Tubes/Thermionic Valves.. discuss them here

I met Jeremy at the Fry's electronics in Phoenix on Monday and I am now the owner of a couple of Tungsram 72 E80CC and a Reflector 87 6N23P-EV.

I can't give an appraisal of the tubes at this point, except to say that, in the Alessandro MS1i mod, the 6N23P-EV is my new favorite. I just can't believe how good these $110 headphones sound. I haven't owned Grado heaphones before, but I expect I will be owning some for a long time because that is my type of sound.

I will also be giving the 6N2P a lot more time with these headphones because I believe they have a synergy similar to the 6N23P. I have a few Voskhod 88 6N2P-EV and I have a Reflector 64 6N2P that has left Moscow and should be here in about 2 weeks. I'll share my perceptions after some listening time.

Jeremy, it was pretty neat to meet you in person. In the next few years I expect to make it back to Gouda to meet Frans.....and get some more cheese of course.

The 64 6N23P is a really nice tube, however, the 6N23P-EV is a step up. With the Alessandros, there are moments in the music when I can't believe how good it is.

I purchased a couple of these from Jeremy.  I listen to them on a regular basis but they just don't do it for me.   I love their appearance, they are just so darn tall.

I have two so if anyone want to buy one shoot me a PM.

Hi all,

I've successfully read every post on this thread and I don't yet own an amp from Jeremy and Frans!

I've owned a Little Dot MK2 and I learned A LOT about tubes by following the LD MK3 tube rolling thread on Head Fi.
I've since purchased an Aune T1 and thus have collected 15 or so tubes for that amp. Those tubes will come in handy when I do buy an Ember because they're all compatible. Basically I'm not terribly sane when it comes to tubes. I just really like rolling.

I mention this because I think I can clarify some things. I'm no expert and honestly there's a ton of misinformation out there.
In general, I've found that the older the tube is, the better it's sound.
Tubes from the 50's into the 70's seem to be best.
The Russian tubes (I do love them myself; if only because they're Russian) are typically better in the -EV/-EB variants. This is because they were designed for military and/or hard use environments. Their internal structures are strengthened to withstand shock. The 6J1P-EV (one of the best LD stock tubes) even had three ribs molded into the glass to increase toughness. Because of this, they're usually rated at 5000hrs instead of 3000hrs per usual.
The expensive 6N30P-DR tubes are rated for 10000hrs. The DR designation is extremely rare and means maximum durability. There is no difference between the -EV/-EB designation and they are simply different translations of the same character (much like the "N" vs "H" in 6H23P).
The gold grid (not gold pin) are also a bit better. For instance there is a bit of a quality difference between the 6N6P and 6N6P gold grid.
Russian tubes frequently don't have boxes because they were shipped in cases for military use. Indeed all of the tubes discussed here were for military purposes.

A note about the oxidation on tube pins. This is normal. Some of these tubes are pushing 50+ years old. It varies from black to gray to blue based on the composition of the tube pins. I simply use a steel bristled wire brush to scrape off the gunk.
I also hold the tube with a microfiber cloth when doing so because the oils from your fingers quickly remove the silk screened logos and lettering. It's not 100% effective but it helps.

I'm unclear about the nature of many of the Amperex tubes. What I do know is that the mid 60's are very hard to find, gold globes and bugle boys are excellent tubes and most of the quality Amperex stuff was made in Heerlen.
The PQ 6DJ8 tubes are purportedly better.
6922's and 7308's ALWAYS have gold pins.
Almost all true Amperex and Mullard tubes have a raised ridge across the top of the tube caused by the manufacturing processes. I believe the Amperex tubes made in the U.S. didn't have this ridge but I could be wrong. U.S. made Amperex tubes are rare and expensive.

Phillips ECG are generally reported as lower quality than earlier Phillips tubes.
Lorenz ITT are similarly regarded.
The story there is that both companies tube manufacturing businesses were sold off at some point in the 70's and quality went down.

I've liked the Westinghouse tubes I've had as well as Sylvania.
I've got a sweet tooth for the Tektronix certified tubes because I live very near the plant where Tektronix verified and used them in their scopes.

I also can't believe I just typed this out on my phone. Thank goodness for Swype!

Anyone tried running either E80CC or 6N6P tubes in a Horizon, original version.
Currently running a 6N2P-EV in mine and sounds fantastic with HD650's