[UntilThen]

Replacement adapter for 5b/254m arrived and finally I'm able to compare 254a with 254m. They are almost the same tonally but not in physical size. Surprisingly 254m has slightly less gain than 254a. Unsurprisingly 254m sound slightly thinner and 254a sound slightly fuller. The jury's still out on which I like better but both are in my books dynamites. Drum beats have that intensity and female vocals have that tantalisingly sweet sharp shrill. Mark Knopfler's guitar solos will mesmerise you with both power tubes.

 

[triod750]

Hello,

I've extended my Ez81 stock and today the Ez81 Telefunken arrived.
I bought it on Ebay for 16€.
I plugged it in a few minutes ago after cleaning and it sounds great at first.
As you can see, there's no need to spend a fortune on top-class rectifiers, just be patient





According to my information, this was made by Mullard for Telefunken, but unfortunately I have not seen a Mullard where this has 4 support posts as in the picture.
Also no code, except the number 15 at the bottom, nothing more.

In the next picture you can see the RFT in comparison so definitely not RFT.





Continue with EL84:
EL84 Mullard and Toshiba both differ noticeably.
The Mullard has clear differences compared to the Toshiba.
Toshiba has stapled plates and no hole in the centre.
The Mullard with yellow print says here that it was probably one of the first mullards.
http://www.tube-classics.de/TC/Tubes/Valvo EL84/EL84.htm



I don't think the Toshiba was made with Phillips or Valvo tools.
But actually Matsushida probably made them for Toshiba.

Could the TFK branded EZ81 have been made by Siemens? They made a lot of tubes for TFK, without diamond in bottom glass. From Mullard or any other Philips factory you would expect a code on the side of the glass at the level of bottom mica.

I have one Lorenz branded EZ 80 with an 'inverted' 18 pressed in the glass at the bottom where TFK has the diamond. This tube has the same red colour above the pins within the glass as your 'TFK'.

 

[triod750]

Hello,

I've extended my Ez81 stock and today the Ez81 Telefunken arrived.
I bought it on Ebay for 16€.
I plugged it in a few minutes ago after cleaning and it sounds great at first.
As you can see, there's no need to spend a fortune on top-class rectifiers, just be patient





According to my information, this was made by Mullard for Telefunken, but unfortunately I have not seen a Mullard where this has 4 support posts as in the picture.
Also no code, except the number 15 at the bottom, nothing more.

In the next picture you can see the RFT in comparison so definitely not RFT.





Continue with EL84:
EL84 Mullard and Toshiba both differ noticeably.
The Mullard has clear differences compared to the Toshiba.
Toshiba has stapled plates and no hole in the centre.
The Mullard with yellow print says here that it was probably one of the first mullards.
http://www.tube-classics.de/TC/Tubes/Valvo EL84/EL84.htm



I don't think the Toshiba was made with Phillips or Valvo tools.
But actually Matsushida probably made them for Toshiba.

What's the code on this Mullard EL84?

 

[mordy]

Looking at various 807 tubes:

This is a GE labeled tube that says Made in Italy. Could it be a Fivre?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334391949529

Also came across these GEC KT66 on eBay UK:

Is this GEC KT66 possibly at a bargain price?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20478689...-8532-ba0a696cb7d8|iid:1|vlpname:vlp_homepage

And another one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20478690...-a03a-3e5645e9f9ec|iid:1|vlpname:vlp_homepage

 

[triod750]

Looking at various 807 tubes:

This is a GE labeled tube that says Made in Italy. Could it be a Fivre?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334391949529

Also came across these GEC KT66 on eBay UK:

Is this GEC KT66 possibly at a bargain price?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204786893973?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=777008&algo=PERSONAL.TOPIC&ao=1&asc=20230823115209&meid=8cc8f25910364ddf82f7e76c52ed7d26&pid=101800&rk=1&rkt=1&itm=204786893973&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=4375194&algv=RecentlyViewedItemsV2SignedOut&brand=GEC+Computers&_trksid=p4375194.c101800.m5481&_trkparms=parentrq:7e317ea618f0ac1d5b277405ffffec04|pageci:80f6281f-1303-11ef-8532-ba0a696cb7d8|iid:1|vlpname:vlp_homepage

And another one:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204786909975?_trkparms=amclksrc=ITM&aid=777008&algo=PERSONAL.TOPIC&ao=1&asc=20230823115209&meid=0b34d73242c5415fb793eafdf4284a9f&pid=101800&rk=1&rkt=1&itm=204786909975&pmt=0&noa=1&pg=4375194&algv=RecentlyViewedItemsV2SignedOut&_trksid=p4375194.c101800.m5481&_trkparms=parentrq:7e3569ec18f0ab8cd32a956bfffffd4e|pageci:1a0aff85-1304-11ef-a03a-3e5645e9f9ec|iid:1|vlpname:vlp_homepage

KB/V is either
V Cossor, Highbury, pre Sept 1945
or
V Gilbert Photoelectrics
according to this source https://www.thegearpage.net/board/i...-valve-codes-from-the-40-50s-60s-etc.2384457/, same as the Mullard blog.

 

[VanHai]

My Telefunken EL12 spez has arrived with 4 friends, ITT 5B/254M. Adapters for 5B/254M should be here at the end of the week. My first impressions of the EL12 spez, top end is fabulous, very clear, airy, neutral and beautiful vocals.

 

[UntilThen]

My Telefunken EL12 spez has arrived with 4 friends, ITT 5B/254M. Adapters for 5B/254M should be here at the end of the week. My first impressions of the EL12 spez, top end is fabulous, very clear, airy, neutral and beautiful vocals.

New Telefunken EL12 spez is a joy to behold and they come in the Telefunken old boxes like mine. They are as new as my quad. Give it time and it won't be so neutral. Lovely texture will filled out but generally these are audiophile kind of tone rather than bass heavy.

I'm back to Tesla EL12 spez. My greatest joy is discovering that these are now as quiet as their Telefunken counterpart. These are made in Czechoslovakia. Finding a good pair is difficult. I bought 6 tubes years ago and only 3 are good and quiet.

5b/254m is a very lovely sounding power tube. You're going to be very happy with EL12 spez and 5b/254m for a very long time. What is incredible is that the 5b/254m are comparatively cheap compared to other good power tubes.

Todate, there are a couple of us with EL12 spez. Bryant, Craig, Albert, yourself and me. All have come back with favourable reports of how they sound in Ultimate.

 

[UntilThen]

Your Telefunken EL12 spez measures at 30.7v. That's about right. My Tesla EL12 spez measures at 31.3v. These tubes are going to last a very long time in Ultimate.

 

[VanHai]

New Telefunken EL12 spez is a joy to behold and they come in the Telefunken old boxes like mine. They are as new as my quad. Give it time and it won't be so neutral. Lovely texture will filled out but generally these are audiophile kind of tone rather than bass heavy.

I'm back to Tesla EL12 spez. My greatest joy is discovering that these are now as quiet as their Telefunken counterpart. These are made in Czechoslovakia. Finding a good pair is difficult. I bought 6 tubes years ago and only 3 are good and quiet.

5b/254m is a very lovely sounding power tube. You're going to be very happy with EL12 spez and 5b/254m for a very long time. What is incredible is that the 5b/254m are comparatively cheap compared to other good power tubes.

Todate, there are a couple of us with EL12 spez. Bryant, Craig, Albert, yourself and me. All have come back with favourable reports of how they sound in Ultimate.

You are right about EL12 spez tubes. They are very special, some tubes at the first listen, and you know right away they are great. No need to wait for them to burn in,. I can hear the vocals getting better in just 2 hours. I was lucky to get this NOS pair for $153.00 USD, and they are very quiet.

Looking forward to teaming up 5B/254M with 5A/152M to see if they enhance each other.

 

[UntilThen]

You are right about EL12 spez tubes. They are very special, some tubes at the first listen, and you know right away they are great. No need to wait for them to burn in,. I can hear the vocals getting better in just 2 hours. I was lucky to get this NOS pair for $153.00 USD, and they are very quiet.

Looking forward to teaming up 5B/254M with 5A/152M to see if they enhance each other.

Your sentiments about EL12 spez is spot on and that price is pure gold.

5B/254M with 5A/152M can go 2 ways. It can be perfect for those seeking extreme clarity and resolution or too much for bass heads. In any case, there are lots of drivers for 5b/254m.

 

[UntilThen]

It was my intention to use EL11 and EL12 spez in Odyssey in 2021. This was on Tomas's workbench when it was built. I send him the tubes.

 

[VanHai]

It was my intention to use EL11 and EL12 spez in Odyssey in 2021. This was on Tomas's workbench when it was built. I send him the tubes.

Hey Matt. Can we use El11 as driver tubes for UltimatE with the same adapters as for power tubes?

 

[UntilThen]

Hey Matt. Can we use El11 as driver tubes for UltimatE with the same adapters as for power tubes?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/195932911770
This is the adapter we use for EL11, even though it says EL12. It is tied to EL34 pins. It will work only in Ultimate's power slots but not in the 6J5 slots even though Eric has modified your 6J5 slots to take 6V6 directly because EL34 and 6V6 pins are not the same.

You need adapters that are for EL11 to 6J5 in order to use EL11 as drivers in the 6J5 slots. It is the same with EL3N where you use EL3N to 6J5 adapters as drivers.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/192841514597?

 

[UntilThen]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/195932911770

This adapter should have been made as EL12 to 6L6 / 6V6 then it can be used in both the power and 6J5 slots of Ultimate but only for those Ultimates that have the 6J5 sockets modified to take 6v6 directly.

Pretty clear cut right?

 

[VanHai]

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/195932911770

This adapter should have been made as EL12 to 6L6 / 6V6 then it can be used in both the power and 6J5 slots of Ultimate but only for those Ultimates that have the 6J5 sockets modified to take 6v6 directly.

Pretty clear cut right?

Yes, it is clear. Thanks, Matt. I want to make sure that I have the correct adapters to use EL11 as driver tubes. The adapters that @g0ldl10n built for me should be no problem.