You’re right on his (Brendan?) being reputable and you definitely know what you’re getting.
Nice. And no huffing and puffing needed. 
If you look in the lower right hand corner of the first photo below you’ll see the type of manufacturing code I was referring to that sometimes need to coaxed by breathing on them but not in this case.
This particular tube (first photo) was manufactured at the Hicksville, NY plant in November, 1958 (7LK *8K ) and was packaged (second photo) the 14th week of 1959.
1 Like
When I pulled the Amperex tubes out to have a closer look, I popped the stock tubes back in to have a listen. The soundstage collapsed in all directions, and the music lost a lot of vibrancy and life. Upon replacing them, the music came alive again. Amazing how much difference these tubes make, it’s like getting a brand new amp of much higher quality.
2 Likes
I’m envious of your old tube find. TubeWord has very limited
number of quads pre 1970 but I’ll keep looking. Thanks for sharing the experience.
I think I paid around a $100 for this matched pair of used old stock tubes, which I used in my previous tubed CD player, and now in the BHK. I’d say I not only got my money’s worth, but it’s the best bang for the buck upgrade ever.
I’m sure these used old stock tubes have way more hrs on them then the new stock tubes they replaced, which only had 900 hrs on them.
One of the reasons I’ve shied away from purchasing NOS tubes, is cost, but when you consider not only the sound improvement, but the added longevity of NOS tubes, their cost is totally justified.
3 Likes
I paid $350 per pair for the ‘70’s Mullards and they were not as good as the stock Gold Lions. Others here were emphatic that I need earlier ones from Telefunken, Amperex and the like. Just want to here the magic.
I own many variations of Mullards and they can be hit and miss to my ears. They can be warm and enveloping to flabby and very loose sounding and much in between. My issue is that I’m connected to the Telefunken “sound” and that’s what I strive for now. Second down would be Philips Miniwatt’s, then Siemens. That said, I’m loving Lorenz tubes in my BHK 300’s and Telefunken 12AU7’s in my BHK Pre. I have some Valvo 12AU7’s that sound really nice too. There’s lots of room for experimentation and plenty of surprises to be heard at not a lot of money.
1 Like
Not familiar with Lorenz tubes. Which do you have and is this your fave in the 300’s?
The Lorenz tubes I have in my BHK300’s came from Joe-Appierto they’re 7308’s and should last a long time. I’ve just sourced three quads of E188CC’s from a friend who previously used 2 quads simultaneously in an amp he used to have. They are a 7 volt variant They will last longer in a 6 volt environment. He realized that he had a large Tupperware container full of them. Luckily I was handy.
1 Like
Joe reached out to me as I didn’t look at the box. They weee 7DJ8’s similar to 7308 but not 7308.
1 Like
Pulled the trigger on some used Amperex ‘60’s tubes for the BHK 300’s. About $300 for the quad set from Andy Bowman. I will let you know in a couple weeks how they sound. Thanks again for the insight.
2 Likes
I hope they work out for you. I’m still enjoying the improvements these Amperex tubes have brought to my BhK amp and system. Have some new tubes to try in my preamp tonight, should be fun.
2 Likes
Does the BHK preamp benefit as much to rolling in premium NOS tubes as the BHK 250? I’m still amazed at how much more musical the 250 sounds with the 1963 Amprex tubes from Holland, compared to the stock tubes. I can never go back to using the stock tubes again.
Much greater difference with the preamp and the 12AU7 tubes will always be quieter in the preamp.
3 Likes
FWIW, I have not gotten the 60’s Amperex tubes yet to try in the BHK 300’s, they are one the way. But, I can say that the the Gold Lion 12AU7 sound better to me than the stock PS vanes in the BHK pre and are about the same price.
2 Likes
I replaced Tungsram PCC88s in my BK 250 with NOS Philips JAN 6922s. Nice improvement.
It could have been that the Tungsrams were tired, though. (They shipped with the amp from the previous owner).
I found some 60’s Amperex tubes made in the U.S., for sale. but wondering how they compare to the ones I have now, that were made in Holland? Anyone have any experience with Amperex tubes of the same vintage, from countries of different origins?
If they’re from the US then they’d be from the Hicksville, LI plant. Any Amperex tubes made for the US military would have come from this plant. It was a requirement that tubes sold to our military had to be made in the US. Tubes from this plant have an asterisk * in their manufacturer’s code. Tubes from the Heerlen, Holland plant would have the delta symbol instead.
I never found there to be a difference in sound although others may have.
2 Likes
Listening to Paula Cole’s album, “This Fire”, which I always found somewhat interesting, but was never able to connect to the music, or her voice, because both bordered on shrill at times, on this particular recording. Not so with the Amperex tubes in place, night and day difference.
I feel like I get the music and lyrics, along with the passion in her voice, where as before, that connection to the artist eluded me.
1 Like