[ostewart]

Took another gamble on an untested GEC 6080 for £30... That's about my limit for untested items I think

 

[mordy]

Took another gamble on an untested GEC 6080 for £30... That's about my limit for untested items I think

In general, I would not hesitate buying untested items from anyone with good feedback. So far there have been very few problems.

 

[ostewart]

In general, I would not hesitate buying untested items from anyone with good feedback. So far there have been very few problems.

It's dead..

Worth claiming my money back via eBay even if it was sold untested?

 

[therremans]

It's dead..

Worth claiming my money back via eBay even if it was sold untested?

If it was sold as-is for parts non working, you’re stuck. If sold as used, you can get a refund, even if the seller states no returns, untested.

 

[ostewart]

If it was sold as-is for parts non working, you’re stuck. If sold as used, you can get a refund, even if the seller states no returns, untested.

My bad... was installed in my amp wrong.

It's got a bit less getter flash than my other GEC 6080, but works fine and is quiet. I'm looking at getting all my untested valves tested soon so I know what condition they are in.

 

[Louisiana]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to the tube game, and openly admit that I don't have much of a clue.
I have already read a lot, which is why I decided to go to the 5998 tubes.
I have now bought 2 pairs, both declared as matched, both from different sellers, and about this I now have a question.
The first pair has completely different designations, but was measured, and according to the seller fits perfectly together, I also got the measured values.

However, I noticed in this pair that the internal structure is different, I tried to photograph this:

The other pair is the same, plus one tube is even longer than the other one, also the plates are in different colors, one is a light gray, the other is a darker gray:

My thought now is:
If I use the two tubes together, which are identical, should that be ok, regardless of the labeling on the base?

My question:
What are the differences in the tubes?
Are they different years of manufacture?
Is it bad if I use a pair where the construction is not identical?

 

[maxpudding]

Hello and welcome!

If they are 5998s but have different labeling (i.e., a different manufacturer, a different manufacturing year/month, different factories), they should run fine in your system. You can use tubes from the same family with slight differences in construction; it's not a problem. One of my 5998s has some broken glass in the tube, while the others don't. Some of my 5998s have top and bottom getters, some only have the top, and some only have the bottom. They still work fine. Although we always aim to find tubes with close similarities...

 

[Louisiana]

If they are 5998s but have different labeling (i.e., a different manufacturer, a different manufacturing year/month, different factories), they should run fine in your system. You can use tubes from the same family with slight differences in construction; it's not a problem. One of my 5998s has some broken glass in the tube, while the others don't. Some of my 5998s have top and bottom getters, some only have the top, and some only have the bottom. They still work fine.

Thank you very much for your answer.
I'm already busy reading all the info, especially about the structure, and all the technical terms like "getter", "mica", "tripple mica", etc..

With the prices that are demanded these days for tubes, one worries already times, at least if one does not have a cash cow.

I started reading here from 2009, back then 90 dollars for a 5998 was already considered a lot of money.

Although we always aim to find tubes with close similarities...

Yes, especially me, I can't even use a cable from Meze Audio with my Audeze headphones - just doesn't fit.

 

[exchez]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to the tube game, and openly admit that I don't have much of a clue.
I have already read a lot, which is why I decided to go to the 5998 tubes.
I have now bought 2 pairs, both declared as matched, both from different sellers, and about this I now have a question.
The first pair has completely different designations, but was measured, and according to the seller fits perfectly together, I also got the measured values.

However, I noticed in this pair that the internal structure is different, I tried to photograph this:





The other pair is the same, plus one tube is even longer than the other one, also the plates are in different colors, one is a light gray, the other is a darker gray:




My thought now is:
If I use the two tubes together, which are identical, should that be ok, regardless of the labeling on the base?

My question:
What are the differences in the tubes?
Are they different years of manufacture?
Is it bad if I use a pair where the construction is not identical?

You're smart to start looking at the structures of tubes to distinguish differences. It's very common to see tubes manufactured by the same factory and batch with very different labels. It's also important to understand that certain structural characteristics of tubes correlate to a preferred manufacturing process but in themselves are not important. Getters are a good example of this. The getter itself has no impact on performance (at least it shouldn't), but it might so happen that the years when a factory put the getters on the bottom of a tube are also the years when they used higher quality materials or internal design. This is just an example, but hopefully you get the point.

 

[mordy]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to the tube game, and openly admit that I don't have much of a clue.
I have already read a lot, which is why I decided to go to the 5998 tubes.
I have now bought 2 pairs, both declared as matched, both from different sellers, and about this I now have a question.
The first pair has completely different designations, but was measured, and according to the seller fits perfectly together, I also got the measured values.

However, I noticed in this pair that the internal structure is different, I tried to photograph this:





The other pair is the same, plus one tube is even longer than the other one, also the plates are in different colors, one is a light gray, the other is a darker gray:




My thought now is:
If I use the two tubes together, which are identical, should that be ok, regardless of the labeling on the base?

My question:
What are the differences in the tubes?
Are they different years of manufacture?
Is it bad if I use a pair where the construction is not identical?

All the tubes have date codes. In general (but not always) the conventional wisdom is that older is better.
The number 322 is the Electronics Industry Association (EIA) number for Tung-Sol. The top left code says 6017 which means the 17th week (April) of 1960. Cannot read the code on the right top tube.
On the second set of tubes the left tube has the code HB3. As far as I know nobody has deciphered these codes yet, but they should be earlier than the top left tube. It is also possible that these codes are not manufacturing dates but codes that show when the warranty ends.

 

[ostewart]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TUBE-034-SYLVANIA-6AS7G-034-TESTED-/256174525497

Pretty sure I got a good deal on a genuine black plate Sylvania (RCA) 6AS7G

 

[cherax74]

Hi...

I have these 2 tubes, Tung Sol 6080WA and Chanthan 6080...

are they both good? They look almost identical, I don't know if they are the best version of them and if there is another 6080 than can be better?

Thank you very much for your advice...

 

[Renexx]

Hi...

I have these 2 tubes, Tung Sol 6080WA and Chanthan 6080...

are they both good? They look almost identical, I don't know if they are the best version of them and if there is another 6080 than can be better?

Thank you very much for your advice...

Yes these are great.
Different flavor 6080 would be GEC and Bendix.

 

[therremans]

Hi...

I have these 2 tubes, Tung Sol 6080WA and Chanthan 6080...

are they both good? They look almost identical, I don't know if they are the best version of them and if there is another 6080 than can be better?

Thank you very much for your advice...

Same tube, good bang for buck. Average. Better than many lower cost 6080s.

 

[cherax74]

Same tube, good bang for buck. Average. Better than many lower cost 6080s.

What 6080 / 6AS7 will be better ? I know than could be Bendix, other ?