[San Raal]

Its a shame to see a tube that was found for Woo and head-fi fans has turned into re sellers paradise. I'm pleased my pair went to a head-fi member and not to be resold by the tube trolls.

 

[2359glenn]

 

  http://www.ebay.com/itm/EXTREMELY-RARE-NOS-NIB-BENDIX-MU-TYPE-596-USA-24289-RECTIFIER-TUBE-MINT-COND-/301709386900?hash=item463f47e494&autorefresh=true
 
 
Anyone know about these?

The internal structure at a causual glance looks identical to the 596 I have and the pair I recently sold.
 
$700 is a ridiculous eye gouging price to charge for this tube.

A little over 3 years ago I was selling these for $15 each then went up to $40. This is just crazy for a tube that is not that much different then a 5U4GB
the tube that everyone hates. Don't look cool.

 

[HeadJammie]

Crazy that he thinks it's worth more than a WE 422A. I wonder if anyone will take the bait.

 

[2359glenn]

Crazy that he thinks it's worth more than a WE 422A. I wonder if anyone will take the bait.

There is a fool born every day.

 

[Khragon]

 
There is a fool born every day.

Hehe.. if the world only have one fool per day, we'll be in good shape, chances are there are much more than one .

 

[Dubstep Girl]

We422a improvement over my other favorites, the Mullard gz32, isn't as pronounced on the wa5 as much as on the wa22. I can live without we422a on the wa5 but not on the wa22. So in a way you can justify the wa5 (old) pricing by the fact that it sounded pretty good already with much cheaper rectifier (still need 2x). Sorry our discussion didn't work out, my wa5 could of be yours already since you're one of the first to offer.

 
 
^ this.
 
422A takes the WA22 to the next level, which it seriously needs as without top tier tubes its nowhere near as good. I''m still happy rolling 596 and GZ32s in my WA5  
 
 

  I'm so impressed by these rectifiers that I would recommend others who have the budget to just jump ahead first to the WE 422a or 274b and then go back to try other ones.  Counter intuitively, I think it would have saved me more money.  I had a Cavalli LAu/Abyss and I think after a certain price point there are diminishing returns as just about everyone has noted. I don't suppose any more different than moving up the line of bmw etc. 
 
So for me the wa22 with 422a; 421 power tubes; tsrp 6f8g and hd800 with endorphin cable and lcd3f with alo cable I am already at end game territory.   I was thinking about going up the line to wa5 or eddie current etc just more out of curiosity than anything else and the fact that some amps can power speakers- which saves space and more convenient.
 
Anyone else reach a point where they are at end game territory but are considering upgrading purely out of curiosity because there are no audio amp stores around?  I know there are hi-fi meet ups kind of speed dating equipment as is the status quo of this industry/hobby but if there were a store where you could go and quietly take a listen for an hour you could easily pick out your favorite.
 

 
this is smart, lol i went through all the tubes and headphones which was awesome, but costs alot more upgrading gear and trying different things than just going for the best, always saves money. like buying brand named things cause they'll last longer, etc.
 
cars are different lol. a BMW 328i is nothing like an M3, or a 7 series or an i8. huge difference, not diminishing returns here. But.... diminishing returns do exist when shopping different models over different price ranges, like getting a corvette instead of a ferrari, 90% of performance at fraction of price.

 

[TonyNewman]

   
 
^ this.
 
422A takes the WA22 to the next level, which it seriously needs as without top tier tubes its nowhere near as good. I''m still happy rolling 596 and GZ32s in my WA5
 
...

 
GZ32 has fantastic mids - sweet, lovely and just ever so nice. Unfortunately the extension is a little lacking.
 
Have you tried the Taks in the WA5? They have lifted my WA5 way beyond where it was at with SERPs + Brimars (which was very good). Bass was a little sloppy with the Brimars - now it is taut and deep and excellent. Almost up there with my SS 430HA (which is not a bad bit of kit). I think the TA274Bs are a fantastic tube. I haven't had the chance to compare them with the WE274B/WE422A. Folks that have tell me that they are right up there with them (perhaps even better in the extension?).

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Not yet 

 

[jhljhl]

   
cars are different lol. a BMW 328i is nothing like an M3, or a 7 series or an i8. huge difference, not diminishing returns here. But.... diminishing returns do exist when shopping different models over different price ranges, like getting a corvette instead of a ferrari, 90% of performance at fraction of price.

I was thinking about the difference between a 3 series to a 5 compared to a 5 to a 7 (just in my opinion -I know) and then as you go up higher in car models in general at some point cars become less important to me.  It's like I can appreciate the difference more intellectually than emotionally after some point.  It's like a platonic ideal.  Like people who love, really love cars can talk with real passion about a ferrari - say on Top Gear or at car shows.  But I can also see the other analogy between a corvette and a ferrari working too but I guess the closest would be the brimar 5z3 maybe? the tung sol 5y3 on the decwares (though the csp were voiced for that tube).
 
I think audiophiles - are passionate about sound.  They are usually also passionate about music and/or some particular music.  But they are not the same thing. 
I think what usually happens is those passionate about music become passionate about sound once they hear it through some amazing equipment.
Hmmm...
Passion for sound = loving ingredients.
Passion for music = how the ingredients are cooked together? The recipe.
Equipment = the chef interpreting the recipe?  Like why we might like different music through different amps, tubes etc.?  Why we might like symphonies conducted by different conductors or bands covering a song etc?
Anyway...
They want to get, glean, eek out as much of an aesthetic experience ("aesthetic consolation") as possible from the music they enjoy be it classical or rock or whatever.  But at some point for me it's a mote point.  It kind of becomes more academic to me and yet ironically I enjoy seeing and contrasting how others view (no pun intended) what they hear.  I guess this is what happens at wine tastings too?  And rectifier comparing?  Lol.

 

[San Raal]

   
GZ32 has fantastic mids - sweet, lovely and just ever so nice. Unfortunately the extension is a little lacking.
 
Have you tried the Taks in the WA5? They have lifted my WA5 way beyond where it was at with SERPs + Brimars (which was very good). Bass was a little sloppy with the Brimars - now it is taut and deep and excellent. Almost up there with my SS 430HA (which is not a bad bit of kit). I think the TA274Bs are a fantastic tube. I haven't had the chance to compare them with the WE274B/WE422A. Folks that have tell me that they are right up there with them (perhaps even better in the extension?).

 
I have always dreamed of trying a pair of Tak 274b's in my WA5 but I just cant justify the price. For a little more I could get a WEE + some SR009

 

[TonyNewman]

   
I have always dreamed of trying a pair of Tak 274b's in my WA5 but I just cant justify the price. For a little more I could get a WEE + some SR009

 
I was fortunate enough to get a nice set second hand - that helped a lot.
 
They are a wonderful tube, as is the TA300B. In fact, the tube rig of Taks + TS RP + modded HD800 is so revealing that it has highlighted that the weak link in my setup is now my Auralic Vega DAC. The Vega is an excellent DAC for the money, but I am hitting its limits with the Taks. That didn't happen with any other tubes I have used.

 

[San Raal]

I also have the TA300b, dificult to describe really how it sounds other than it is faultless in its presentation and it sounds "right", there are no detractors like the 300b that came before it. However it is a fussy pairing, it really is revealing of the rectifer and 6SN7 type you put before it.  Currently i use the TSRP 12SN7 with a Glenn adapter and the WE422a.

 

[TonyNewman]

Interesting. What does the 12SN7 bring to the table that the 6SN7 doesn't? Better to drive the 300B?

 

[San Raal]

Its sonicly identical. The bonus is that its cheaper and has a 12V heater requirement rather than 6V. 12SN7 were introduced to me using Mapletree gear, Glen was able to make me up a set of adapters for my WA5 that put the tube heaters in parallel with rather than series, as my WA5 produced 12V for this application.

 

[TonyNewman]

Clever