Happy New Year!

Hi!

Another year is ending and times are changing.

You probably noticed a reduced number of posts on my blog during the recent months and exactly one year ago I posted the very last tube of the month article. Times are changing and blogs are not catching as much attention as they used to. I already started posting on Facebook in parallel many years ago and more often than on my blog. This year I also finally registered on Instagram and started posting there.

So this is probably my last blog post for a while. If you want to get updates about my work in electron tube electronics, follow me on Facebook and Instagram (see previous post for a link).

Wishing your families and yourself all the best for 2025

Thomas

Follow me on Instagram

Hi!

For more frequent posts and also some non-audio related stuff you can follow me on Instagram.

@thomasmayerlindau

Best regards

Thomas

Demo Equipment Sale

*** UPDATE : Sold items are marked accordingly ***

*** Price reduction on some units ***

Hi!

During the last year I developed some new lines of electronics which resulted in a lot of demo and prototype units. These served mainly to launch the new products at the High End show in Munich. As last year I am offering some of my demo units at a bargain price to make room.

Here we have 5 Compactron units and the prototype Intrepid linestage. These have only been used by me in my workshop or at the Munich High End. All units are in excellent condition with occasional minor marks. Detailed photos are available in case of interest. Each unit is functionally 100% working, tested and comes with warranty.

Of course each unit is equipped with tubes and accessories will be included as with a new unit. The feet are exchangeable and can be chosen between pointy, straight sided or tapered. Besides that no changes possible.

I can ship worldwide. The exact shipping cost will be quoted in case of interest. Personal pick up with previous listen test can be arranged too. In case of pick up I can offer some discount.

And most importantly: Money back guarantee. I will accept returns within 2 weeks of receipt of the units and reimburse the payment, less the shipping cost. 

The regular sale prices and specs can be found on my product site.

This is a Compactron Integrated Amplifier. Click here for a detailed description of this unit.

*** SOLD ***

This is a Compactron DA-Converter Click here for a detailed description of this unit.

Not available any more. I decided to keep it as demo unit since it is the only single chassis DAC I have in the moment.

Another Compactron DA-Converter Click here for a detailed description of this unit.

*** SOLD ***

Transformer volume control Compactron Linestage Click here for a detailed description of this unit.

*** SOLD ***

This is a Compactron phono stage  Click here for a detailed description of this unit.

*** SOLD ***

Next we have something truly special, the prototype of the Intrepid line stage, in this case still named 10Y Line Preamplifier. This comes with all the goodies of the Intrepid series, all silver transformers, chassis milled from solid blocks, in this case with glass pearl blasted surface. Comes with a matched quad of Elrog ER801A tubes, but can be ordered for other tubes as well.

Click here for more details on this particular unit.

Sale price within the EU : 55.000,- Euro (incl. VAT) , export price outside EU without VAT : 46.200,-

This is an exceptional line stage capable to transform an entire system to another level. 

I also have two units in the classic chassis style:

First is the 6J5 line preamplifier which I already offered in last year's demo equipment sale . Last year I expected this to be sold the quickest, but surprisingly it was one of the few items unsold.

Details here. 

Sale price within the EU : 4000,- Euro (incl. VAT) , export price outside EU without VAT : 3360,-

This DAC was sold during last years sale, but due to some incompatibility issues with the buyer's media server I took it back. This unit is using silver output transformers.

Sale price within the EU : 16.000,- Euro (incl. VAT) , export price outside EU without VAT : 13.450,-

That's all I have on offer right now. Contact me for any questions or a shipping quote. I am open to reasonable offers if you are picking up personally or buying several units.

Best regards

Thomas

Four Channels of Single Ended 300B Power

Hi!

Here are some impressions of two new Stereo 300B power amplifiers.

Although built as stereo amps the intended use is in an active speaker set up to power mid range and highs.

The driver tubes are 6DN7.

A few impressions from the assembly. Since the amps are meant for mid and high range duty only, I used the Tango M757 output transformers which are optimised for that frequency spectrum.

 

However the amps measure well down to 20Hz (-3dB) so can be used as full range amps too.

The completely assembled amps are tested before they get the final enclosure:

The finished amps before delivery:

The amps are used with Elrog tubes but of course they work with any 300B compatible tube type.

With the permission of the owner of these amplifiers I took a few photos of his system when I delivered them.

The speaker set up was custom made by outsider, a german company which was quite well known in the scene during the 1980ies. But unfortunately they do not exist anymore.

Expolinear ribbons and Görlich chassis.

The left side is equipped with TM300B and powers the midrange. The tweeter side uses a regular ER300B.

The custom made active crossover between two outsider amplifiers powering the bass.

And for the lowest bass tones an active mono sub. Quite a complex system which evolved over decades and plays at an extremely high level. The sub is well integrated and the system reproduces the entire frequency spectrum effortlessly with tons of resolution and nice tone colors.

The gentlemen who owns this system is a man of exquisite taste and he knows how to achieve good sound. I am proud that he chose my amps, a Compactron preamplifier and two D3a phono stages for his system. The Compactron preamp is on loan until a dedicated new unit for this system is finished. The new one will have all balanced XLR inputs to accommodate the sources which all offer XLR outputs.

The two cartridge which are in use each got their own separate phono stage. A Kiseki and a Top Wing Red Sparrow.

The turntable is a custom creation also by the outsider team.

And to round all up there is also a Studer reel-to-reel. So of course the final Preamplifier will come with a tape loop.

I'd like to thank Fritz and his wife Rita for allowing me to share these impressions and for the hospitality whenever I deliver a new toy.

I hope you enjoyed this post with the home story of the owner.

Best regards

Thomas

Deutsche Elektronenröhren Manufaktur GmbH 8th Anniversary

Hi!

Today we are celebrating 8 years of producing ELROG tubes at Deutsche Elektronenröhren Manufaktur GmbH.

During the last year we developed some exciting new tube types called ONE, TWO and THREE.

These were first announced in a post in March. The goal was to achieve an entirely cylindrical arrangement of the electrode structures.

To reach this we loosened the requirement to match the electric parameters of existing tube types. Hence the new naming for these.

The three models were announced as completed in time for the presentation at the High End in Munich.

All three of the new models had been in use in our system in Munich.

All three of these new tube types are exclusively produced for use in amplifiers, preamplifiers and DACs of my Intrepid product line.

The ONE mainly for use as DAC output stage or line preamp output tube if less gain is required.

The TWO is meant for use as the output stage in the preamp or driver tube in the power amplifiers. 

While the ONE and THREE are unique new tubes which do not have existing equivalents, we managed to tweak the TWO such that it can replace a 801A or 10Y. This gave the chance to evaluate the advantage of the round electrode structure against the traditional construction in terms of sound. Here a description from an owner of a silver 10Y line preamplifier, and silver 801A drive 300B monos:

I had a marathon session yesterday with some record collectors. The whole evening was magical honestly. Gathering in my mind about what I heard with the TWO in the mono block position: They are REALLY silent, it's crazy..., at full volume I don't hear any tube noise/hiss. Really impressive, it's like more silent than a solid state amp... (not that I had many, but still...) They are fast/detailed. In that sense I used it in 2 configurations. With/out mono sub. With the sub it's the best results. The integration is very smooth and very textured. The extensions on both sides are amazing. Highs, mids and (very) lows are 1 working force...  When the sub is out of the picture, the system gest more force (I guess because if less sub power loss) and becomes even more textured. In my system it becomes very articulate, borderline a tiny bit too much. On the other hand, I fee it's my tweeter that has trouble with the energy flow that's liberated from the TWO. The dynamics are very impressive for tube gear. It's beyond tube sound, in the best way for my ears.

After introduction of these tubes under my own name, I decided to also rebrand the top tier variants of other models.

Here the TM801A and TM300B.

The standard and molybdenum plate version of each remain under the Elrog brand

Some sound descriptions from users of the different versions can be found in last year's anniversary post.

All of these types can be ordered as well as the 'big boys':

The molybdenum variants of 211 and 845 are also branded under my name now:

New wooden presentation box for the ER242 and ER284

Thanks to everybody who helped to make 8 years of electron tube manufacturing in Germany possible!

Best regards

Thomas