I’m glad there are still companies out there, making tubes for our gear, wherever they may be located. With enough variety to satisfy most tastes, in sound/presentation. Even some that competed with the clarity/purity and quality of NOS Teles. Although; the admission to that ballpark was a bit steeper. ie: https://www.technologyfactory.eu/en/eat/tubes/eat-cool-valve-ecc88-6dj8-selected/a-1086-10000258 I hated to see, those have been discontinued. Happy listening!
Telefunken vacuum tube E88CC-TK; NOS versus brand new.
Telefunken vacuum tube E88CC-TK; I just purchased a pair of these and they are fantastic; they raised my phono to a new level.
Now here's the question, I paid $60 apiece for a pair of these brand new. "Uncle Kevin" at Upscale Audio, sells these for $349. apiece. His are NOS, they should cost more, they also probably last longer, but do they sound better? That is the question. It is not in my budget to pay $700. to find out. Do you have any comments on this?
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Dave, this is not the first time I got these same kind of tubes. I don't want to mention who I purchased them from, but the tubes went bad, and they made things good. The second tubes didn't last as long, but long enough that I couldn't request my money back. These present tubes came from a different source https://www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com/product/e88cc-tk-6922 It seems that who ever gets the tubes from the manufacturer has to take them through a lengthy screening process to deliver the best tubes. When the tubes sound good and the price ratio is 6 to 1 for NOS, I have to give some latitude. I am 100% per cent in agreement about NOS tubes. There are so many factors that make this so, including the experienced people working on the line to manufacture them, that no longer exist. |
For my Fosgate Sig phono-pre Musical Surroundings used to provide Chinese 6922 tubes whose principal quality was that they were especially quiet. The pre is all tube w/60db gain, no solid state, no SUT. The pre (while still great) has not been made or sold for a long time and those tubes are no longer available from MS. I keep looking for quieter and quieter, phono-pre quiet, 6922s at a good price. Any suggestions? |
@melm- Upscale Audio tests and rates their tubes for noise, as do some of the other tube mongers. Look for his, "Platinum" rating, for the quietest. https://upscaleaudio.com/pages/grading-matching Brent Jessee’s noise testing procedure, about half way down this page: http://www.audiotubes.com/6dj8.htm Can’t go wrong, with either of those sellers. |
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