[No Deal]

Forgive me if this has already been posted but did anyone else see this auction on Ebay? Mercifully it has ended.

Item number: 290217584186
PRIMO MULLARD GZ34 METAL BASE NOS NIB TUBE 5AR4 1954
Winning bid: US $710.00

Can this tube possibly sound $710 good? This has to be a joke. If it is true, I may never own one of these tubes.

 

[takezo]

no, it's not worth that...some folks seem to think that an original box makes
the tube sound better or somehow a better investment but i'm pretty certain
that it doesn't...especially considering that metal base gz34 are not rare or
even scarce...

i would never pay more than $250 for even one in excellent condition...even
the poor testing ones sound as good or even better than NOS...

 

[NiceCans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can this tube possibly sound $710 good? This has to be a joke. If it is true, I may never own one of these tubes.

C'mon now!
The first rule in audio is: The higher you go up the ladder the more it will cost to get a smaller improvement.

It's known as "The law of diminishing returns"

 

[Blackmore]

Have seen ECC82=12AU7 tubes which were like USD 1500 or something for a pair.

 

[No Deal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiceCans /img/forum/go_quote.gif C'mon now! The first rule in audio is: The higher you go up the ladder the more it will cost to get a smaller improvement. It's known as "The law of diminishing returns"

IMHO, paying $710 for this tube would be a new law. "The law of diminishing common sense." There is no rational thought going on when you agree to pay this much. I don't care how much money you have.

Typically this tube can be had on Ebay for around $300 which is too much. What possible miniscule improvement in quality would be worth the added $400? How do you measure the improvement and then assign a value to it? It is not possible.

To whoever bought it, I hope that there are no holes in your kid's shoes.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Frightening. Has anyone else noticed the runup of other "collector" goods lately?

I wonder if it has anything to do with uncertainty in other markets.

 

[jamato8]

Frustrating it is. No, they aren't worth that. They should not be going for 400 new either. Yes, we all know the market sets the price but there are many NOS metal bases in huge stocks but a couple of companies got many of the nos in huge lots and are setting on them. Investment is one thing but sometimes the way things are done it seems like nothing short of greed. Well nothing new there either.

In a well designed AC to DC circuit I can implement inductors and caps in such a way that you can't tell the difference between most tube rectifiers but it requires some room. The one thing that is fun about high quality tube rectifiers is that you Can have a small circuit and get a great DC.

 

[fkclo]

I think US400 - 450 is the max. that it should go. I will give up for anything GZ34 beyond this level.

Someone must be wanting it badly, or the game may have been manipulated somehow ?

F. Lo

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fkclo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think US400 - 450 is the max. that it should go. I will give up for anything GZ34 beyond this level. Someone must be wanting it badly, or the game may have been manipulated somehow ? F. Lo

I think you may be right. Manipulated to push up the perceived value so they can come back with more metal base to be sold at over 450 each.

Ok, here is how you make any tube rectifier last just about forever; although as stated above even with highly used metal base, they still sound good and metal base last virtually forever. Put two ultra high speed soft recovery solid state rectifiers before the tube (I have Never had a metal base go bad). Any ringing or overshoot will be taken care of by the tube rectifier, the tube rectifier will do further smoothing and you get tube rectification quality. The solid state rectifiers are doing the major work with the AC, there is little drop in the voltage and they take any strange hit from junk on the AC line. I have used this for years.

 

[dcstep]

I've got one. It's a wonderful $250 tube.

 

[jamato8]

Yeah, I am glad I have some nos and some like new used but feel bad for those who could enjoy what they can do but for the price. I once got a metal base with a broken guide pin, which doesn't matter at all, for 20 dollars. I was happy and couldn't believe no one else bid. This was some time back and even then it was an excellent buy.

 

[No Deal]

$250. Sounds like a plan. From now on, when a decent sounding tube goes up for bid, win or lose, I'm logging on and bidding two fiddy. That's it.

 

[flood]

well, this gave me a rude shock:

https://www.tubeworld.com/5ar4.htm#5ar4metal

i namely have a used one to sell and was trying to figure out how much it was worth....

 

[Ninkul]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Frightening. Has anyone else noticed the runup of other "collector" goods lately? I wonder if it has anything to do with uncertainty in other markets.

Good question. Although stocks in NZ are doing pretty well atm. No idea about commodoties or the rest of the world, haven't really been paying attention.

Either way, i dont think stuff like this would be a good investment really.. I suppose if head-fi is getting increasingly popular then maybe..? I haven't really been around for long enough to tell

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

Quote:

well, this gave me a rude shock:

https://www.tubeworld.com/5ar4.htm#5ar4metal

i namely have a used one to sell and was trying to figure out how much it was worth....

I have a pair of that very tube. I bought them both NIB for a bit less than the one that just went on Ebay. I have noticed the prices going up on this tube. I wonder if the supply out there is finally getting low.