Line Magnetic Australia, which imports and distributes Line Magnetic valve power amplifiers Down Under, has announced that it is now also the sole Australian distributor for Elrog valves, which are made in Germany by Deutsche Elektronenröhren Manufaktur GmbH.
"These bespoke, handcrafted vacuum tubes are regarded as among the best – if not the best – in the world of production valves today", said Campbell Nunn, CEO of Line Magnetic Australia. "We think that the Elrog products will complement any suitable tube amplifier to provide an outstanding upgrade, including all the amplifiers in the Line Magnetic range."
Elrog valves were originally made by Elrog Elektronenröhren GmbH & Co KG, but when the company registered for insolvency in 2016, its intellectual and other assets, including production machinery, were acquired by Deutsche Elektronenröhren Manufaktur GmbH (DEM), a company owned by valve amplifier designer and manufacturer Thomas Mayer, famous for his VinylSavor 300B valve amplifiers.
Although DEM is headquartered in the German city of Lindau, all Elrog valves are currently manufactured in Hagenow, located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in Germany. "All are entirely hand-made by highly skilled and passionate people," says Mayer. Every valve made is also tested individually (see image below).
- Best stereo amplifiers 2020: budget and premium
- How to choose and set up a stereo amplifier
- How to build the perfect hi-fi system
Since acquiring Elrog, Mayer has re-designed all the valves, engineering significant upgrades that he says improve their sound quality and increase their long-term reliability. He's also extended the original Elrog portfolio of just three valve types (211, 845 and 300B) to ten.
Nunn told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine that he will be supporting all Elrog valve pairs with a full 12-month replacement warranty. "In other words, if you purchase a pair of tubes and one of the pair fails within 12 months, you will receive a replacement pair," he said. "We think this is the best tube warranty available on the planet at the moment."
For more information, contact Line Magnetic Australia.