[Oskari]

Alas, the Amperex and Haltron appear to be Russian fakes.....I am sure more is to come......

Rebrands for sure. They don't have to be illegit rebrand jobs, though. Things happened.

 

[DecentLevi]

Here's a great deal on Chatham 6080's that just came up, for anyone who's interested
 

 
Also I'd say it's not that easy to fake a genuine tube. For anyone who's exclusively familiar with the construction of a specific tube type, we can tell right away if it's a fake - most importantly by the internal construction. With all the rebrands that have happened decades ago, sometimes brand names / labels or lack thereof are meaningless.
 
So if anyone happens to come across the likes of a good GEC-like tube, feel free to contact Hypnos1 or even myself to confirm if it's genuine, or post the photo here. But for me, I've already got some great pairs on the way.

 

[DecentLevi]

point & case 

 

 

[mordy]

As usual: Buyer beware! But sometimes even experts can be fooled.......
 
Having followed eBay for a number of years now, it is interesting to me that these tubes popped up now......

 

[hypnos1]

Hi guys....A NEW AMP WILL SOON BE IN MY HANDS - still an Elise...but DIFFERENT!
 
Explanation and details over at my second thread : http://www.head-fi.org/t/782754/feliks-audio-elise-new-thread/13170#post_12974788
 
CHEERS!...(need to go have a stiff drink now...either that or my Horlicks...yes, LOL!!

).

 

[mordy]

Here are more tubes to add to your collection of 6AS7G - ".possibly by Mullard or Genalex"
 

 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-6AS7G-5998-421A-TUBES-ENGLAND-TEST-NOS-/152293701262?hash=item237569768e:g:ecYAAOSwV0RXv0nM
 
Beware! These are just rebranded Svetlana 6AS7 equivalents made in Russia.

 

[hypnos1]

  Here are more tubes to add to your collection of 6AS7G - ".possibly by Mullard or Genalex"
 

 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MATCHED-PAIR-6AS7G-5998-421A-TUBES-ENGLAND-TEST-NOS-/152293701262?hash=item237569768e:g:ecYAAOSwV0RXv0nM
 
Beware! These are just rebranded Svetlana 6AS7 equivalents made in Russia.

 
Yo mordy...and to actually have "Made in England" stamped on the bases of some of these tubes is DOUBLY misleading (and I'm trying very hard to be generous with my words here lol!!)...made in England they were most certainly NOT!!!...
 
And so as I have mentioned previously, close study of these Russian tubes compared to the genuine article posted here and elsewhere many times will soon enable one to spot any such "misleading" listings quite easily, regardless of the label!...plus - if extremely lucky! - spot a mis-labelled genuine GEC/Osram..

...(if I don't get there first!!!

...).

 

[attmci]

  Those bottle shaped GEC tubes on eBay (which all ended 16 hours ago) were findable by searching simply for "6AS7G" on eBay; the listings did not actually include the word GEC, though the seller told me they were made in the same factory as the GEC's, thereby MWT is either a sort of factory code or a rebranded version of those rare GEC's - the only difference being the curved bottom. I was one of the lucky winning bids of the 4 listings - smoothly won the bid right on my way to work at Tesla, and it even happened to be my first time ever winning a bid on eBay.
 
Per advice from CJ, you just basically wait until the last 10-20 seconds and bid a great margin higher than the others; the max. you're comfortable paying and if you're lucky your bid will fall just slightly over a bid that was much lower than your max. bid entered. CJ (H1) may be able to explain this better than me. Another tip for scouting out rare tubes is searching on hifishark.com then clicking the link at bottom to receive email notifications of your query, when your item becomes available. It's like a used Hi-fi audio search engine that indexes not only eBay, but several other good sources such as Canuck Audio Mart and good 'ol Head-Fi for sale / trade forums.
 
I certainty don't see how it should be "hard to trust" the quality of a tube just based on bid amounts. The amount of bids received is only a result of random chances that lead people to the listing and are based off face value. OTOH, my impression of the seller's shop photo was he sure seems meticulous and professional! Anyway my 'pair' of ST-shaped GEC's is not a perfectly matched pair however, being sourced from two separate locations.
 
In the meantime, the W.E. 421A's are a solid performer with the smaller ECC88 Tesla driver tubes

I got the others. Sorry to learn that you had to go to work so early.......4am in the morning.
 
BTW,  There are a number of GEC 6as7g NIB available on eBay.  Grab all if you need some. 

 

[DecentLevi]

I've decided to follow you guys' advice and get four socket savers. But I couldn't seem to find much good ones on eBay for 6AS7 class anyway. Which socket savers are good? And would 6SN7 type work for all four slots?
 
Interestingly during my search, I ran across something called Novib anti-vibration socket savers, which somehow use silicone to reduce microphonics, with these other reported positive side effects

:
 
"

Reviewer: Mark Haynes from Telford, Shropshire United Kingdom

I bought these for my Yaqin MC100B which uses 2 X 12ax7s in the input.  Here I use late 50s Brimar 12ax7 long plates which are supposed to be non microphonic.  Thinking that they would help protect my Noval sockets (the other sockets are octal and easier to 'retension') I bought these. However I wasn't expecting such a massive improvement in SQ.  I use Golden Dragon tube dampers but this made a bigger improvement to the SQ than them!  Depth, clarity across all frequency ranges were improved and everything seemed more 3 dimensional.  Buy these NOT just to protect your sockets but to IMPROVE YOUR SQ!!!" (quoted from here)
 

 
Here is the link for their 6SN7 version:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OCTAL-SOCKET-SAVER-NOVIB-NOS-GE-USA-OMRON-JAPAN-Vib-Red-Base-NOT-Made-in-China-/161892604162
 
However these are several times more expensive than regular socket savers, so still considering...

 

[whirlwind]

I have those socket savers....the same ones are used for both 6AS7 & 6SN7 sockets, they have the same pin out.
 
They great socket savers, but don't hold your breath about getting better sound quality 

 

 

[connieflyer]

I have used this brand before, and they did hold up well. I never saw any increase in SQ with these or any other socket saver.  By putting another component  in the circuit it would seem to me to have a negative effect if any at all. You always have to take with a grain of salt claims of immense improvement, fantastic sound, huge soundstage, resolution beyond belief, these claims are all hyperbole.  Funny listening to folks here and other forums describe there latest and greatest find.  If you were to find these kind of improvements with each tube roll, that the new ones are so fantastic nothing else compares, you would never go back to the other tubes, there would be no point .   It is the same people that always find these fantastic improvements and they never can see that they just got through recomending other combos. THey never learn, probably just want to feel important to the discussion.  Find something better, apsolutely, can you discern a better resolution, sure, huge, tremendous discoverys are mostly personal ways to say, yeah, I spent the extra money and of course I can hear diffrencses of 200-400% improvement, because otherwise why did I spend so much on them?  Mostly in their own minds and need to hear it so they can feel good about spending the extra money.  I am sure the gec's sound better than the ts 5998's and 6080's but 2-300 % better, I just don't see it.

 

[Spork67]

I ordered these - $17.50 US for a set of 4.
Because I'm stingy, and I don't believe a socket saver can make anything sound better than it already does.
I do believe they can save mechanical wear and tear on sockets, so as long as they don't make the sound worse I'm happy.
 

 

 

[connieflyer]

Agreed, that was what these were designed for, mechanical advantage not sonic advantage,

 

[HOWIE13]

  I have used this brand before, and they did hold up well. I never saw any increase in SQ with these or any other socket saver.  By putting another component  in the circuit it would seem to me to have a negative effect if any at all. You always have to take with a grain of salt claims of immense improvement, fantastic sound, huge soundstage, resolution beyond belief, these claims are all hyperbole.  Funny listening to folks here and other forums describe there latest and greatest find.  If you were to find these kind of improvements with each tube roll, that the new ones are so fantastic nothing else compares, you would never go back to the other tubes, there would be no point .   It is the same people that always find these fantastic improvements and they never can see that they just got through recomending other combos. THey never learn, probably just want to feel important to the discussion.  Find something better, apsolutely, can you discern a better resolution, sure, huge, tremendous discoverys are mostly personal ways to say, yeah, I spent the extra money and of course I can hear diffrencses of 200-400% improvement, because otherwise why did I spend so much on them?  Mostly in their own minds and need to hear it so they can feel good about spending the extra money.  I am sure the gec's sound better than the ts 5998's and 6080's but 2-300 % better, I just don't see it.

Totally agree.
 
All this hyperbole really puts me off actually, which is a shame as there may occasionally be some truth in what they are saying. Quite honestly, sometimes the comment tells you far more about the person than the product. 

 

[pctazhp]

  I have used this brand before, and they did hold up well. I never saw any increase in SQ with these or any other socket saver.  By putting another component  in the circuit it would seem to me to have a negative effect if any at all. You always have to take with a grain of salt claims of immense improvement, fantastic sound, huge soundstage, resolution beyond belief, these claims are all hyperbole.  Funny listening to folks here and other forums describe there latest and greatest find.  If you were to find these kind of improvements with each tube roll, that the new ones are so fantastic nothing else compares, you would never go back to the other tubes, there would be no point .   It is the same people that always find these fantastic improvements and they never can see that they just got through recomending other combos. THey never learn, probably just want to feel important to the discussion.  Find something better, apsolutely, can you discern a better resolution, sure, huge, tremendous discoverys are mostly personal ways to say, yeah, I spent the extra money and of course I can hear diffrencses of 200-400% improvement, because otherwise why did I spend so much on them?  Mostly in their own minds and need to hear it so they can feel good about spending the extra money.  I am sure the gec's sound better than the ts 5998's and 6080's but 2-300 % better, I just don't see it.

CF:  I very much agree with you about the hyperbole and the motivation that seems to generate much of the crazy language. I think it hurts the overall credibility of this thread and may turn off people who are considering the Elise. It is also why I don't spend much time here anymore. For me it is like fingernails scratching across a blackboard.
 
I used to be a total cable nut. But for a long time now I have been very skeptical about wire and cables. Claims of "night and day" just drive me crazy.
 
I am keeping an open mind about the upgraded Elise. I think FA is conservative and competent. I don't think they would include upgrades that didn't accomplish anything other than just cost more. However, I'm so happy with my Elise I'm not sure if I would spend a lot of money for a new upgraded model. Time will tell))
 
As for the GEC 6AS7G, I don't have any problem with anyone who wants to spend money for what they think will be an improvement. I doubt I will ever actually hear one because right now I just don't feel the need to spend a lot of money to try to improve on my system, which I absolutely love. But I learned a long time ago: never say never)))))