility but my MWTP got send back to lower the voltage , therefore my EML was still goin strong after 3000hrs.
            I just got new amps and although running cheaper rectifiers that do sound great for the coin, I look fwd to upgrading to EML soon. I'm no tube expert but the EML mesh looks/glows like a piece of audio art. I also borrowed my VERY local EML dealers (George-tubesusa) Kurashima amp and that runs 2 EML 520 V3 power triodes. Amp produced only 27 watts I think and it sounded like a 100, tube build quality and SQ were equally impressive once again!
           
            If you do try them, luv to hear your review!
           

[Bemopti123]

The EML pricelist for your 300B on steroids is almost 1/2 of what KR wants to "rip" from you.  KR ought to be ashamed of themselves...but I also wonder if it is something that the distributors of the KR tubes do for people in wealthy markets such as the USA.  Anyway, 2 pairs for the price of 1 of the KR variety...EML, no experience with them but seem to be extremely well built. 

Not that I need another pair of tubes nor more tubed amplification. 

But, the AD1 tube seems to be very, very tempting.  Please hold me back. 

 

[Ericus Rex]

Roger Modjeski of Music Reference sells EML.  If he believes in the brand they must be good.  I'm sure his pairs are premium priced but they've gone through extensive testing and matching that makes them worth every penny.  Check out his articles for more info on testing.

the tubes:
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/emlframe.html

and the articles:
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/

[JoshK]

I was looking to buy a quad of either the 300BXLS from KR or EML and read all the reports I could including a few folks who tried both.  They both have very good reviews. 

Reliability reports seems to be about even, both good, with few problems in some tubes, but not necessarily the 300BXLS.   Any reliability reports against EML have been typically been the mesh versions that were run too hot.  EML's mesh tubes are TRUE mesh, not punched plates, which makes their dissipation limit lower.  This isn't relevant for the 300Bxls. 

I've read a couple of reports that the EML's inch out the KR's in sound from those who have heard both, but it probably comes down to taste.  At roughly half the price, I'd opt for EML with no concerns. 

[kgturner]

I use EML Solid Plate 45's in my Yamamoto A-08S and I absolutely love them. I've yet to have a single hiccup or problem with them in the 2+ years I've owned them. EML makes very high quality tubes. I'm eventually going to purchase an EML 80 rectifier tube for the A-08S as well. Good stuff!

Kevin T

[h00hbt]

Hi

I have EML, KR 300BXLS and also the AVVT 300B tubes. The EML and KR build quality is really great. There are some questions about the AVVT regarding build Q but I havn´t noticed anything bad about them. The structure of the KR 300BXLS is moore traditional than the EML which has a very unique plate structure. The EML tubes are quite a bit bigger making them look rather overdimentioned. Sonically my experience is that the KR have more detailed sound, moore dynamic, with deeper tighter bass. I prefer the KR 300BXLS over the EML 300BXLS seven days a week. Shop around and you might find a deal.

Cheers

 

Hey!

    The past 11 years I've been using KR Audio tube in my SET amps of which are design to run KR Audio 300BXLS or 842VHD tube. The price of these tubes have gone through the roof.

    These are special tubes and I remembered there were one other company the AVVT that made tube that can be direct sub for those KR mentioned. But I think they are now gone.

    But came across the Emission Labs. I've heard about them before but I didn't know they do have direct sub for the KR 300BXLS. And the price is lower too!

   So, dose anyone here using or have used Emission Labs tube? How is the sound and build quality?

http://www.emissionlabs.com/index-en.htm


Take care,
Buddy 

   

[Unison845]

Beware of KR 300BXLS filament problem. I have a pair in which one has open filament. I looked carefully inside the tube but can not see the problem. The tubes were brand new and unused. I found out that at least 2 other KR300BXLS owner has same problem, and two more instances that the KR300BXLS was sold as single in Audiogon.

[h00hbt]

If you buy tubes and recieve them with open filament you ought to send a complaint to the seller and ask for a replacement tube or money back.

Did you buy your tubes from an approved KR dealer? If so you have a warranty! If not......

For more information http://www.kraudio.com/images/stories/doc/Warranty.pdf

Kind regards

[Quiet Earth]

I have a pair of the standard EML300Bs. I am running them single ended in the output stage of my monoblocks to get 8 or 9 watts. The EML tubes are made very well. They are physically large with thick glass, a solid base, and gold pins. There is flashing material on the top and the side of each tube because there is a top getter and a side getter. Cool  . I have never seen that before in a 300B.

I like my EML tubes a lot, probably the most out of my collection of Valve Art, JJ, and Shuguang Treasure 300Bs.  But saying that they are the best is difficult. The driver tubes and rectifier tubes make up a big part of the sound, and I can mix and match different brands/vintages of 5U4G and 6SN7 to get good sound from all of my 300Bs, even the Valve Arts which I have been listening to this week.

I was actually going to buy KR 300B tubes at the time that I got the EMLs, but KR had raised their price by about 300 dollars. So, I got the EMLs because they were cheaper and I couldn't really make up my mind between the two brands anyway. I still want to get a pair of KRs. Maybe later this year. 

As for having a third party screen them out for you, well, I don't think that is necessary. When you buy a matched pair from an authorized EML dealer, you get a tested, matched pair of EML tubes. What else do you need?

EML posted a good article on burning in new 300Bs. I recommend that you read it even if you don't buy their tubes. (All of their articles are worth reading.) Also, make sure that your amplifier can supply more than 1.25A of filiment current if you decide to deviate beyond the standard Western Electric 300B tube specification. If you don't know which to get, just stick with the standard 300B tube.

[Unison845]

I sold my 300b long time ago and keep these tubes for several year, so the warranty has expired for sure. Recently , I took it out and try on my newly build 300B, and was surprised that one tube has open filament. Anyway, just be careful when you buy these tubes.

If you buy tubes and recieve them with open filament you ought to send a complaint to the seller and ask for a replacement tube or money back.

Did you buy your tubes from an approved KR dealer? If so you have a warranty! If not......

For more information http://www.kraudio.com/images/stories/doc/Warranty.pdf

Kind regards

[SET Man]

Hey,

    Hmmmm.... some good feedbacks on Emission Labs here. Well, that is an encouraging start.  But looking at the spec the EML is rated 50V lower than the KR's version. My SETs are rated at 18 watts per side so they are driving them hard. But I think this should be fine.

   Yeah, I find the current price to be a bit too much  Still EML 300B-BXLs price is more reasonable but still it is not like I can just drop $600+ for them on the fly.... too bad I ain't rich    But I will definitely will try a pair... well I do have a one or two audio stuffs I want to get rid of maybe after I will get a pair 

    I'm on my second pair of the KR 842VHD right now with 405 hours on them. I took out the previous pair out after nearly 8 years of use... I used my system more back than, they still sound fine but less dynamic and the high is a bit soft compare to the pair I using right now. I think I must have put about 7000 hours on them... maybe more.  I don't listen to music much like I used to back than so I think my second set of the KR842VHD should last me at least another 8 years or so. 

    Still I want to try out the EML 300B-XLS... well it wouldn't hurt to have that stash away 

.....

EML posted a good article on burning in new 300Bs. I recommend that you read it even if you don't buy their tubes. (All of their articles are worth reading.) Also, make sure that your amplifier can supply more than 1.25A of filiment current if you decide to deviate beyond the standard Western Electric 300B tube specification. If you don't know which to get, just stick with the standard 300B tube.

     Actually I can't use regular 300B in my amps My SET Monoblocks were designed around what was then a brand new high power variation of the WE300B, the KR 300B-XLS. These SETs operate at higher voltage to get more power, 18 watts per channel in this case. And they won't have problem supplying higher filament current since they were meant to be use with these special tubes.

    BTW... believe it or not, when I first got my SET Monoblocks back in December 1999... I remembered it was just in time for the Y2K  A pair of KR 300B-XLS cost $475pr I think... man how time have change right! 

    Well, thanks guys. If I ever get a pair of the Emission Labs 300B-XLS I will let you know how they turn out.

Take care,

Buddy 

[Quiet Earth]

     Actually I can't use regular 300B in my amps My SET Monoblocks were designed around what was then a brand new high power variation of the WE300B, the KR 300B-XLS. These SETs operate at higher voltage to get more power, 18 watts per channel in this case. And they won't have problem supplying higher filament current since they were meant to be use with these special tubes.

Oops, my bad, thanks for correcting me Buddy. My comment on just sticking with the standard 300B was meant for those of us that have a regular 300B amp and wonder if we should try a more powerful 300B, like the XLS.

BTW, is your plate voltage too high to run a standard 300B? Seems like your speakers are efficient enough for 8 watts. Just curious . . . .