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

noromance, I agree and that is what every knowledgeable and reputable vendor has told me. 

NOS TFK’s (<>), whether 6DJ8 variants, 12AT7 or 12AX7 have been my favorite input/driver tubes for as long as I can remember. IN MY GEAR they have always sounded the most naturally textured, extended, dynamic, you name it as compared to NOS German Siemens, Amperex (USA, Holland) and other highly regarded tubes; not to mention modern tubes. I have not tried the very recent crop of East European or Chinese tubes, but for whatever it may be worth I have not tried a modern 6DJ8 variant that has come close according to my tastes. A beautiful sounding tube.

Orpheus-10, I have a beautiful pair of genuine TFK (<>) E88CC that I am not using and is NOT for sale that you are welcome to try and compare. (you pay ship/ins). Might answer your questions. PM me if interested.

 7DJ8 is another safe swap for the 6DJ8. 
There are NOS that can be found for sane(under $50) if you do a little hunting.

Brent Jesse's inventory is spotty at the moment, but scroll to bottom-USA section
http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm

@orpheus10

you are welcome

a few other comments:

- we are in an era now, finally, where the russian and china tube makers are making very good quality and really excellent sounding products - they have been at this for 15-20 years now and they have their basic sourcing, production and qc processes pretty much in order (not to mention being savvy marketers scooping up the old dead brand names newbies read about and seek out)... so we as users can get input and power tubes that are easily the equal to old stock ones they are modeled after -- current tube makers are audiophiles with good ears too, and they are listening to what they are making...

- so when you find modern stuff you like - like your tele-labeled 6dj8 tubes - note who the supplier is and how the tubes have been graded, and as you are, get a spare set to have

- the problem with modern tube makers is how they sell their wares, especially their ’not-so-well’ qc’ed stuff... tube making is ultimately a make and sort process -- many bad ones are made with the good ones -- they are gonna blow that off quality stuff out to maximize their sales, and that’s why we need to be super careful about unknown ebay vendors or folks without sterling reputations selling certain tubes at surprisingly good prices - those should raise red flags right away

- as good as they look and sound, what is unknown about today’s good, premium tubes is their durability and longevity - these tube makers are trying to maximize profit, and are still at a disadvantage when it comes to sourcing rare and pure metals that were used in the great tubes of old, what we see are tube makes going with more sturdy inner parts to help longevity despite using cheaper/more impure metals... we shall see about this

cheers and happy listening

Many years ago I compared several brands of 12AT7 type tubes. To my surprise, by far the best sounding was a Chinese made variant sold to me by Billington in the UK. Since Billington is now out of business, I don’t know where I would get more of them, if I needed them, but fortunately I do not need them. My point is, don’t sell Chinese made tubes short if SQ is the major criterion. (The Chinese 12AT7s didn’t last long in use. Second best in my experiment w 12AT7s were GE 5-star gold pins.)

I've had lots of Telefunkens and believe they are the most neutral and transparent. Until I tried Shuguang Black 12AX7LS from Grant Audio.