[jbua5150]

@bcowen Thanks again for the tip on the MELZ!

They arrived today after only 3 weeks. I was able to test them on an Amplitrex and they test NOS or just slightly used (all around %)
The MELZ logos are hard to read, and had finger prints all over them. I wiped one off with my shirt to remove fingerprints and it seems the logo is gone now on one. The one I can still see is very faint, I don’t dare try to wipe it clean. Hehe. It appears the date is 53 or 58 I cannot make it out.
Tubes are warming in the amp now….

 

[bcowen]

@bcowen Thanks again for the tip on the MELZ!

They arrived today after only 3 weeks. I was able to test them on an Amplitrex and they test NOS or just slightly used (all around %)
The MELZ logos are hard to read, and had finger prints all over them. I wiped one off with my shirt to remove fingerprints and it seems the logo is gone now on one. The one I can still see is very faint, I don’t dare try to wipe it clean. Hehe. It appears the date is 53 or 58 I cannot make it out.
Tubes are warming in the amp now….

Nice! And you have an Amplitrex? I'm officially jealous.

 

[jbua5150]

Nice! And you have an Amplitrex? I'm officially jealous.

I do not own one.
A local shop has one that I am able to rent time on.
It has been both a blessing and a curse.
Because I have access to it, I find myself buying more tubes than I would without it.

 

[brokemember]

@jbua5150 Would you mind sharing the name of the vendor?

 

[jbua5150]

@jbua5150 Would you mind sharing the name of the vendor?

If you are asking about where I test my tubes, it's a local shop.
I rent time on the Amplitrex, and test the tubes myself.
They do not offer any testing services per se.

 

[brokemember]

If you are asking about where I test my tubes, it's a local shop.
I rent time on the Amplitrex, and test the tubes myself.
They do not offer any testing services per se.

Sorry, I meant where you bought the tubes from.

 

[jbua5150]

Sorry, I meant where you bought the tubes from.

I got a tip from a forum member here.
It was an eBay listing.
I believe I got the last pair.

 

[ARCXENOS]

Gentlemen, sorry for bothering about these again, hopefully this is the last time I seek verification about the MELZ 1578

I have been offered these, the longer steel bracket blockers are there, there are dual mica ledges, plate construction looks correct to me, but I would like to seek a more experienced opinion.

Those "pins" at the top don't look as sharp as TLO's pictures, any advice on this matter?

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I have two pairs of these NOS that I bought from a well -regarded eBay'er. Unfortunately one tube has developed a death squeal after <100 hours of use. Could be luck of the draw, could be they're counterfeit. I'll never know for sure. They do sound great though (when they're not making an insane amount of noise).

 

[bcowen]

Gentlemen, sorry for bothering about these again, hopefully this is the last time I seek verification about the MELZ 1578

I have been offered these, the longer steel bracket blockers are there, there are dual mica ledges, plate construction looks correct to me, but I would like to seek a more experienced opinion.

Those "pins" at the top don't look as sharp as TLO's pictures, any advice on this matter?

Those are the real deal 1578’s. One is a 1959 (can’t make out the other one) so a very good year to boot.

 

[bcowen]

I have two pairs of these NOS that I bought from a well -regarded eBay'er. Unfortunately one tube has developed a death squeal after <100 hours of use. Could be luck of the draw, could be they're counterfeit. I'll never know for sure. They do sound great though (when they're not making an insane amount of noise).

Resoldering the pins may very well fix it. Degraded solder is a fairly common problem in the older Melz and Fotons.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

Resoldering the pins may very well fix it. Degraded solder is a fairly common problem in the older Melz and Fotons.

Might have to do some YouTube homework!

 

[Mr Trev]

I have two pairs of these NOS that I bought from a well -regarded eBay'er. Unfortunately one tube has developed a death squeal after <100 hours of use. Could be luck of the draw, could be they're counterfeit. I'll never know for sure. They do sound great though (when they're not making an insane amount of noise).

Death squeal. That's awesome. Not that it's happening, just the description

<edit> I see a skit with some redneck audiophiles & Ned Beatty now for some reason

 

[RobertSM]

All this MELZ 1578 talk has me now wanting to dig into my small stash.

I bought three or four pair a few(2018) years ago when I saw the owners in the Glenn OTL thread speaking very highly of them. At that moment I was still very happy with the ECC33 and the Marconi Canada Radiotron tall bottle 6SN7 foil D getter from the 1950's. So I put the MELZ 1578's away.

That almost feels like a lifetime ago with world events that have happened over the last few years.

Either way I think I'll have to pull my 1578's out soon and take a look at what I have. Pop one into the input position of the Studio Six and see what it does for me.

 

[Thaddy]

A very nice pair of VT-231's arrived today. The 6SN7-equivalent have become some of my favorite tubes. I know they aren't considered the cream of the crop, but I probably listen to my RCA Gray Glass 6SN7's 85% of the time with my WA22.

These VT-231's have round plates. I believe the date codes are matching [VIE], however I'm not as familiar with this method of RCA's date codes. Can someone confirm? I also see codes of [3C 278 A] and [SC 278 A].