[OldSkool]

Quote:

Dear Lord Soth:

My ears are indebted to you . . . My wallet is another matter . . .

I sprung for a pair of Amperex 6922 Pinched Waist tubes from 1956, Heerlen production. They just arrived and I've been listening to them this evening with the Lyr/Bifrost-Uber stack and Senn HD800 phones.

These may be the best I've yet heard. They are ultra-detailed in all frequencies, with both a wide and deep soundstage. Listening to Mahler symphonies is like being in a concert hall - Row 15 Center. There is clear separation of instruments left to right, and a smoothness at all dynamic levels. They are so "liquid" and smooth in presentation that at first they seem warm, but that is not the case. Highs sparkle without sibilance; lows are tight and accurate.

The tubes are very microphonic, but Herbie's Rx tube dampeners fixes the problem.

In my personal rating system, they get 10 out of 10. The only other tubes that have been 10/10 (to my ears, of course - there is no objectivity to this!) are the Siemens & Halske CCa's. They are a different presentation, but also superior. Now I have to roll those in again to compare directly to the pinched waists.

I got first dibs on Scott's 6DJ8 collection when the Schiit statement amp comes out!!! 

 
Enjoy those pinched-waist 6922's, my friend. They are truly rarer than hen's teeth.

 

 

[R Scott Ireland]

I got first dibs on Scott's 6DJ8 collection when the Schiit statement amp comes out!!! :veryevil:

Enjoy those pinched-waist 6922's, my friend. They are truly rarer than hen's teeth. :tongue_smile:

You got it!

Thanks!!

 

[joydivisi0n]

I was lucky enough to get my first NOS tubes from HK_sends to begin my tube rolling journey.  (Very generous fellow by the way, give him your business...)  Here are my impressions, which should admittedly be taken with a grain of salt as my whole chain is a brand new experience for me, from the HE-500 to the Schiit Modi.
 
Stock JJ tubes:  These are surprisingly okay.  Not much to say about these, does everything well.
 
GE ECC85, Great Britain: My least favorite of the bunch.  A more forward presentation, with a less refined bass.  The level of detail is nice overall.  Sounded too shrill for my ears, and this is coming from a guy who likes Grados. 
 
Amperex 6DJ8 Orange Globes: Now these live up to the hype.  I would say the mids and bass are a notch above the JJ tubes, with the treble being equally nice and sparkle-y.  Soundstage and imaging also improved.  Will definitely be enjoying these for a good long while before I consider trying out more tubes.

 

[Lord Soth]

Dear Lord Soth:

My ears are indebted to you . . . My wallet is another matter . . .

I sprung for a pair of Amperex 6922 Pinched Waist tubes from 1956, Heerlen production. They just arrived and I've been listening to them this evening with the Lyr/Bifrost-Uber stack and Senn HD800 phones.

These may be the best I've yet heard. They are ultra-detailed in all frequencies, with both a wide and deep soundstage. Listening to Mahler symphonies is like being in a concert hall - Row 15 Center. There is clear separation of instruments left to right, and a smoothness at all dynamic levels. They are so "liquid" and smooth in presentation that at first they seem warm, but that is not the case. Highs sparkle without sibilance; lows are tight and ......

Hi R Scott Ireland

Glad to hear that the pinched waist tubes worked out for you!

I'm sorry for your wallet !!!

But hey, all of us have to do our bit to help jump start the flagging World Economy.

So please consider buying a few more spares.

 

[R Scott Ireland]

Hi R Scott Ireland

Glad to hear that the pinched waist tubes worked out for you!

I'm sorry for your wallet !!!

But hey, all of us have to do our bit to help jump start the flagging World Economy.

So please consider buying a few more spares.

Will do! (Maybe I can mortgage my tube collection)

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

 
I'm sure it's a great tube, and that certainly is a French (Philips) brand.
 
At the same time, I hope that everybody understands that a particular brand printed on a tube is not going to change its sound in any way.

I understand that, I was merely attempting to describe the tubes as completely and accurately as possible.

 

[HK_sends]

Quote:

 
I'm sure it's a great tube, and that certainly is a French (Philips) brand.
 
At the same time, I hope that everybody understands that a particular brand printed on a tube is not going to change its sound in any way.

Are you sure?  I could swear that a Siemens made and branded PCC88 sounds better than a Siemens-made, Telefunken-branded PCC88...or a Lorenz SEL-branded, Tesla-made tube sounds better than a Tesla-branded tube.
...It's all about the brand, Man!!

 
Quote:

I understand that, I was merely attempting to describe the tubes as completely and accurately as possible.

Yes, that was with tongue firmly planted in cheek!

 

Cheers!

-HK sends

 

[Sanlitun]

My Matsu****a E88CC's just arrived from Tubemonger today (http://www.tubemonger.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=591). I had heard some great things about these including some story that this factory was known for making a harder vacuum than usual (who knows lol). The price was right so hopefully these will live up to their reputation.
 
My socket savers arrived as well with these. I get the feeling that if I tried to remove tubes it would pull out the socket savers as well. How are all of you managing this?

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

My Matsu****a E88CC's just arrived from Tubemonger today (http://www.tubemonger.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=591). I had heard some great things about these including some story that this factory was known for making a harder vacuum than usual (who knows lol). The price was right so hopefully these will live up to their reputation.
 
My socket savers arrived as well with these. I get the feeling that if I tried to remove tubes it would pull out the socket savers as well. How are all of you managing this?

 
Hilarious that Matsu****a is censored! 

 

[bahorn]

Quote:

My Matsu****a E88CC's just arrived from Tubemonger today (http://www.tubemonger.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=591). I had heard some great things about these including some story that this factory was known for making a harder vacuum than usual (who knows lol). The price was right so hopefully these will live up to their reputation.
 
My socket savers arrived as well with these. I get the feeling that if I tried to remove tubes it would pull out the socket savers as well. How are all of you managing this?

It is actually pretty easy to remove the tubes without the socket savers.  But you can also use tubes to remove the socket savers; it's a little hard to describe since you have to wiggle them the right way.  R Scott gave me this tip.

 

[Argo Duck]

It's a while since I listened to my lyr - but I can tell you the matsu tubes were the first to show me how really good lyr can be (as well as stock, I'd tried several others around the $40-$50 ea mark before this).

Helped me understand why those rare, expensive options like lorenz might be worth the money. However, I decided to spend that money on another (pure tube) amp instead, one with a rep for sounding good with cheaper, more readily available tubes - as indeed it does!

 

[PinkLed]

Loving the Amperex A-frames over the other OG's ive tried. 

 

[R Scott Ireland]

Loving the Amperex A-frames over the other OG's ive tried. 

The A-frames particularly sing with my Senn HD650's (Lyr/Bifrost-Uber). Nice tubes!

 

[nelamvr6]

OK, I've finished my evaluation  of the RTC E188CC tubes.  Please note, the following observations are nothing more than my opinion.
 
The RTCs are really excellent tubes, they lived up to all of the claims that everyone made, the soundstage was amazing, the air and presence superb.  Amazing treble, detailed and smooth.
 
BUT...
 
I sensed that something was missing.  I did several A/B comparisons, which BTW wasn't easy.  But I wanted to be sure.  As humans our sonic memories are notoriously unreliable.  
 
After several trials, I have rolled my Orange Globes back in, and that's where they will stay.
 
The RTCs were simply lovely, but they lacked heft and slam in the bass.  In this regard the OGs bested them by a wide margin IMHO.  Both tubes did an excellent job of providing taut, nimble bass that was always well controlled.  But the OGs bass was more tactile, visceral.
 
Also, the OGs have a more fluid, lusher midrange.  The OGs give me more of a "tubey" sound in the midrange, and that's one of the big reasons I bought a tube amp in the first place.  The RTCs had an accuracy that was sometimes astounding, they sometimes sounded like I was listening to my solid state amp again.  And that's fine, if that's what you're looking for.
 
The OGs have a treble that is every bit as marvelous as the RTCs in my estimation, but they do sacrifice quite a bit on soundstage.  The RTC's soundstage was wide, deep and stable, with amazing focus, a really 3D presentation.  The OG's soundstage to me is much more intimate, though certainly as stable and as focused.
 
So, as is often the case, I had to chose what was more important to me.  I was simply not willing to give up the slam and heft in the bass, or the smooth, amazing mids of the OGs.
 
So now my list of favorite tubes reads like this:
 
[size=x-small]1. Ampe[/size][size=x-small]re[/size][size=x-small]x 6DJ8 Orange Globes 1968[/size]
[size=x-small]2. Amperex USN 6922 D Getter 1960[/size]
[size=x-small]3. RTC E188CC [/size][size=x-small]circa 1967[/size]
[size=x-small]4[/size][size=x-small]. Amperex 6DJ8 Bugle Boy 1966[/size]
[size=x-small]5[/size][size=x-small]. Amperex USN-CEP 6922 '60's.[/size]
[size=x-small]6[/size][size=x-small]. RCA 6BZ7[/size]
[size=x-small]7[/size][size=x-small]. GE 6BZ7[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Again, just my opinion, YMMV etc etc...[/size]

 

[erikfreedom]

 
my tube collection excluding the original ge tubes. from left to right:
 
mullard e88cc white label pinched waist d getter gold pins Heerlen Holland 1956.
amperex 6922 orange label pq usa gold pins 1972
genalex e88cc gold pins new production tubes.
electro harmonix 6922 new production tubes.
 
the electro harmonix are honest tubes. but a very small increase in sound quality over the stock ge tubes. not worth it.
the genalex new production tubes are a good upgrade over both stock ge and electro harmonix tubes, but for the price paid you have much better nos tubes options. the sound is not that impressive at all. the amperex 6922 from early seventies are fantastic tubes. balanced sound, tight puchy bass, incredible soundstage, they are a huge upgrade in sound quality. of all my tubes, they have the cleanest sound. the pinched waist mullard from 1956 is a monster. the sound is like being in hd all the time even if the material is youtube 240p. holographic 3d soundstage that goes to infinity, very powerful bass, beautiful mids and sweet top end. the hifiman he 500 have especially gone into overdrive with these tubes. but the soundstage is the most impressive aspect of their sound. D'ont know if it can get any better than this. i have also heard good things about made in Germany siemens cca tubes. there is a good chance i will buy some. brent jesse has some of these tubes.