Tubes Asylum

300b break in (Takatsui) newbie question

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sethgodin

A

My new Takatsui tubes arrived and I'm pretty sure they don't sound great. Brittle, not nearly as liquid as the Western Electric (new stock) that I swapped out. I listened for ten minutes and swapped them back and confirmed that the WE tubes sound significantly better in my system.

Some writing online talks about 150 hours of break in. Really? What's happening when a tube is breaking in? How is it that breaking it in makes it sound better, not worse?

As a lapsed mechanical engineer, I feel clueless about this and I'm wondering about nocebos, placebos and whether I'm underinformed.

Thanks.

Follow Ups:

RE: 300b break in (Takatsui) newbie question - Brandtacious 11:03:52 01/31/23 (1)
I have a pair that I haven't listened to in a couple of years. I thought they were great tubes, and a great match for my system until - and it appears you did the same - I put the WE reissues in the amp. Since then, the Taks have been sort of cold and lonely.
In terms of your question, I seem to remember having a perception of the Taks getting much better with some use, but I just don't remember specifically what changes I heard or the amount of use before they blossomed. I used to keep notes on stuff like that but stopped doing that sort of thing and now just try to enjoy the music.
Context of my experience is use as power tubes in an SET amp. (Line Magnetic 210)
FWIW.
- RE: 300b break in (Takatsui) newbie question - Brandtacious 11:17:03 01/31/23 (0)
  Just looked back at old posts from when I switched the Taks for WE reissues: my ears at the time found the Taks very refined, but the WEs much more dynamic. That was when the WE were brand new out of the box.
RE: 300b break in (Takatsui) newbie question - Joe Backer 14:26:49 01/30/23 (0)
I have read on other forums that the Takatsuis don't sound their best for a month or so of use.

Whether that's the tube changing or the listeners ears, I'm not sure....
You may simply prefer WE300B sound.. - Jon L 14:43:02 01/28/23 (0)
I personally dislike components that sound "liquid" or "warm." I use Takatsuki 300B as the closest 300B tube can get to detail resolution, definition, and speed of good SS. In either case, Takatsuki should not sound "brittle" especially after some use.
RE: 300b break in (Takatsui) newbie question - RPMac 05:49:27 01/28/23 (1)
I would put the Takatsui 300B's in and listen for about a month. Then revisit your questions.
- How do you like them compared to WE reissue? - John PA 19:40:14 01/28/23 (0)
  I am currently using the Elrog ER.
  
  iBasso DX300MAX Ti. Focal Utopia and Stellia. iBasso SR2. Mr. Speakers, Ether II, Voce stats. Manley, Absolute headphone amp. LTA MZ3, Z10e electrostatic amp. Many other headphones, amps, cables etc.

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