[UntilThen]

After following this forum for months and hundreds of kilometers driven, me and my headfi friend have finally tried this amp from the man himself. The experience of this amp with the Utopia was sublime! There was more impact and deeper bass. It was pure amazement! Now we are talking to Eric about getting one for each of us! Thank you Eric, it was so nice of you to let us in!

Congrats. Did you drive from Perth to Sydney?

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
I seem to have had a bit of a fever these days when I was ill.
I was wondering if it would be possible to find a good tube for Ultimate that is still within the price range of Western Electric.
As we all have tubes from different major brands, this is still missing.
I know there is the W421 and the W398.
I was thinking of this one as a starting tube.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_vt269.html

Unfortunately I'm not too well versed in such things.
So any suggestions or comments.
I already said that the fever didn't do me any good .

@carlosgab
Nice to hear and also that you are interested.
Also very nice of Eric to do this, as you've already heard it's worth buying Ultimate.

 

[triod750]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/305287357849?hash=item47148b6599:g:~l8AAOSwIzhlL8o6
Don't pay this

 

[carlosgab]

Congrats. Did you drive from Perth to Sydney?

Just about 400kms. I dont/cant do thousands! Honestly we were hoping to see you there by chance!

Hello,
I seem to have had a bit of a fever these days when I was ill.
I was wondering if it would be possible to find a good tube for Ultimate that is still within the price range of Western Electric.
As we all have tubes from different major brands, this is still missing.
I know there is the W421 and the W398.
I was thinking of this one as a starting tube.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_vt269.html

Unfortunately I'm not too well versed in such things.
So any suggestions or comments.
I already said that the fever didn't do me any good .

@carlosgab
Nice to hear and also that you are interested.
Also very nice of Eric to do this, as you've already heard it's worth buying Ultimate.

Coincidentally I used your Ultigreg photo to Eric to describe the spec that I would like to have! Sorry if I didn't asked permission.

 

[Isaacc7]

It is hard to say which one is the best, all are different enough to make sense try them. However, I will try to make a very short summary of what I remember about them. I have listened in the last months only to my RCA pair. Some photos of different types I have tried are here on the dedicated thread. I think the best start on these is the RCA 807, but only if you have not bought already the RCA 6L6 metal which, honestly, on my amp sounds 90% the same. I have a feeling that RCA 807 is an idea more airy while 6L6 metal base sounds more punchy and articulated in the bass area. So in my view, and on my amp, owning both does not make sense and if you want to get an idea about how RCA 807 sounds you can just read here what people said about the metal 6L6. Mullard 807 is an idea sweeter in the mids while loosing a bit of control in the bass. Bass is an idea more fuzzy, but the mids and overall presentation is sweeter. GEC ATS25 has the typical old GEC sound (GEC ST shaped L63 grey glass is a similar tone). Besides these, I tried some russian 807 which sounded an idea more sterile, less flavour, but not very bad either. More dry. Sylvania 5933 was also nice, if you like a thinner presentation. I guess it is the most neutral of them all. There are also other manufacturers like Westinghouse or Hytron who produced these. I do not have a pair of those, only singles and one day I might pair them and try.

Regarding reliability, I only heard about problems with Westinghouse, on several forums, but of course I might be wrong. There are debates related to quality of newer Westinghouse production, while some claim the older ones are not problematic at all.

The vt60a, which has been labeled as Cossor and GEC, is one of my favorite 807 types. All the ceramic based 807 labeled as Cossor are vt60a and made by Ediswan.

If you’re willing to use another adapter, the STC 5b/254m is another great 807 type. They run at the same settings as the 807, are much smaller, and sound great.

 

[UntilThen]

Just about 400kms. I dont/cant do thousands! Honestly we were hoping to see you there by chance!

I’m on vacation in Thailand and Malaysia. I thought Eric would have gone to Japan.

A few months ago the chances of running into me at Eric’s place would have been great.

I am missing my Super Ultimate.

 

[OctavianH]

The vt60a, which has been labeled as Cossor and GEC, is one of my favorite 807 types. All the ceramic based 807 labeled as Cossor are vt60a and made by Ediswan.

There is a difference between the ones you have and the ones I have. Mine look like this:

You can find them here on Ebay. I have seen ZA marked on some, which means MOV, Gateshead, pre March 1957.

The ones you mention, branded Cossor VT-60A are these.

PS. There is a small article here about mine.

PS2. Cossor was a rebrander, I have some similar with mine and branded Cossor or Philips QE06/50.

PS3. Many manufacturers made white ceramic bases, I've seen also some RCA 807, rare, but careful what you buy, if you buy.

 

[UntilThen]

2 other power tubes I would love to get my hands on are:-

Mullard EL38
GEC / Cossor 807

I made a mistake mentioning these tubes.

 

[OctavianH]

I made a mistake mentioning these tubes.

Why?

 

[UntilThen]

Why?

The price will go up.

 

[OctavianH]

The price will go up.

There are a lot of these in UK. Do not worry, and there are much better tubes than them. About those nobody wrote, nobody cares.

 

[Deleeh]

Just about 400kms. I dont/cant do thousands! Honestly we were hoping to see you there by chance!

Coincidentally I used your Ultigreg photo to Eric to describe the spec that I would like to have! Sorry if I didn't asked permission.

Hello,
that's okay and I'm glad if you like mine.
As it is a universal housing, no-one needs to ask me for permission
Not even if you want the plate in black.
Remind Eric about the XLR inputs with the clip facing outwards, this has actually increased the comfort and is easier to disconnect the cables if necessary, that was my only objection.
I let Eric do the rest and everything was tip top in place.

@UntilThen The price of the 807 has actually gone up.
I don't think Ultimate is to blame.
6 months ago it was 15-20€, today the price is twice as high and for gemached pair 10-20€ more.
Rca's are on average around 45-55€.
I don't even know why.

 

[crakers7]

There is a difference between the ones you have and the ones I have. Mine look like this:



You can find them here on Ebay. I have seen ZA marked on some, which means MOV, Gateshead, pre March 1957.

The ones you mention, branded Cossor VT-60A are these.

PS. There is a small article here about mine.

PS2. Cossor was a rebrander, I have some similar with mine and branded Cossor or Philips QE06/50.

PS3. Many manufacturers made white ceramic bases, I've seen also some RCA 807, rare, but careful what you buy, if you buy.

Thanks for advice

 

[David A Silva]

Mysterious question: I have a pair of Ken Rad Type 42 tubes. 8 pins and no index key. How do I determine the insertion position?
Thanks!

 

[mordy]

Mysterious question: I have a pair of Ken Rad Type 42 tubes. 8 pins and no index key. How do I determine the insertion position?
Thanks!

Usually, if you turn the tube upside down and look carefully, you will be able to see a little notch where the location of the guide pin was. Then put on a little sliver of a sticker on the base to indicate the position.
There are guide key replacements available commercially, but I don't think they are necessary.

The notch is at one o'clock.

Here I marked the location of the guide pin on an existing sticker. In addition, this tube has an indentation in the metal base in the same location.
Here is a link to a guide pin replacement but you can find it much cheaper:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334287709562?