Telefunken vacuum tube E88CC-TK; NOS versus brand new.

As long as it has your ears attention, it doesn't matter.

New Tele's are only a name. Like so many popular brands from the past, it's just a licensed name. Probably from the same  Russian factory many other tubes are made.

I’ve used 6922 tubes for many years, and these are the best I’ve ever purchased. In regard to NOS being much more expensive; I’m not going there because I still believe NOS are better if they are genuine because of production and material available. While that would make them last longer, they may not be audibly better than a new tube coming from the same factory.

As I look at it, I can buy 5.8 tubes for the price of one NOS; I don’t think I’ll even bother to find out if they last longer, because I have doubts about them sounding better than these.


Thanks for your comments.

   "........they may not be audibly better than a new tube coming from the same factory."           What factories exist, that were owned by the reputable manufacturers (ie: Telefunken, Mullard, Genelex, etc) whose names ALONE have been purchased?          Perhaps I'm missing something.

    https://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/telefunken-introduces-new-black-diamond-tubes-summer-namm

Telefunken never had a factory, or-manufactured a tube, in Slovakia.   All of their assets, during their vacuum tube production years, were located in Germany.      There is no, "same factory".      The name/logo wasn’t even purchased/licensed, for use in the USA, until 2000.     It was well after that, JJ (et al) contracted to make tubes for ’Telefunken Elektroakustik’.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telefunken#:~:text=Locations%20and%20manufacturing%20plants,-FE%20I%20....      I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with their tubes.      BUT- they’re NOT Telefunkens, in anything but name/logo.