[SirMarc]

If you can spring for a mid 60's American amperex 7308, I'd go for it. Its in most peoples top 10, and for alot of us, its an endgame tube. I get them from Upscale Audio. Not an eBay fan, so I'll pay a little more to buy from a reputable dealer
Edit: didn't notice you're in Europe, shipping is probably nasty from the states...

 

[mikoss]

Yeah that was a good deal... It's an Amperex Holland tube, just rebranded as a Mullard.

Actual Mullards seem to be harder to come by and more expensive when they're the good ones. (Usually just have the CV military codes on them). There are a bunch of RTC branded tubes made at the Mullard Mitcham factory on eBay, but I didn't enjoy them myself. They have a single stage getter with a round dimpled top. They can be had for about $40 each. In comparison, the CV Mullards are usually over $100/tube...

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I've really fallen in love with this Amperex Holland 7308 Bugle Boy over the past 4-5 weeks.  Having audiotubes.com verify that it was the first they had seen was nice too, haha.
 
I wonder what sort of value the tube holds, I only paid $70 and it tests 10,600/11,400 µmhos   ~  11.0/12.0 mA.

 

[mikoss]

If you like the 7308, I've found the very first few years they were produced, they sound the best. This goes for the E88CC tubes as well... If you can find these tubes with d-getters, chances are they will sound nice. The pinched waist sound even better, but they're pricey. I recently found an E88CC Miniwatt with a d-getter and the soundstage on it was very wide. It sounded markedly different than the other E88CC's I'm used to. I would love to find an E188CC with a d-getter and compare it to a pinched waist 6922.

The E88CC was part of three tubes from an Italian seller on eBay who sold them for cheap because they were untested. I like to roll the dice

 

[Hansotek]

Well I won't argue with what you hear. I have seen a couple people say they didn't like that tube but Id for sure say they were the exception rather than the rule. Most people tend to like that tube. My favorite tube is my orange globe Amperex I can't remember which getter version but tubes can make a big difference in sound that's for sure.

Here is my latest setup using the Aune T1 as DAC into Crack with speedball.






To see the rest of my pics
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hdtv00/sets/72157651442294571/

I'm joining you in the crackhouse! I ordered my Crack + Speedball today!

 

[hdtv00]

NICE it's a good place to be. Well cept for the wallet...
1 Tung Sol came with my crack when I bought it on head fi
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2 Mullard CV4003 cryo treated $240
1 Telefunken rib plate
1 Telefunken smooth plate
1 Mullard 12AU7 1950 blackburn factory
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Tung Sol 5998 (1961)  $120
1 Sylvania 6080WB
1 FAA? 6AS7G
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Electric 421A  $197.50
Both triodes on this one test identical at 120% of spec
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tung Sol 5998 322451-3  $30.00
40 is Minimum
Tube Tests 54-52
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Telefunken rib plate  $41.50
  Min good is 56.  NOS is 88 tested 102/107 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1968 Amperex Orange Globe 12AU7A Tube; Min good is 56. NOS is 88 tested 95/93   $28.50
 
And none of those count the 10-12 tubes I have for the Aune T1 that feeds the crack hehe. DAMN

 

[Hansotek]

NICE it's a good place to be. Well cept for the wallet...
1 Tung Sol came with my crack when I bought it on head fi

-----------------------------------------------------------------

2 Mullard CV4003 cryo treated $240

1 Telefunken rib plate

1 Telefunken smooth plate

1 Mullard 12AU7 1950 blackburn factory
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2 Tung Sol 5998 (1961)  $120

1 Sylvania 6080WB

1 FAA? 6AS7G

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Electric 421A  $197.50

Both triodes on this one test identical at 120% of spec

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tung Sol 5998 322451-3  $30.00

40 is Minimum

Tube Tests 54-52

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Telefunken rib plate  $41.50

  Min good is 56.  NOS is 88 tested 102/107 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1968 Amperex Orange Globe 12AU7A Tube; Min good is 56. NOS is 88 tested 95/93   $28.50

And none of those count the 10-12 tubes I have for the Aune T1 that feeds the crack hehe. DAMN

Oh no! My poor wallet! It's still in therapy after the trauma of my HD800 purchase. :eek:

 

[Rozenberg]

Hmmm......... I think the amp part of my Aune T1 has gone defective.
I've not used the T1 amp for a long time after getting M-Stage, but now circumstances like having no spare power supply cable for rice cooker led me to having to use my M-Stage power cable for that, and to use just the T1 while waiting for my rice to be cooked.
But here's the problem, the sound coming from it now sounds distorted. It is by no mean smooth, sounds really grainy, like you got little buzzing along the song.
 
The tube's not at fault here, tried to change my 6922 to the spare 6N23, still gives the same problematic sound.
Tried cleaning the inner part of the jack, less distortion but still there.
The T1 never leaves my desk so any damage is unlikely.
 
Any idea why? Or does that mean I can't cook rice until I get my spare cable from my friend's house?

 

[SirMarc]

Watch TV while you're cooking rice

 

[mikoss]

  Hmmm......... I think the amp part of my Aune T1 has gone defective.
I've not used the T1 amp for a long time after getting M-Stage, but now circumstances like having no spare power supply cable for rice cooker led me to having to use my M-Stage power cable for that, and to use just the T1 while waiting for my rice to be cooked.
But here's the problem, the sound coming from it now sounds distorted. It is by no mean smooth, sounds really grainy, like you got little buzzing along the song.
 
The tube's not at fault here, tried to change my 6922 to the spare 6N23, still gives the same problematic sound.
Tried cleaning the inner part of the jack, less distortion but still there.
The T1 never leaves my desk so any damage is unlikely.
 
Any idea why? Or does that mean I can't cook rice until I get my spare cable from my friend's house?

Buzzing could be USB issues, or interference as well. Is it just the headphone amp, or also the RCA output? Did you try using the RCA input and not using the DAC? If the problem is just buzzing on the headphones, it could be the headphone amp. If it is on the headphone amp and the RCA output, it could be the DAC. 

 

[Rozenberg]

Watch TV while you're cooking rice

Don't have TV 'cause rarely watch it.
Could have bought 50" flat screen, but you know, audio stuffs.
 

  Buzzing could be USB issues, or interference as well. Is it just the headphone amp, or also the RCA output? Did you try using the RCA input and not using the DAC? If the problem is just buzzing on the headphones, it could be the headphone amp. If it is on the headphone amp and the RCA output, it could be the DAC. 

Okay, surprisingly using the line in, is fine.
So I took your first guess and unplug and plug back the USB jack.
Now everything's fine, good to know my T1 isn't broken.
Thanks to you now I could cook rice while listening to music again

 

[mikoss]

Telefunken CCa in the Aune T1 sounds magnificent... Sounds like a Miniwatt E188CC with more linearity, yet emphasis on the treble... Very, very natural sounding without any obvious warmth, but more musical than a Siemens E88CC grey shield tube, in my opinion. I also picked up some Siemens grey shield CCa's, so I will compare them to the Tele CCa's.

The Tele sounds much more relaxed and effortless than the Philips tubes I've rolled, with the exception of the pinched waist tubes... They are in a different league. The Philips tubes don't sound as relaxed... they tend to warm everything up nicely, but with effort. This is what some people may describe as more "analog" sounding. Superb.

(For comparison sake, the Phillips Miniwatt tubes average around $90+ each, Pinched waist $150+ each if you can find them, and Telefunken CCa's $200 or more each).

 

[Hansotek]

Telefunken CCa in the Aune T1 sounds magnificent... Sounds like a Miniwatt E188CC with more linearity, yet emphasis on the treble... Very, very natural sounding without any obvious warmth, but more musical than a Siemens E88CC grey shield tube, in my opinion. I also picked up some Siemens grey shield CCa's, so I will compare them to the Tele CCa's.

The Tele sounds much more relaxed and effortless than the Philips tubes I've rolled, with the exception of the pinched waist tubes... They are in a different league. The Philips tubes don't sound as relaxed... they tend to warm everything up nicely, but with effort. This is what some people may describe as more "analog" sounding. Superb.

(For comparison sake, the Phillips Miniwatt tubes average around $90+ each, Pinched waist $150+ each if you can find them, and Telefunken CCa's $200 or more each).

Not surprised. Based on my experience with the Miniwatt, it seems like this thing can scale up pretty dang far with a high-end tube!

 

[mikoss]

If you are using planar headphones with the Aune T1... I very very very very strongly recommend trying a Telefunken tube. Buy whatever you can afford... a Telefunken ECC88, E88CC, E188CC, or CCa.
 
This tube sounds unbelievably good with planars... I am floored how good this sounds. It sounds better than me plugging my LCD-3F's into my WA2... such clarity and beautiful neutral tonality. So good... goose bumps my friends. Goooose bumppppss.
 
Hahaha. Still trying to find the right combo for these headphones with the Aune T1 feeding the WA2... I like the Philips pinched waist tube in the T1, and Telefunken CCa's in the WA2, but the straight shot Aune T1 with Telefunken to LCD combo is winning right now.

 

[hdtv00]

Yep it's all about finding that right combo. I found mine with my HD 560 Ovation II's with Aune T1 feeding my crack. Using orange globe into crack which is using Tung Sol w/ Telefunken rib plate totally blows anything I've ever heard away. I think the 560's are better than the 650's and 700 combined. 560's only issue was not enough bass but with a crack powering things they are magical now. And you can tell just how much harder they are to power than the 650 even though both are rated 300 ohm. 30% more on power knob on the crack difference. But man oh man this is IT what I've been looking for since I bought them 21 years ago. I'm in heaven.