amperex 6922 pq white label tubes

My current favorite is the late 1950s "Made in Holland" Amperex E188CC (European 7308) with D-foil getter. Really outstanding but they are pricey.
Last pair I bought from Brent Jesse, another excellent source who extensively tests his tubes.

The earlier "Made in Holland" E88CC (European 6922) with large halo getters are also excellent although some folks prefer the "Made In USA" Amperex 6922 and 7308 tubes. IMO: If tested thoroughly and bought from a reputable dealer you can’t go wrong with any of them.

BTW: There are some good tube dealers on ebay but how do you figure out who they are?

Thanks for the info on 6922 tubes and reputable dealers

I recently bought a couple of Tubes as Nos from Ebay, the experience was very unpleasant, even with a seller of 100% positive feedback.  Be aware, there are a lot of Russian tubes with stamps of famous brands, like Amperex, Siemens or Telefunken. The one at ebay that you mentioned seems to be one of those with perfect stamp. That's why I decided to buy  my tubes from (upscale) one of these site mentioned above.

As for 6922, it depends to your preamp or amp as to what feed them with. On my preamp (Einstein The tube mkII) I use two Telefunken for CD input which is kind of very neutral with some brightness. Amperex is more tuby sound and less neutral and use them on phono-pre input. Amperex has also a lot of variety, with construction made in Holland (very rare), England, Italy, India and ... Each has its own sound tonality.

Reading about tubes could be very useful, if you are like me and new on tube world:

http://soundstage.com/tubeor/tube1.htm

cheers...

Consider the tubes which were specially selected for HP test equipment back in the 60's. They typically have the HP logo and a dab of paint on the crown.

Back then, HP was THE technology company. They made the instruments that put men on the moon. At one point, they bought tubes from Amperex, Telefunken, built and selected to HP specs.

Then they selected for themselves, so the story goes. According to stories told at the time, HP used to hire engineering students for the summer to test tubes. For every 100 tested, they threw 97 in the dumpster.

That is why a tube from HP cost 10x what it cost from the electronics store - and it was a bargain. Few seem to remember this today - and as a result, HP selected tubes bearing the HP logo are available for no premium. Which is ridiculous. But it may also be that the HP logo indicates authenticity, because the crooks don't know enough to lie about that.

By FAR, the best tubes I have ever used are 1962 TF 6922 with HP seals. Quiet, clean, sweet, detailed, etc. Simply the best.