2. amps-preamps
  3. 193085-371

Do military/industrial tubes sound better than regular ones ?

Or they are usually just more rugged and longer lasting? I am particularly interested in 12AX7 and 12AU7 RCA blackplates from early and late 50s.

They are often double the price, but that would not be my main concern in this case because even regular ones should last for a very long time.

In other words, I would like to have best sounding RCA blackplates in my VAC Avatar SE, and longer lasting would be a bonus.

inna
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,759 posts
 

No they don’t sound better!

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
996 posts
 

Many are dubbed military or industrial for a variety of different reasons, so it'll depend a lot on each individual tube, and what makes them different.  Plus a lot of tubes sound different on different circuits, and it's all very subjective.  

immatthewj
2,295 posts
 

I don't know about the small 12 pin tubes, but I believe that the VT231 is a military application of the 6sn7 and I was fortunate, three or so years ago, to get several pairs of vintage 6sn7s and VT231s.  After several days of tube rolling I was really wowed by a couple of the VT231s--more so than by the 6SN7s.  I make no claims whatsover to be a tube guru, but I think what may be a factor in that is that the military may have had higher specification demands for the tubes that they were using in tubed equipment at the time. 

inna OP
7,354 posts
 

And to go a little  further, military grade and industrial grade - any difference ?

immatthewj
2,295 posts
 

Well again, not being a tube guru, I may be mistaken by all of this, but in the time period most vintage tubes are coming from, wasn't their primary intended use to be industrial?  As in, for example, oscilloscopes and other types of equipment?

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