[Dogmatrix]

I have bought NOS Soviet military tubes from dealers in the Ukraine. You can be pretty sure they are the real thing and are accurately advertised. They tend to be cheap and reasonabke quality for the price.
For what it usworth the 'new' Thomson 6080s are Chinese made , sound OK fir the price but quality of manufacture is questionable.
I use an expensive Shuguang driver tube which is great and I have no problems with it.
I object to tubes like the Thomson being sold on ebay as something they are not. Often they are described in a vague manner-'newNOS' which in my book is deceptive.
One ends up wondering where one can find fairly described tubes that are truly what they are.

What evidence is there that these are Chinese made ?
I have not seen a Chinese 6080 certainly 6as7g but not 6080
I would have thought that were they in current production there would be Chinese branded examples

 

[karloil]

It appears that the date code of the one pictured above with the Tung-Sol's is "8101", and I interpret that to indicate that it was manufactured in the 1980's. Personally, I would be very leery about purchasing vacuum tubes manufactured in the West at such a late date. For example, Sylvania tubes manufactured in the 1980's (while under Philips ownership) have a very poor reputation with respect to quality. And some of the posts above indicate that these late Thomson 6080WA are also of poor quality. So I would suggest that if you want to purchase a Thomson 6080, look for the older text and graphics per @mordy 's post above. While I don't know the dates of these tubes, it appears that they are older. And my motto is "older is better". lol

PS: Interestingly the quality of Soviet tubes from the 1980's seem to be quite good.

Thanks for your reply and inputs.

Been looking around and I'm quite limited with the 6080s that are easily available from were I'm at. So still took the plunge and ordered a Thomson 6080WA Still cheap enough to swallow should the tube be a lemon. (Or I hope they send the older Thomson 6080 model

Ordered another tube from the same vendor - in hoping claims/refunds will be much easier (should there be a need). Oh well, hoping I get good tubes.

 

[Badas]

Thanks for your reply and inputs.

Been looking around and I'm quite limited with the 6080s that are easily available from were I'm at. So still took the plunge and ordered a Thomson 6080WA Still cheap enough to swallow should the tube be a lemon. (Or I hope they send the older Thomson 6080 model )

Ordered another tube from the same vendor - in hoping claims/refunds will be much easier (should there be a need). Oh well, hoping I get good tubes.

They aren't bad. I didn't find them offensive. Kind of mid-range.
Actually. I should dig them out and re-listen.

Rectifiers and Drive tubes are more important in my opinion. Only mine.
Drivers first, Rectifiers second, Power last.

 

[karloil]

They aren't bad. I didn't find them offensive. Kind of mid-range.
Actually. I should dig them out and re-listen.

Rectifiers and Drive tubes are more important in my opinion. Only mine.
Drivers first, Rectifiers second, Power last.

Thanks. I did read in old post in this same thread regarding 6080 round-up. And was kinda convinced its a good starter tube for me.

Will pair it with a 6SN7EH, hope that this pairing sounds well

 

[Sweet William]

What evidence is there that these are Chinese made ?
I have not seen a Chinese 6080 certainly 6as7g but not 6080
I would have thought that were they in current production there would be Chinese branded examples

 

[Sweet William]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473516465.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite

I hope this link works...

 

[Sweet William]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473516465.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite

I hope this link works...

A 3rd replacement knocked out my DV last night. Three have gone out into the bin.No more.
I have never experienced these problems with any other tube.
Caveat emptor.

 

[Sweet William]

What evidence is there that these are Chinese made ?
I have not seen a Chinese 6080 certainly 6as7g but not 6080
I would have thought that were they in current production there would be Chinese branded examples

 

[Sweet William]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473516465.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite

 

[Dogmatrix]

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005004473516465.html?gatewayAdapt=Pc2Msite

I hope this link works...

Thanks
They are being sold by a Chinese import export company not a manufacturer so I would still think French made as labeled
Over the years I have been a tube hunter I have not seen any real examples of forgery there are rebrands, but I believe they are legitimate
The only skullduggery I have seen is in vendors misrepresenting rarity

 

[Sweet William]

Thanks
They are being sold by a Chinese import export company not a manufacturer so I would still think French made as labeled
Over the years I have been a tube hunter I have not seen any real examples of forgery there are rebrands, but I believe they are legitimate
The only skullduggery I have seen is in vendors misrepresenting rarity

 

[Sweet William]

They are good looking tubes I must admit. I have read that there is/was a large quantity of these Thomsons in in E Europe that were faulty. I guess every tube is genuine in the sense it is a glass container with electronics inside. At least with tubes like Soviets and old US tubes they look old and in some distress as do their cardboard holders. These French ones look too good to be true. Even the lovely boxes are pristine but they turn out expensive for just a cardboard box.
The Chinese company sells them as 'brand new'.
Another poster has posted an ebay ad for a Thomson that looks the real thing but the printing is in a very different font.

 

[Deleeh]

The tube is actually good.
It has a bit more bass bite than the Mullard in my opinion and is a bit more musical overall.
I like it very much, I don't know where you order it.
But a tip on the side, I would never buy tubes from Aliexpress.
That's more of a Chinese platform where everyone advertises their rubbish, similar to Ebay but more blatant.
Always buy such things from a reputable dealer, also because of the reversal.
Even Ebay is not wrong if the ratings are okay and the price is right.


I almost suspect that the tube broke because of the vaccum which was already at the end.
And was only polished up to sell.
That's part of the deal when you buy tubes, but it shouldn't happen often.
I also had a mistake with 5998 Tung sols 6 months ago and was able to return them.

 

[Sweet William]

When the Thomson was working it was OK.
I bought it off ebay from a British supplier. The first one had been tested allegedly but failed within a day.
I have bought various items off Aliexpress and they have been very good including a Little Dot 2, my DV, Shuguang Treasure and IEMs.
The DV failed last night using another Thomson 6080 supplied.
I have an expensive Shuguang globe SE bought from Grant Fidelity of Calgary and that is fine.
I am not complaining about the sound but the quality of the tube-they fail quickly!

 

[Dogmatrix]

https://www.detailedpedia.com/wiki-Thomson-CSF

Looks like a pretty big outfit , only guessing but perhaps these tubes were the final work of a closing factory as the company shifted to solid state
One final run to use up all the materials in stock and give time to relocate the workers
Ending with several container loads of unwanted tubes