Little Dot Tube Amps: Vacuum Tube Rolling Guide
Nov 16, 2017 at 6:03 PM Post #11,284 of 13,434
I feel that davidzhezhe communication is really slow...I've waited an entire day for a respond than I replied him the same minute I got the response and I have to wait until tomorrow for another respond. Does he only open his email once a day for few minutes? I've already requested twice for him to send me the invoice for the little dot and its been 3 days, he responded to my email but didn't send me the invoice...
Same experience here, sometimes takes days.
 
Nov 21, 2017 at 6:52 AM Post #11,285 of 13,434
just an information guys, i recently bought a couple of mullards on ebay for $20aud and the seller sent me actually 4 rather than two but i'm just concerned that actually those might be a fake. i don't have previous experience perhaps is just me.... here are few pictures
ybnjTCx.jpg


yLfdsMn.jpg
 
Nov 21, 2017 at 10:41 AM Post #11,286 of 13,434
Mullard was a wholly owned subsidiary of Philips. So.... can you see the Philips production code? This should be a 7-digit code etched into the glass on the side of the tube near the pins.

http://tubedata.milbert.com/other/Philips/PhilipsCodeListAB-v10.pdf

Otherwise, I am inclined to think that these tubes were actually manufactured by RTC (La Radiotechnique) located in Suresnes, France, as is indicated by the labeling.

And no, I seriously doubt that these are fakes. The 5654 is too cheap to be worth the trouble. But unless they bear Mullard production codes, then I might think that the seller misrepresented these tubes. On the other hand, many sellers don't know all that much about the tubes they sell, and the seller may well think that they are Mullards. But again, the Philips production code, if it exists, will tell the story.
 
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Nov 21, 2017 at 5:54 PM Post #11,287 of 13,434
Mullard was a wholly owned subsidiary of Philips. So.... can you see the Philips production code? This should be a 7-digit code etched into the glass on the side of the tube near the pins.

http://tubedata.milbert.com/other/Philips/PhilipsCodeListAB-v10.pdf

Otherwise, I am inclined to think that these tubes were actually manufactured by RTC (La Radiotechnique) located in Suresnes, France, as is indicated by the labeling.

And no, I seriously doubt that these are fakes. The 5654 is too cheap to be worth the trouble. But unless they bear Mullard production codes, then I might think that the seller misrepresented these tubes. On the other hand, many sellers don't know all that much about the tubes they sell, and the seller may well think that they are Mullards. But again, the Philips production code, if it exists, will tell the story.
There's no Philips production code, the only thing i could find is a letter at the bottom we're the pins are located right in the middle. Two of them are "Z" and the other two are "L" on the other hand on the plastic cap on the external side theres an "EPL 7" on all 4 plastic caps and i have no idea if this could mean anything at all.....
 
Nov 21, 2017 at 7:25 PM Post #11,288 of 13,434
Since there are no Philips codes, I am inclined to believe that these were not manufactured by Mullard. But I wonder if I am reading "8318" correctly.... If so, this might be a date code, 18th week of 1983. And if these really were manufactured in the early 1980's, there weren't many vacuum tube factories still operating in Western Europe. Again, perhaps RTC did in fact manufacture them in France. But it is also possible that they could have been manufactured somewhere else, and then labeled and sold by RTC.

In the end, you may never know for sure who manufactured them and where. But as long as they sound good, it shouldn't matter. :)
 
Nov 22, 2017 at 1:46 AM Post #11,289 of 13,434
Since there are no Philips codes, I am inclined to believe that these were not manufactured by Mullard. But I wonder if I am reading "8318" correctly.... If so, this might be a date code, 18th week of 1983. And if these really were manufactured in the early 1980's, there weren't many vacuum tube factories still operating in Western Europe. Again, perhaps RTC did in fact manufacture them in France. But it is also possible that they could have been manufactured somewhere else, and then labeled and sold by RTC.

In the end, you may never know for sure who manufactured them and where. But as long as they sound good, it shouldn't matter. :)
indeed on the label is 8318, the sound is not bad is not as good as the previous GE JAN 5654W so far.... Some "effects" present in some musical mix like some instrument are presented differently, better/worst is to soon to say that i just started my testing session....
 
Nov 22, 2017 at 9:11 PM Post #11,291 of 13,434
Please forgive me if this has already been answered. Is there any difference between 6ZH1P-EV and the non - EV variant?
 
Nov 23, 2017 at 1:27 AM Post #11,292 of 13,434
Nov 23, 2017 at 11:17 AM Post #11,294 of 13,434
too bad that there's no way to say that for sure .....

Tubes manufactured with Philips equipment have construction characteristics that are unique to Philips and easy to recognize. So tubes manufactured by Philips subsidiaries, such as Valvo, RTC, Mullard and Amperex all share the same construction details.

Later, as Philips exited the vacuum tube business they often sold their factory equipment to other companies, for example, EI (Elektronska industrija Niš) in old Yugoslavia. And therefore, even though EI tubes were not manufactured by Philips, they are said to have "Philips tooling".

Going back to your RTC 5654, apparently manufactured in the 1980's... If they were not actually manufactured by RTC, the tooling suggests that they were manufactured using Philips equipment. But again, the actual factory and its location remains a mystery....
 

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