Some time ago I signed up for the Westinghouse mailing list. Received this email a couple of weeks ago but was reluctant to post. For whatever reason I’m not reluctant this morning, hopefully some of you fellow tube heads will be as excited as I am.
“It is my distinct pleasure to announce that the WE 300B electron tube will re-enter production this year, in time for its 80th Anniversary. The famous triode was developed at Bell Labs in 1933 in the form of its predecessor, the 300A, which was modified, patented, and then produced at many historic works facilities beginning in 1938. The 300B has journeyed from the original New York tube shops, to the legendary Hawthorne Works, Allentown Works, Kansas City Works, then the Huntsville Works. The sparkling new tubes that will roll off the line this September will be assembled here in Rossville, Georgia at a new and reimagined electron tube works facility. Furthering our commitment to manufacturing excellence, we are installing new hydrogen reduction ovens, automated cathode cleaning lines, new laser welding systems, a state-of-the-art water deionization plant, and an updated testing system with improved accuracy. However, the 300B will still be manufactured from its original tooling and assembly specification standards.
Although we’ve invested in a modernized production line, many of its aspects will of course remain true to tradition. For example, the core material, the so-called “secret sauce” embedded in each cathode is derived from an original Hawthorne Works 1963 melt. Western Electric’s attention to each delicate detail and historic promise of quality place the WE 300B in a category of its own.
The new 300B’s will be priced at a reasonable rate of $1299 per matched pair or $599 for a single. They will also be available in quads and octets. Each tube ships with our peerless 5-year limited warranty starting September 1, 2018. By internal estimates, this is a conservative timeframe we can easily achieve, barring any unforeseen setbacks. A complex process like this involves many moving parts—literally—and we appreciate your patience.
In addition to announcing the availability of the 300B, I’d like to share some of our adventures in product development. Continuing our 80th anniversary celebration of the 300B, we are unveiling a new single-ended amplifier called the 91E, as an homage to its famous predecessor the 91A, first introduced in 1936. The 91E embodies a new proprietary Class A2 parallel feed current source topology (patent pending), combined with toroidal output transformers, and microprocessor controlled automatic bias. It will achieve in excess of twenty watts per channel—a never before realized level of performance for the 300B in a single-ended circuit.
Be on the lookout for a limited edition monoblock set of this amp topology called the 91C Metropolis. Only 500 of these beautifully designed 300B amplifiers will be available!
Western Electric has been working hard to give our followers big things to look forward to in 2018. This is just the beginning! The best way to stay in the loop is to subscribe to our exclusive 300B mailing list and by following our newly launched social accounts. Or maybe we’ll see you at the shows, starting this April at Axpona.
Stay tuned!
Charles Whitener | President, Western Electric”
“It is my distinct pleasure to announce that the WE 300B electron tube will re-enter production this year, in time for its 80th Anniversary. The famous triode was developed at Bell Labs in 1933 in the form of its predecessor, the 300A, which was modified, patented, and then produced at many historic works facilities beginning in 1938. The 300B has journeyed from the original New York tube shops, to the legendary Hawthorne Works, Allentown Works, Kansas City Works, then the Huntsville Works. The sparkling new tubes that will roll off the line this September will be assembled here in Rossville, Georgia at a new and reimagined electron tube works facility. Furthering our commitment to manufacturing excellence, we are installing new hydrogen reduction ovens, automated cathode cleaning lines, new laser welding systems, a state-of-the-art water deionization plant, and an updated testing system with improved accuracy. However, the 300B will still be manufactured from its original tooling and assembly specification standards.
Although we’ve invested in a modernized production line, many of its aspects will of course remain true to tradition. For example, the core material, the so-called “secret sauce” embedded in each cathode is derived from an original Hawthorne Works 1963 melt. Western Electric’s attention to each delicate detail and historic promise of quality place the WE 300B in a category of its own.
The new 300B’s will be priced at a reasonable rate of $1299 per matched pair or $599 for a single. They will also be available in quads and octets. Each tube ships with our peerless 5-year limited warranty starting September 1, 2018. By internal estimates, this is a conservative timeframe we can easily achieve, barring any unforeseen setbacks. A complex process like this involves many moving parts—literally—and we appreciate your patience.
In addition to announcing the availability of the 300B, I’d like to share some of our adventures in product development. Continuing our 80th anniversary celebration of the 300B, we are unveiling a new single-ended amplifier called the 91E, as an homage to its famous predecessor the 91A, first introduced in 1936. The 91E embodies a new proprietary Class A2 parallel feed current source topology (patent pending), combined with toroidal output transformers, and microprocessor controlled automatic bias. It will achieve in excess of twenty watts per channel—a never before realized level of performance for the 300B in a single-ended circuit.
Be on the lookout for a limited edition monoblock set of this amp topology called the 91C Metropolis. Only 500 of these beautifully designed 300B amplifiers will be available!
Western Electric has been working hard to give our followers big things to look forward to in 2018. This is just the beginning! The best way to stay in the loop is to subscribe to our exclusive 300B mailing list and by following our newly launched social accounts. Or maybe we’ll see you at the shows, starting this April at Axpona.
Stay tuned!
Charles Whitener | President, Western Electric”
This is an old story born around 1992-4.
I have been the first distributor of these tubes in Italy.
They aren't a direct sons of WesternElectric, the brand is not relate to Westrex that was the owner of the brand Western Electric.
At that time the new production, that I have seen and bought some new 300B, was discontinued and they ask an help to fix some issues to mr. Doleatto in Turin (Italy) that in thre 50-60 was a tube producer for military.
I have visited the old factory and was amazing.
After some months the production became intermittent.
Walter
I have been the first distributor of these tubes in Italy.
They aren't a direct sons of WesternElectric, the brand is not relate to Westrex that was the owner of the brand Western Electric.
At that time the new production, that I have seen and bought some new 300B, was discontinued and they ask an help to fix some issues to mr. Doleatto in Turin (Italy) that in thre 50-60 was a tube producer for military.
I have visited the old factory and was amazing.
After some months the production became intermittent.
Walter
Not at all.
40,000 hr rated tube with 5 year warranty. Seems to me at 3 hrs a day (21 hrs per week), the tube is rated for 40 years of service, and at $33 per year.
I'd buy a pair +
Hanze.
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Knowing what a 300B can and can not do, this is best considered to be fakenews
Remember the listed operating points had some Po at 18W into something approaching Pdmax and some low ~1k6 load (dont start on me about impedance vs frequency - I get it.)
I am surprised they need to resort to these levels, but.. it is their amplifier which they are talking about, and marketing is about numbers, again I am surprised that they would resort to this.
Given the website and trademark, I would like to think this is a real re-issue.
Yep, wishful thinking. Hope they can do it, I'd support it, buy a couple pair of the tube (yet, not their amplifier).
Hanze.
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I used to know a Bernardo Doleatto from Turino (Turin) Italy many years ago. I used to sell him test equipment probably 25-30 years ago. I wonder it he's the same Mr. Doleatto?
It is for Real WE 300-B
Would you mind if I post the information as provided below?.
Source Undisclosed - He knows a thing or two relating back to original WE production - maybe more than you might give credit for.
" Sure .. point being a claim of superior quality strikes me as pure hubris, the entire project populated with individuals with limited depth of experience can’t possibly compare with old-tmers who were there through the developmental period. The 1943 crew would have been able to cope with wartime constraints and quality issues that would no doubt have the present crew curled up in the fetal position (metaphorically speaking).."
Can we get comment regarding this from CEO of Western Electric Pty Ltd,. and I will follow with an email to their administrative department. Do they think their primary market will be 'under-sea' telecom, or modern theatre applications?. Guitar amps?.. No.
Hanze.
Would you mind if I post the information as provided below?.
Source Undisclosed - He knows a thing or two relating back to original WE production - maybe more than you might give credit for.
" Sure .. point being a claim of superior quality strikes me as pure hubris, the entire project populated with individuals with limited depth of experience can’t possibly compare with old-tmers who were there through the developmental period. The 1943 crew would have been able to cope with wartime constraints and quality issues that would no doubt have the present crew curled up in the fetal position (metaphorically speaking).."
Can we get comment regarding this from CEO of Western Electric Pty Ltd,. and I will follow with an email to their administrative department. Do they think their primary market will be 'under-sea' telecom, or modern theatre applications?. Guitar amps?.. No.
Hanze.
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Can we get members to make contact with Western Electric Pty Ltd, regarding their take on the above information. After all, its a symbiotic relationship, at least it should be. And there is a historical aspect to all of this which needs to be addressed, for the record, as it is - and forever will be.
Phone: 1-404-352-2000
info@westernelectric.com
news@westernelectric.com
sales@westernelectric.com
support@westernelectric.com
Phone: 1-404-352-2000
info@westernelectric.com
news@westernelectric.com
sales@westernelectric.com
support@westernelectric.com
to Hollow
Yes was Doleatto from Turin, great man.
I have been to visit the his historic building where were installed all the machines that he used to make tubes; some rooms.
Also a vacuum mechanism with a column of 4 meters; one of the point that Doleatto said to me is that the current production ( I spoke with him more than 20 years ago and he was 75 years old at that time) has the major problems with the quality of the vaccuum ( in addition with poor quality of materials) , it was not strongh enough .
In the last room there was the best tube tester I have seen, about 2 meters x 2 meters !!! with the anode voltage up to 2 kV!!
At the end of the story the first batch of WE 300B new production came out after more than 1 year and half from announcements due an help from Mr. Doleatto!
And these stuff were built with a good quality but expensive.
Walter
Yes was Doleatto from Turin, great man.
I have been to visit the his historic building where were installed all the machines that he used to make tubes; some rooms.
Also a vacuum mechanism with a column of 4 meters; one of the point that Doleatto said to me is that the current production ( I spoke with him more than 20 years ago and he was 75 years old at that time) has the major problems with the quality of the vaccuum ( in addition with poor quality of materials) , it was not strongh enough .
In the last room there was the best tube tester I have seen, about 2 meters x 2 meters !!! with the anode voltage up to 2 kV!!
At the end of the story the first batch of WE 300B new production came out after more than 1 year and half from announcements due an help from Mr. Doleatto!
And these stuff were built with a good quality but expensive.
Walter
You misunderstand the warranty terms, it is 5 years from the date of manufacture at the WE factory that is labeled in the tube, whether the valve is sold to a store / music lover or not or i.e. 5 years on the shelf.
It is not 5 years from the date of the sale to the consumer audiophile, which could happen in the distant future. This is not great warranty or demo of quality, that is to say that they know that the product will only last 5 years whether it is used or not.
This is similar terms from a chinese tube.
I not excited with this sales pitch.
EML offer 5 years if you free register the tube on his site.
There are rumours EML 300B are lasting 20.000 hours.
I used WE300B tubes in my high end commercial 300B SE amps in the early 2000s and then they became unavailable again. I never sold replacement WE tubes because a bunch of guys in NYC undercut dealers like me, selling tubes at well below what I paid wholesale in small quantities.
I ended up using JJ300B tubes instead, and still am to this day. Despite the problems with other JJ tubes their 300B is both a very good performer and extremely reliable. I have ones relegated to spares here with over 5000 hours on them that still work fine and probably would run another 5000 hours I'd guess.
Brand new mids and tweeter amps in my system (system is tri-amped) are running current JJ300Bs, current production seems as good or even better than the ones I purchased 20 years ago. You probably can't go wrong with the JJ frankly.
I ended up using JJ300B tubes instead, and still am to this day. Despite the problems with other JJ tubes their 300B is both a very good performer and extremely reliable. I have ones relegated to spares here with over 5000 hours on them that still work fine and probably would run another 5000 hours I'd guess.
Brand new mids and tweeter amps in my system (system is tri-amped) are running current JJ300Bs, current production seems as good or even better than the ones I purchased 20 years ago. You probably can't go wrong with the JJ frankly.
Recently I had the pleasure to visit Western Electric in Rossville Georgia. Visiting manufacturers is something I enjoy and have used those visits in the past to get a better feel for companies I may want to invest in. This time the visit was for pure pleasure as I am a great fan of the 300B tube. Western Electric has played a very important part in the history of audio reproduction, I expect anyone sincerely interested in the vacuum tube would find that history interesting. More on that in another post.
My visit began a few weeks before with a cold call to the main WE phone number. A pleasant receptionist connected me with Tim Walsh, Western Electric’s Chief Technology Officer. On that initial phone call Tim filled me in a bit on what is happening at Western Electric and welcomed my request for a visit.
Once I arrived at Western Electric, easy to find as it is the largest building in Rossville, Tim met me at the door. We then headed upstairs to meet Charles Whitener, CEO. A quick signing of a NDA and the fun began. I have worked with corporate leaders, CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, CAOs, etc most of my professional career and one observation I have made during that time is that the leadership influences the entire corporate structure. Seems obvious but it is a lesson that still needs to be learned by many a board of directors. In the case of WE this corporation is in very good hands. The years of technological experience, hands on design experience, troubleshooting, and management in this industry would be hard to find in most companies, that, combined with simply being a bunch of really great people sets the tone for this organization.
We began my little visit with Charles showing off some Western Electric historical items which included, tubes, Western Electric microphones, literature, original WE amplifiers, original vellum drawings of WE tubes, and numerous other items. Had I thought ahead I would have made a list! Fortunately there is some thought being given to a future WE Museum. It would be well worth a visit should that happen!
An important part of Western Electric’s business is military sales. I did get to see some of the tubes and testing equipment that WE builds for the military, but you guessed it right, I can’t write about that.
Tim and Charles then showed me some remarkable speaker technology WE is developing. I can safely say the world has never seen anything like it. A truly unique approach to driver technology. Again that is as much as I can say at this time.
We next went to the WE listening room and lab where I got to hear the latest WE 300b integrated amplifier, the 91E. It was definitely a prototype but I have to say an amazing sounding one. I currently own an Audio Nirvana 300B amplifier with KR Audio 300B balloon tubes, Northern Electric 6SL7 and 6SN7 driving Crites Cornscala Speakers, this combination still impresses me at each listening. Though I doubt I would get rid of my current set up, after hearing the the WE 91E prototype I’ve already started to budget for a future purchase. Oh what an amplifier!
WE has partnered with Gauder Akustik of Germany which makes the Berlina ceramic and diamond speaker systems. They are remarkable speakers driven by an amplifier, I can’t recall the manufacturer, it wasn’t a WE, but the system was a delight for the ears. The Berlina rc11, at a meer $264,000 retail, provide crystal clear highs, in front of your face mids, room filling precise lows, when my eyes were closed i felt teleported to the venue of the original recording.
At this point in the visit my head was already swimming with all that I had seen and heard, mercifully it was time for break. I was treated to a good southern blue plate diner luncheon before we finished up for the day.
Post luncheon our merry group went to visit the future “Rossville Works” production facility which is just a short drive from the corporate offices. Currently Charles is loading trucks at the WE Dalton warehouse as we speak. The empty room will start filling up this week! Though still a long way from a working factory it was great for me to see the before, can’t wait to see the after. I was delighted to find that WE chose to gut and repurpose an existing building which has been reengineered for and cleaned to clean room standards. There was a rather gigantic water deionization plant in place and an AC/air scrubber system, but that was all to see other than space, lots and lots of space. Once we had a good look see of the future production plant we went back to the office to wind down the visit.
My overall impressions can be stated simply. This is a quality group of people, with many years of technological experience in this field, building quality, zero compromise products, who give a enough of a damn about their reputation to earn it and their end users loyalty. Not once during my visit did I feel I was being ‘sold’, rather, I felt these folks were proud of their work and enjoyed showing it off to someone that had a genuine interest.
To be clear, I am not an employee nor investor in WE. Nor have I been given and products or remuneration. Until this visit I had only seen the announcement emails from WE I had signed up for and had not met nor spoken to anyone there. I’m simply sharing my visit. I’ll be going back in the fall for another visit. I’ll take notes then so I can provide more detail.
Since you have made it to the end of this little narrative you deserve a reward! This is a link to the WE knowledge base:
Western Electric - Technical Support and Knowledge Base
For those as interested in WE history itself this link will take you to some corporate history information: Western Electric - Corporate History
You could spend a lifetime reading what is in these links. It was no small effort to gather, digitize, and organize this information and hopefully you will find it as fascinating as I am.
Lastly many thanks to Tim Walsh, Charles Whitener, EJ Christensen, Andy, and Cobi Boykin of Western Electric
My visit began a few weeks before with a cold call to the main WE phone number. A pleasant receptionist connected me with Tim Walsh, Western Electric’s Chief Technology Officer. On that initial phone call Tim filled me in a bit on what is happening at Western Electric and welcomed my request for a visit.
Once I arrived at Western Electric, easy to find as it is the largest building in Rossville, Tim met me at the door. We then headed upstairs to meet Charles Whitener, CEO. A quick signing of a NDA and the fun began. I have worked with corporate leaders, CEOs, CFOs, CTOs, CAOs, etc most of my professional career and one observation I have made during that time is that the leadership influences the entire corporate structure. Seems obvious but it is a lesson that still needs to be learned by many a board of directors. In the case of WE this corporation is in very good hands. The years of technological experience, hands on design experience, troubleshooting, and management in this industry would be hard to find in most companies, that, combined with simply being a bunch of really great people sets the tone for this organization.
We began my little visit with Charles showing off some Western Electric historical items which included, tubes, Western Electric microphones, literature, original WE amplifiers, original vellum drawings of WE tubes, and numerous other items. Had I thought ahead I would have made a list! Fortunately there is some thought being given to a future WE Museum. It would be well worth a visit should that happen!
An important part of Western Electric’s business is military sales. I did get to see some of the tubes and testing equipment that WE builds for the military, but you guessed it right, I can’t write about that.
Tim and Charles then showed me some remarkable speaker technology WE is developing. I can safely say the world has never seen anything like it. A truly unique approach to driver technology. Again that is as much as I can say at this time.
We next went to the WE listening room and lab where I got to hear the latest WE 300b integrated amplifier, the 91E. It was definitely a prototype but I have to say an amazing sounding one. I currently own an Audio Nirvana 300B amplifier with KR Audio 300B balloon tubes, Northern Electric 6SL7 and 6SN7 driving Crites Cornscala Speakers, this combination still impresses me at each listening. Though I doubt I would get rid of my current set up, after hearing the the WE 91E prototype I’ve already started to budget for a future purchase. Oh what an amplifier!
WE has partnered with Gauder Akustik of Germany which makes the Berlina ceramic and diamond speaker systems. They are remarkable speakers driven by an amplifier, I can’t recall the manufacturer, it wasn’t a WE, but the system was a delight for the ears. The Berlina rc11, at a meer $264,000 retail, provide crystal clear highs, in front of your face mids, room filling precise lows, when my eyes were closed i felt teleported to the venue of the original recording.
At this point in the visit my head was already swimming with all that I had seen and heard, mercifully it was time for break. I was treated to a good southern blue plate diner luncheon before we finished up for the day.
Post luncheon our merry group went to visit the future “Rossville Works” production facility which is just a short drive from the corporate offices. Currently Charles is loading trucks at the WE Dalton warehouse as we speak. The empty room will start filling up this week! Though still a long way from a working factory it was great for me to see the before, can’t wait to see the after. I was delighted to find that WE chose to gut and repurpose an existing building which has been reengineered for and cleaned to clean room standards. There was a rather gigantic water deionization plant in place and an AC/air scrubber system, but that was all to see other than space, lots and lots of space. Once we had a good look see of the future production plant we went back to the office to wind down the visit.
My overall impressions can be stated simply. This is a quality group of people, with many years of technological experience in this field, building quality, zero compromise products, who give a enough of a damn about their reputation to earn it and their end users loyalty. Not once during my visit did I feel I was being ‘sold’, rather, I felt these folks were proud of their work and enjoyed showing it off to someone that had a genuine interest.
To be clear, I am not an employee nor investor in WE. Nor have I been given and products or remuneration. Until this visit I had only seen the announcement emails from WE I had signed up for and had not met nor spoken to anyone there. I’m simply sharing my visit. I’ll be going back in the fall for another visit. I’ll take notes then so I can provide more detail.
Since you have made it to the end of this little narrative you deserve a reward! This is a link to the WE knowledge base:
Western Electric - Technical Support and Knowledge Base
For those as interested in WE history itself this link will take you to some corporate history information: Western Electric - Corporate History
You could spend a lifetime reading what is in these links. It was no small effort to gather, digitize, and organize this information and hopefully you will find it as fascinating as I am.
Lastly many thanks to Tim Walsh, Charles Whitener, EJ Christensen, Andy, and Cobi Boykin of Western Electric
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