[ThurstonX]

  Lol, I'm just a simple southerner.
 
Speaking of swapping tubes, where do you guys keep your stash.  Do they just go into the original boxes somewhere or do you put them in a foam case or something?  Should I be treating them like lightbulbs?

 
Oh, me, too, brother.  Sometimes it's fun to complicate things, just to see how people react.  In the end it all boils down.
 
I made a couple three boxes for my Glass Menagerie.  Search this thread for that phrase, and you'll find some photos.  Of course, I may have typed Glass Menagerie a few times too often.  Anyway, pix are out there.  Foam cases, FWIW.

 

[billerb1]

  Strange, I just put my matsus in as well to see if I had just glossed over them. prompted by my mullards. Nope ,still wasted money. Enjoying the Darios though. Billerb, what hicksvilles ampere and la radiotechniques were you enjoying a whie back?

 
Bro I haven't had the RTC La Radiotechniques for a long time...sold them probably 2 years ago.  They were very nice and balanced and did everything ok...but nothing great (to me anyway).  The Amperex 7308's I have are the American made ones...really raw, live signature to me.  The widest soundstage of the 6922's that I've kept...and probably the most precisely detailed.  Great tube in what I look for...but they get very little head time competing against my pinched waist pairs and Heerlen Miniwatt E188CC pair.  I got a weakness for the whole Holland thing.

 

[ForceofWill]

Oh, me, too, brother.  Sometimes it's fun to complicate things, just to see how people react.  In the end it all boils down.

I made a couple three boxes for my Glass Menagerie.  Search this thread for that phrase, and you'll find some photos.  Of course, I may have typed Glass Menagerie a few times too often.  Anyway, pix are out there.  Foam cases, FWIW.

Cool ill search around some.

I think my audio hobby is at about when i started with cigars, i can tell the difference between most things and know what i like but it took me quite a while before i could pick out individual flavors and nuances. Its clear i have lots more listening to do.

 

[Hardwired]

   
Lol, I'm just a simple southerner.
 
Speaking of swapping tubes, where do you guys keep your stash.  Do they just go into the original boxes somewhere or do you put them in a foam case or something?  Should I be treating them like lightbulbs?

Here's what I use:

 

 

[ForceofWill]

Here's what I use:

That's cool. I was thinking about something like a pelican case.

 

[billerb1]

   
Lol, I'm just a simple southerner.
 
Speaking of swapping tubes, where do you guys keep your stash.  Do they just go into the original boxes somewhere or do you put them in a foam case or something?  Should I be treating them like lightbulbs?

 

 
No.

 

[tvnosaint]

I share these weaknesses. Them surenes ain't bad either. Sweet sound stage and balance. Nice picture sir

 

[billerb1]

I share these weaknesses. Them surenes ain't bad either. Sweet sound stage and balance. Nice picture sir

 
Here's a picture of the green label RTC La Radiotechnique E188CC's I had.  I think they are the same as the French Dario Miniwatts.  I'm sure I'll be set straight if they aren't.
 
 

 

[MWSVette]

 
Here is how I store them...

 

[tvnosaint]

Bro I haven't had the RTC La Radiotechniques for a long time...sold them probably 2 years ago.  They were very nice and balanced and did everything ok...but nothing great (to me anyway).  The Amperex 7308's I have are the American made ones...really raw, live signature to me.  The widest soundstage of the 6922's that I've kept...and probably the most precisely detailed.  Great tube in what I look for...but they get very little head time competing against my pinched waist pairs and Heerlen Miniwatt E188CC pair.  I got a weakness for the whole Holland thing.

My amperex have the same traits stemming from its micro phonics. As well as etched uppers. The Dario's have joined the club of my favorites while I'm listening to them. Along with the miniwatt reflektors and mullards.

 

[Oskari]

  Here's a picture of the green label RTC La Radiotechnique E188CC's I had.  I think they are the same as the French Dario Miniwatts.  I'm sure I'll be set straight if they aren't.

 
Of course.

 
It's a definite maybe. Here is what TX wrote, and right he is!
 

  The printed labels are not what identifies the origin of a tube.  That's why most (Philips) factories had their own factory code, and tended to use the same date code format (Factory symbol | Year | Month | Often week of said month).  Other manufacturers (Siemens, Telefunken, the British companies, et al.) had their own labeling systems and code formats.
 
So while brand labels are nice and all, the factory codes determine the origin.  Without them, it's all guess work.

 
And if the codes don't help, you need to look at the constructional details of the tube.

 

[ThurstonX]

 
Here's a picture of the green label RTC La Radiotechnique E188CC's I had.  I think they are the same as the French Dario Miniwatts.  I'm sure I'll be set straight if they aren't.
 

Spoiler: Photos

 

 
Of course.

 
It's a definite maybe. Here is what TX wrote, and right he is!
 
<what I wrote>
 
And if the codes don't help, you need to look at the constructional details of the tube.

 
FWIW, my RTC E188CCs look identical to Bill's (green printing, including similar numeric codes), and they are stamped Heerlen (most likely from the mid-70s... not that there's anything wrong with .  I do have French-made E188CCs that also have green printing, but it doesn't resemble these RTCs (pretty sure they're labeled Dario; too lazy to check).  So yeah, again, gotta find those stamped/etched factory codes to know what you're dealing with.
 
Enough said about that, until the next time it comes up.

 

[billerb1]

 
 
FWIW, my RTC E188CCs look identical to Bill's (green printing, including similar numeric codes), and they are stamped Heerlen (most likely from the mid-70s... not that there's anything wrong with .  I do have French-made E188CCs that also have green printing, but it doesn't resemble these RTCs (pretty sure they're labeled Dario; too lazy to check).  So yeah, again, gotta find those stamped/etched factory codes to know what you're dealing with.
 
Enough said about that, until the next time it comes up.

 


It's been a long time ago and I was just assuming they were Suresnes made. Don't remember the code situation. They weren't to my ears as lush and warm as the Philips Miniwatt and Valvo Heerlen E188CC's through the midrange...a bit more balanced, a bit leaner. That's probably why I assumed they were produced somewhere other than Heerlen. All a guess though.

 

[Oskari]

Suresnes, Heerlen. Yes. There are also RTC-branded Mitcham Mullards (but perhaps not with green labels).

 

[ThurstonX]

  Suresnes, Heerlen. Yes. There are also RTC-branded Mitcham Mullards (but perhaps not with green labels).

 
Yeah, I've got a pair of those dimple-getter "RTC" Mullard E188CCs, too.  White printing.