[teb1013]

Thanks for the reply! Would you recommend any particular tubes? I don't want to spend too much though I'm reading through this thread and seeing lots of options, but I'm not sure which one would be a good fit for my musical tastes and headphones.

I use an Amperex 7308 which is totally satisfying for my tastes, but it cost $50 for driver grade and might not satisfy your musical tastes. My best advise is to read Joeq70's thread starter and the included information from Salvatore. Do an in thread search for your musical preferences.

 

[Salvatore]

  I just got a pair of Philips Miniwatt 7308 SQ Holland and I've a hard time identifying the year they were made.

Any one of you guys is good with codes?

Side of tube: VR2  ΔP0 (orange-ish etched)
Top: Looks like 31 J (Written in the same white lettering as the brand)

 
Hi there, let's start cracking!
 
The first three letter code (VR2) is the tube type / batch code and the second one is the production code (delta P0).
 
VR = tube type = E188CC = 7308
2 = the batch number
delta = factory symbol = Philips, Heerlen
Production date = P0 = ???
 
Now the actual date code seems to be different of what I've encountered so far. Usually it consists of one letter and two numbers, from which the first number indicates the production year, the letter the month (A= Jan, B= Feb...) and the last number the week of the month.
 
Example: I66 Δ0K4

I6 = ECC83
I66 = ECC83 of construction #6
Δ = Made in Heerlen/Holland
0K4 = Made 1970, November (K), 4th week
 
You can also see here that the production code has a factory symbol + 3 letter date code: http://www.ebay.com/itm/E188CC-7308-Philips-Miniwatt-SQ-tube-Rohre-Valvola-NOS-strong-/300932382338?pt=R%C3%B6hren&hash=item4610f7be82
 
So are you sure that the letter is P and that there are only those two symbols (P0) after the factory symbol? The month codes only go from A to L. It would indeed help if you could take some photos of the tube print and the codes. In the meantime check if you can find similar tubes from here: https://www.tubeworld.com/7308.htm#7308philips It seems that the SQ=premium quality tubes come from 60's and 70's.

 

[HoboBob]

Thanks Salvatore.

I've a feeling that they are older than the 60's. Maybe Early 50's. If they are using the old code format. December 1950??

I've seen old D-GEtter Miniwatts SQ like those:
https://www.tubemuseum.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Miniwatt-E188CC-SQ-D-GETTER  (Delta0C)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/E88CC-D-Getter-Curved-Philips-Miniwatt-Pair-NOS-NIB-Special-Quality-Goldpins-/251306690354?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3a830bc732 (Delta0D & 0L)

Although, mine are VR2 with O-getter and not the rare D one. Same stars and same printing, but 7308 instead of E188CC.
 

 

[Salvatore]

Yeah you're probably right. This would explain the non familiar coding. I think the zero stands for the year and therefore they could indeed be 1950's. Maybe just like you said, the same as those D-getters but with halo getter instead. It's actually the P that throws me off. I really don't know how to interpret that. But please do post some photos after you get the camera back. At least I'm interested to see them.
 
Oh and how do they sound
 
E: Where did you get them and how much you paid for them, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[HoboBob]

Yes, will do. Camera is charging at the moment. Will try to get pics and post them tonight.

I got the tubes from a collector not too far from where I live (Montreal, Canada). The guy has over 10000 tubes and let go of some from time to time. Sadly, they are not NOS like most of his tubes, but one is in really good shape, lettering -wise, the other is fading. They are both from the same code/year and test Good (around 80).

I paid a fair price considering that they were close-ish to me and did neither wait for them nor paid for shipping/taxes/duty fees. Each tubes were 95$CAN. Yes, a bit more than more recent NOS, but could not resist the temptation.

As far as they sound, I've only used them for about 30min so far. Will give steadier impressions later this week

----
And for the P code, as far as I understand the code (which is new to me), it would stand for December, in 'old' code. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[shrimants]

I've been missing my T1 since I sold it a few months ago. If anyone with a black T1 would be interested in trading for a Schiit stack, PM me!

Ugh I just sold mine....

 

[David164v8]

Just bought it in black Should be here on Thursday, it has stock tubes which I'll try by themselves with my 598's before getting into some different ones

 

[MrEleventy]

I read that T1 is similar with Schiit MM but T1 win when come to changing the tube. So as a Shiit MM owner and T1 used o owner, can share some thoughts?

I've owned both the MM and T1 at the same time. I've done a small AB comparison between the two where I tried different tubes (6922EH, Amperex 6dj8 Orange Globe, Telefunken PCC189) and the findings are similar to JoeDoe's.

Dac : Modi
Amps : T1(amp portion via RCA in), Magni, Darkvoice 336se & Objective2

Dac : Aune T1
Amps : Self, Magni, Darkvoice 336se & Objective2

Overall, I found the dacs to perform pretty similar, like JoeDoe's finding. With the 6922EH & TFK PCC189, they perform very much like the Modi (Excluding 6922EH's weird oval shaped soundstage). Both are bright and detailed but the T1 is slightly smoother in the treble region and less grainy and artificial sounding. It's very slight but it was noticeable enough for me with my hps (DT880s). In the end, the T1 is just a better option. It performs similarly and it's "upgradeable". I sold the MM stack. I thought about keeping just the Modi to have a SS dac but I didn't feel that it was worth holding onto when I was never/rarely going to use it just because I wanted the option available.

 

[HoboBob]

  Yeah you're probably right. This would explain the non familiar coding. I think the zero stands for the year and therefore they could indeed be 1950's. Maybe just like you said, the same as those D-getters but with halo getter instead. It's actually the P that throws me off. I really don't know how to interpret that. But please do post some photos after you get the camera back. At least I'm interested to see them.
 
Oh and how do they sound
 
E: Where did you get them and how much you paid for them, if you don't mind me asking.

Here are the pics I've taken. I did my best to capture the codes. And since I'm new here, I can't upload yet. Hoping it helps and the pictures are ok.
 
http://tinypic.com/r/jv6vyw/5
http://tinypic.com/r/10p55x4/5
http://tinypic.com/r/3005x5j/5
http://tinypic.com/r/2djo5jp/5
http://tinypic.com/r/308h3zn/5
 

 

[Salvatore]

  Here are the pics I've taken.

 
Awesome pics, thanks for sharing. Very nice silk screening and cool 50's military looks.  Worth owning just for the looks, but I bet they also sound fantastic.

 

[HoboBob]

   
Awesome pics, thanks for sharing. Very nice silk screening and cool 50's military looks.  Worth owning just for the looks, but I bet they also sound fantastic.

 
Thank you!

Yes, so far they sound really great. I feel like it's a waste using them only to be pushed through a DAC and would feel more loved in an amp . But I can't complain. I'd love to compare them with other tubes in the same level of quality/sound, but I only have the 6922EH and a Gold Lion... not really fair imo. One day, I'll grab an Orange Globe if I find an old one.

Here what the guy had when I went. Maybe you could point me the tubes that would work great with AuneT1 and DT880:
-Beckman U.S.A
-Brimar England (I know that they are not great with the T1 according to reviews. Too clear and not helping the Aune at all)
-RCA Holland (don't have picture and no codes)
-Admiral Holland
-GE Electronic Tube GT. Britain
-Marconi Radiotron Germany
-Xaerix (???)
 

 

[Salvatore]

  I feel like it's a waste using them only to be pushed through a DAC and would feel more loved in an amp

Here what the guy had when I went. Maybe you could point me the tubes that would work great with AuneT1 and DT880:
-Beckman U.S.A
-Brimar England (I know that they are not great with the T1 according to reviews. Too clear and not helping the Aune at all)
-RCA Holland (don't have picture and no codes)
-Admiral Holland
-GE Electronic Tube GT. Britain
-Marconi Radiotron Germany
-Xaerix (???)
 

 
Yes it's true that pushing such old gems through tube DAC is somewhat wasted potential. If they are matched pair you should try them in Lyr or something similar I have AKG K702 (anniversaries) which have similar sound signature than the DT880. Bright, analytical and detailed. With such cans I don't recommend too bright sounding tubes. I think those British warm sounding tubes could have great synergy with DT880. There's been both positive and negative reviews about the Brimar tubes, but I have no personal experiences with them. It was Coil who didn't like his Brimars, but toschek loved his CV2492 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/975#post_9210498) (and he really rolled some high end tubes during the time he owned T1 and Lyr). Those GE tubes should be similar to Mullard tubes and should be worth owning if the price is right. All the other brands here are not familiar to me. I personally like orange prints because they are on the warm side and still manage to maintain detailed full open sound stage with natural positioning. Rocket logos and such are also good if you like more forward analogue sound, but the trade off is that they lack the resolution. Amperex 7308 PQ is hands down my best tube, but those cheaper Amperex 6DJ8 tubes are not too far away. With T1 or any other tube DAC I recommend people to concentrate on the price over performance ratio rather than paying premium for the premium (check out my budget king tubes from this post: http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/1965#post_9485030).

 

[MrEleventy]

Thank you!


Yes, so far they sound really great. I feel like it's a waste using them only to be pushed through a DAC and would feel more loved in an amp . But I can't complain. I'd love to compare them with other tubes in the same level of quality/sound, but I only have the 6922EH and a Gold Lion... not really fair imo. One day, I'll grab an Orange Globe if I find an old one.


Here what the guy had when I went. Maybe you could point me the tubes that would work great with AuneT1 and DT880:
[COLOR=444444]-Beckman U.S.A

-Brimar England (I know that they are not great with the T1 according to reviews. Too clear and not helping the Aune at all)

-RCA Holland (don't have picture and no codes)

-Admiral Holland

-GE Electronic Tube GT. Britain

-Marconi Radiotron Germany

-Xaerix (???)[/COLOR]

 

Yes it's true that pushing such old gems through tube DAC is somewhat wasted potential. If they are matched pair you should try them in Lyr or something similar I have AKG K702 (anniversaries) which have similar sound signature than the DT880. Bright, analytical and detailed. With such cans I don't recommend too bright sounding tubes. I think those British warm sounding tubes could have great synergy with DT880. There's been both positive and negative reviews about the Brimar tubes, but I have no personal experiences with them. It was Coil who didn't like his Brimars, but toschek loved his CV2492 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/975#post_9210498) (and he really rolled some high end tubes during the time he owned T1 and Lyr). Those GE tubes should be similar to Mullard tubes and should be worth owning if the price is right. All the other brands here are not familiar to me. I personally like orange prints because they are on the warm side and still manage to maintain detailed full open sound stage with natural positioning. Rocket logos and such are also good if you like more forward analogue sound, but the trade off is that they lack the resolution. Amperex 7308 PQ is hands down my best tube, but those cheaper Amperex 6DJ8 tubes are not too far away. With T1 or any other tube DAC I recommend people to concentrate on the price over performance ratio rather than paying premium for the premium (check out my budget king tubes from this post: http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/1965#post_9485030).

I own a pair of DT880/600s and yeah, what Salvatore said. Definitely anything warm in the mids is what you want to pair it with. I stopped with the Amperex Orange Globe but I'd imagine the 7308 to be better. How much better is going to depend on your satisfaction with the OGs. It's $10-20 vs $50 so ymmv. Even with the OGs, you still get detailed and sparkle in the highs and clarity is still great. You get slightly warmer mids and it's balances out the sound more. T1 + OG is a great pairing with the 880s.

 

[JoeDoe]

Has anyone in this thread compared the T1s performance to the LD Mk 1+?

 

[CoiL]

 

  I feel like it's a waste using them only to be pushed through a DAC and would feel more loved in an amp

Here what the guy had when I went. Maybe you could point me the tubes that would work great with AuneT1 and DT880:
-Beckman U.S.A
-Brimar England (I know that they are not great with the T1 according to reviews. Too clear and not helping the Aune at all)
-RCA Holland (don't have picture and no codes)
-Admiral Holland
-GE Electronic Tube GT. Britain
-Marconi Radiotron Germany
-Xaerix (???)
 

 
Yes it's true that pushing such old gems through tube DAC is somewhat wasted potential. If they are matched pair you should try them in Lyr or something similar I have AKG K702 (anniversaries) which have similar sound signature than the DT880. Bright, analytical and detailed. With such cans I don't recommend too bright sounding tubes. I think those British warm sounding tubes could have great synergy with DT880. There's been both positive and negative reviews about the Brimar tubes, but I have no personal experiences with them. It was Coil who didn't like his Brimars, but toschek loved his CV2492 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/975#post_9210498) (and he really rolled some high end tubes during the time he owned T1 and Lyr). Those GE tubes should be similar to Mullard tubes and should be worth owning if the price is right. All the other brands here are not familiar to me. I personally like orange prints because they are on the warm side and still manage to maintain detailed full open sound stage with natural positioning. Rocket logos and such are also good if you like more forward analogue sound, but the trade off is that they lack the resolution. Amperex 7308 PQ is hands down my best tube, but those cheaper Amperex 6DJ8 tubes are not too far away. With T1 or any other tube DAC I recommend people to concentrate on the price over performance ratio rather than paying premium for the premium (check out my budget king tubes from this post: http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/1965#post_9485030).

 
Yes, all Brimar ECC88`s that I have are total crap imho. Very tiny and narrow soundstage, bright sounding, lacking mids, bass, separation, air etc. Only good Brimars that I have are two PCC189 and they are good with old sounding rock etc. Nice warm sounding tubes. Personally I just don`t use them and they are going for sell.