[ThurstonX]

Got a pair of 1963 Raytheon CK5670WA with the windmill getter today from Brent Jessee (via eBay). Lack of sleep made me miss a similar pair that sold for $1.29 earlier (mikebbower)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pai...670-396A-2C51-WG-Tube-NOS-Values/272843085899

One's enough, I reckon. CBS pair due in Thurs. Time to roll... well, one more hour with the 6C8Gs.

 

[billerb1]

Could it be I3? Seems likely, given the date code scheme they used. So, September 1243 Those monks weren't just good at illuminated texts... no hidden joke there

A bit of well-intentioned advice...focus on the future, not the past. You're wasting your 'talents' on monks...and possibly on monkeys too.

 

[ThurstonX]

It's all about Planet Now, man...

and right now you need to get the answers to the questions you have, then drop some $$$ on those Ken-Rads.

 

[rnros]

@rnros
So.... I decided to take my Ken rad 6c8g out of the package today , just to give it a look see.
Is there something particular on the tube itself , to identify a date? There's a painted code type thing inside the tube that says "J37" , and on the base it has "1 3" vertically next to the label.

Nice. Glad to see you got one of those. If nothing else, you have to love it as a great piece of tube history.
Hope it sounds as good in your setup.

On the tube base, I only have N4s and a P4s. I go along with the dating that Tony provided, I've never found any Ken Rad documents with date/code information. I think GE bought Kentucky Radio right after WWII, a LOT of GE tubes came out of that Kentucky plant. Code 188 for GE, I think.

Those codes on the inside glass stem mean something, date possibly, but also could identify production line. I'll take a look at mine and see what the alpha-numbers are. Do you have a link to the auction photos for yours?

 

[ThurstonX]

Not much available on how that date code system works. Best I found was: http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=215790

Yep, 188 = GE. I think they bought Ken-Rad in the early 1950s. The Owensboro, KY plant code is '5', so you'll see 188-5, IIRC.

 

[ThurstonX]

So I have two pairs of those Ken-Rad 6C8Gs. The other pair, not yet rolled, has these codes: E3 (definitely May 1943), with nothing other than tube type on the glass; and L5 R over 188-5, with DE on the glass below the type. The latter is December 1955... cuz 188-5 = GE's Owensboro plant, and is after GE bought Ken-Rad. DE, I think, is a special internal code used to denote that it's a genuine GE replacement tube, with the 'R' = replacement. Also, their internal construction, esp. at the top, is quite different. At least the tested the same, so hopefully they'll sound the same and play well together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Different sellers. The K-Rs most people are buying, per Bob's link, are well matched.

 

[TK16]

Well pulled my Bendix after 100 hrs and 70 hrs of Bill`s pair. Put in grampa`s Tung Sol`s and the difference is evident, killer midrange ,NO HIGH END GLARE!!! Not as much detail, but better than most if not all my 6922 tubes, though I think the Heerlen 7L4 1958`s are right up there with them, maybe the 56 Valvo CCa Heerlens PW too, that is about it, for $17 freaking dollars. Do not know when I will try the Bendix again, maybe in a different amp in the future with different gear or maybe my dac.

 

[billerb1]

Anybody interested in a GE 5 star triple mica pair (printing is gone) I'll let them go for $20, which includes the shipping. I'm not using them. Tested for noise and they were dead quiet. PM me. USA only tho, sorry.

 

[ThurstonX]

Anyone tried the Raytheon 5670s, esp. the 1960s-era "windmill" getter version? I'm only an hour in, but if these get better... schiit yeah. I've had the K-R 6C8Gs in for the past four days, and while they're quite nice, with great stage and imaging (like 6SN7s), and polite across the frequency spectrum, these little ruggedized titans have some serious impact, esp. in the lower mids/upper lows. I reckon that'll change, but for $30 I'm glad I added them to the Menagerie.

I did have some crazy static coming through the left channel immediately after firing up the Lyr (no music, volume zeroed out), but a few good whacks with the middle finger nail straightened it out. Must have been the tube, given its reaction. Good 1+ hours later. These are definitely out there. eskimofridge in Canada has at least two strong-testing pairs. Brent Jessee has one for $99, but I wouldn't go that high.

 

[ThurstonX]

Anybody interested in a GE 5 star pair (printing is gone) I'll let them go for $20, which includes the shipping. I'm not using them. Tested for noise and they were dead quiet. PM me. USA only tho, sorry.

Great deal. Someone without a pair should jump... now.

 

[winders]

Well pulled my Bendix after 100 hrs and 70 hrs of Bill`s pair. Put in grampa`s Tung Sol`s and the difference is evident, killer midrange ,NO HIGH END GLARE!!! Not as much detail, but better than most if not all my 6922 tubes, though I think the Heerlen 7L4 1958`s are right up there with them, maybe the 56 Valvo CCa Heerlens PW too, that is about it, for $17 freaking dollars. Do not know when I will try the Bendix again, maybe in a different amp in the future with different gear or maybe my dac.

After listening to my $90 pair of WE JW 2C51 tubes for the first time, you should have seen my expression as I sat their looking at my drawer full of much more expensive 6922 tubes. It was a look of shock, disbelief, joy, and disgust. It got worse when I tried my $30 pair of GE 5 star triple mica tubes. If anyone ever asks about 6922 tubes, I am going to set them straight on the path to 5670 tubes....

 

[TK16]

The WE JW is def my favorite so far, think I'll throw a pair in my dac when my adapters come, def going to audition the CBS square getters in my MJ2. $150 for 2 pair of those, still keeping about 15 pair of 6922 but selling the rest. So far the only disappointment has been the Bendix, can name at least 10 6922 tubes I prefer over them. But they were way under $100 for the pair.

 

[Guidostrunk]

Can't agree more on the TS! I've been known to save cats from eternal doom, with them tubes. I'm in the ministry, ya know?

Ken rad and Sylvania is set...just waiting for converter.....

tung sol is just killer!!!!! Rocking my schiit !!!

 

[Guidostrunk]

Phone took a schiit, so I'm playing on my wifes. Lol.

Pulled the CBS tube around 6, but plan to put it back in before bed.

TS full steam ahead

 

[Guidostrunk]

Confucius say. Man with 4 balls, can not walk!

Sammy the vertical "13" means it was made in the 13th century...the "J37" means January of the 37th year. So by my calculations that means January of 1237.