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Post by anacephalic on Oct 22, 2007 14:41:33 GMT -7
i was browsing ebay for phillips NOS el84s and ran across offerings for reissue Mullard el84s. they are marketed by New Sensor Attached was all kinds of hype as to why NOS dealers would soon be out of business because the reissues are so good. that is usually a warning sign. has anyone tried em or heard anything about them? It's retube time and i'm lost in the options
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Post by myles on Oct 23, 2007 16:01:26 GMT -7
Actually .... what will put the NOS guys out of business at some point is lack of product to sell. When the NOS stuff is gone it is gone.
What will NOT put them out of business are production tubes that have materials that are not pure, people who no longer take pride in their work in tube production, short cuts and global economics.
I am not saying it could not be done but until you see a new production matched duet of EL84 tubes selling for a few hundred bucks and the maker is making a reasonable profit then you can bank on the fact that the labor and materials will not make the tube anything to pose an NOS threat.
Don't get me wrong ... there are some great EL84 tubes out there .... JJ for one.
Now if you want to talk 12AX7s .... there is not a maker in the bunch that holds to the same standards of virtually any NOS offering. There are some great production tubes but you better be willing to go through at least 20 in a good run to find one that is within 20% of spec.
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Post by anacephalic on Oct 24, 2007 8:05:39 GMT -7
i agree that the claims are all hype of besting NOS or at least a good percentage hype. the question is are the mullard reissue el84s any good?
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Post by myles on Oct 24, 2007 10:21:41 GMT -7
i agree that the claims are all hype of besting NOS or at least a good percentage hype. the question is are the mullard reissue el84s any good? You must have misunderstood me. NOS tubes are generally superior to current production tubes. As far as the EL84, the only tube I care for is the JJ
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Post by LeftyLang on Oct 24, 2007 12:26:46 GMT -7
Thanks Myles. I was just about to ask the same question about the Mullard Reissues.
Looks like JJ are the tube to go with.
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Post by anacephalic on Oct 24, 2007 19:37:39 GMT -7
i'm with you on the nos being the way to go. i've been feeding my z with phillips miniwatts since about the second year i had it. i just can't afford them anymore. $80 a quad used to be pricey...now its a great deal provided you really get what you think you are getting. one quad i bought was pretty awful.
i feed my home stereo with NOS mullards and would never turn back but at $500 to retube my preamp,. aargh as much as i would love to stuff nos mullards in my Rx the z unfortunately needs to live with more budget tubes
thanks again myles
i was a bit confused with the comment on the new tubes. it sounded like there were others besides the JJs that you liked. thanks for the clarification
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lp26
New Member
Posts: 9
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Post by lp26 on Oct 27, 2007 11:06:55 GMT -7
I've tried the reissue Mullard EL84 and the 12AX7.
Are they as good as NOS Mullards? No. Are they good new production tubes? Yes.
Myles' comment re: one in five new production tubes being within spec is a point well taken. If you're buying from a dealer you have a good relationship with I think tubes like the reissue Mullards or Tung Sols represent a cost effective alternative to NOS.
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Post by mikekca on Oct 28, 2007 17:22:47 GMT -7
Glad you guys are stepping up to be (unpaid) Beta testers for brand new tubes. I've stopped doing that after being burned on numerous occasions. I'll check back in a year and see how they're still doing;)
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lp26
New Member
Posts: 9
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Post by lp26 on Oct 29, 2007 10:56:22 GMT -7
Mike,
You're one of those dealers with whom I've built a relationship. As a result I trust your judgement without reservation. You sell the new Tung Sols stuff. It's good. Is it GREAT like certain NOS? Nope, but good and quite serviceable.
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Post by stratosphere on Nov 3, 2007 12:40:25 GMT -7
I've found the TungSol 12ax7's to be very good also. They sound very good, but lack the sparkle of really good NOS. The JJ EL84's have been my tube of choice lately. I get them for $40.00 for a quad set from the Tube Store.
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Post by hdahs143 on Nov 3, 2007 13:58:23 GMT -7
I've found the TungSol 12ax7's to be very good also. They sound very good, but lack the sparkle of really good NOS. The JJ EL84's have been my tube of choice lately. I get them for $40.00 for a quad set from the Tube Store. You can get the JJ EL84's from the Tube Depot for $35-$36 shipped for a matched quad. Everytime I've ordered from them, they were delivered in less than 48 hours from the order time. That works for me.
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Post by myles on Nov 5, 2007 11:32:40 GMT -7
I've found the TungSol 12ax7's to be very good also. They sound very good, but lack the sparkle of really good NOS. The JJ EL84's have been my tube of choice lately. I get them for $40.00 for a quad set from the Tube Store. On the JJs .... make sure you ask for a medium range tube on their matching scale.
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