[Spent&Bent]

Check out this ebay auction.
The left tube is so rare even experienced tube hunters like "Bambi B" from audioasylums tube asylum have yet to get there hands on one he has been hunting them for over three years infact.
Auctions of these only happen once a year or so and usually end a bit higher then this one for one tube.
The second tube on the right isn't much but had the seller discribed the left tube instead of a general description the auction would have been uhm... different.

Check out this site for another description of the valvo 6201 blue tube, it's marked "ultra rare

".

Sorry to bother everyone with my ramblings but I am just ultra excited to put the tube in my EMP (and possibly anything else it will fit in...uhm

).

 

[Lisa]

Gefeliciteerd!

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa Gefeliciteerd!

Bedankt

ik heb er nu eigenlijk veels te veel en ik wil nieuwe speakers eigenlijk (spendor / quads) maar ja... de beheersing ontbreekt weer eens

translation: thanks I have much too many now and what I would really like are a pair of new monitor speakers (spendor / quad)

 

[gsferrari]

I have a couple of those ECC-81's with the Valvo symbol. Are they worth anything? I think I have a pair or two...not sure...

 

[Mikey01]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari I have a couple of those ECC-81's with the Valvo symbol. Are they worth anything? I think I have a pair or two...not sure...

No, they aren't worth a plug nickel. I'll give ya $2.00 for them if you want?

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari I have a couple of those ECC-81's with the Valvo symbol. Are they worth anything? I think I have a pair or two...not sure...

Coin base ones are the very early produced ones, I would not know how much they are worth, it's all in the quality, the better they sound the more they are worth.... and the sooner the supplies of those run out leading to even higher prices.
I also suspect several very big tube hoarders just having some sort of silent agreement keeping prices on certain types high though... you never know how much stock there's actually left down there...

 

[Spent&Bent]

I came home today and found it in my mailbox, yay!

Right now it is getting some hours in my EMP to burn in, for once I skipped the obligatory tube tester I just could not wait.
After listening to some songs it's definately good in the midrange, dead ringer for vocals much like the 6922 PQ USA WS.
But ofcourse since this a 12AT7 compatible not a 6922 it makes all the possible options extremely interesting.The closest 12AT7 it resembles to is the Siemens E81CC, but that one often sounds distorted in the fleshing out where the Valvo stays cristal clear, this is very very obvious in the midrange.
Just based on quick listening to a few faves this Valvo has just as much extention in the low end as the telefunken ECC801-S.
From the midrange up however, it sounds much and much more fleshed out and refined, especially the high end is so silky smooth yet detailed.
I can see people going gaga over this tube when it's used in a pre-amp, no doubt.
The Eagles' "Hell Freezes Over" hasn't sound this good before, especially the guitars are simply stunning
I will visit a friend tonight to put it in his speaker system to verify but I am pretty sure this is a killer tube on any application.
All of the testing / listening for now was done with the Adzam SQ E188CC's btw.
Maybe if I feel like it I will make some pics later but I can see the combination of the rare Adzams and even more rare Valvo's can be totally uninteresting for a lot of people..
I will post updates when the valvo has had some more time.

 

[Len]

That's a great find for a collector! In your opinion, is the pinched waist really a better sounding tube? It certainly is more rare, just like the pinched waist Amperex 6922, but IME, they don't sound different. IMO, the expectations because of their rarity (due to a manufacturing flaw!) supercede reality.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Len That's a great find for a collector! In your opinion, is the pinched waist really a better sounding tube? It certainly is more rare, just like the pinched waist Amperex 6922, but IME, they don't sound different. IMO, the expectations because of their rarity (due to a manufacturing flaw!) supercede reality.

Len, you are probably right about the piched waist, though there is no doubt in my mind that triple instead of duplo mica tubes are both subjectively and measurably superior, at least when it comes to those I have bought within the 12AT7 & compatible family.
In the case of the Valvo, that what makes it a better sounding tube is probably caused by the internal build which is different (very good?) in the earlier production compared to later batches, not the pinched waist per se.
I have experienced something similar in the Telefunken ECC801-S where the later manufactured tubes can sound thin and uninvolving compared to the far richer and vibrant sounding earlier manufactured ones.
I have only been listening to the Valvo for a very short time, and to be honest if it was to dislodge a particular early Telefunken ECC801-S that lives in my EMP right now I would be suprised, but we will see.....

 

[boodi]

congrats on your new valve

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi congrats on your new valve

Yeah I'm a weirdo, don't rub it in

j/k.

Thanks.

After about 24 hours the Valvo pretty much sounds the same, very smooth with a brilliant high end, the best I have experienced from any tube so far.
It's a very polite sounding tube, with a level of refinement that is hard to put in words, every little detail is perfectly shaped without any rough edge, yet there seems no loss of detail at all.
Because of its politeness however, I suspect it will end up in a box somewhere soon since marvelling at the xylophone / tubular bells / cymbal reproduction quickly wears off.
It's undoubtedly a piece of history, with its very dark gettering (old formula stuff) and weird shape glass it looks great.
Unfortunately it doesn't quite fit in my current listening style especially when using the sennheiser which doesn't really like the Valvo, everything is just too bloody perfect and civilised.(The RS-1 does, however take advantage of this)

 

[boodi]

ok..so you can give them to me for free

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi ok..so you can give them to me for free

LOL, nah this baby aint going anywhere soon, however I do happen to have another Valvo blue label as well which was also part of the auction, which is sonically quite similar but has a round getter instead of the D, no pinched waist and is also duplo mica re-enforced instead of triple mica...
Anyone interested feel free to contact me by PM.