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Help me decide which E88CC tubes i should buy

Hey

I spent 2 days researching about tubes, from technicalities like measurements, what to look for when buying etc how they sound and which sound the best as a common consensus.

I only need a single driver tube for my Decware Taboo MK III, currently i am using a Siemens E88CC with silver shields, 2x Tungsram EL84 and 1x Svetlana rectifier.

Khadas tone board as DAC and Fostex X00 Purple Hearts as headphones. I really like how the Siemens sounds but i am not the first owner of the amp so i can't say how much use that tube has gotten already.

I've also tried the Philips SQ Heerlen '60, which are a bit cleaner/slightly less veiled than the Siemens, they were not new either around 66%/70% of NOS value. So it may not be a direct apple to apple comparison. They seem to boost the midrange quite a bit tho which is very noticable considering that my headphones have very recessed mids.

After testing back and forth i always end up back to the Siemens and don't feel the need to look back, but as soon as i try my Philips for more than 1 hour i start to miss the Siemens. But i don't think that the Siemens are objectively better than the Philips.

Anyway. I narrowed it down to:

Siemens E88CC. cca. Telefunken cca, Amperex 7038 or Amperex PQ US made, Reflector 1975 "holy grail".

They all score well above 100% except the Reflector which are like 95% of NOS spec and all costs around 80$, except the Siemens e88cc might find for a bit less.

Any suggestions?

I couldn't find much info on the Reflector seems a bit of a dark horse except that one head-fi thread where 17 tubes get compared. Really as good as they say or just one persons experience?

It would be interesting to hear your opinions and experiences, i haven't found any posts where these tubes get compared.

Best regards


128x128yoshimitsu
chazzzy007
540 posts
 

jtcf891 posts02-28-2020 7:19pmReflektors are warm with great bass.That's what I hear anyway:-)
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Reflektors are not warm sounding tubes.

Musical, yes. Warm? Not in the sense of a Tele or any of the other warm sounding tubes. 75 silver shields are just to the musical side of the spectrum without sounding overly warm and lush. They are highly detailed and dynamic while also maintaining a great sense of musicality.

The bass is balanced, fast and controlled.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,741 posts
 
two thoughts, trying to fix headphones w tube sounds backwards to me, but hey we are where we are.

I would call Andy at Vintage Tube in Michigan. Only guy I really trust at the end of the test equipment needed to find a perfect tube. RAM tubes also, but Andy for what you seek...

have fun
chazzzy007
540 posts
 
Andy is a good guy but will sell you what he has in stock. The Tele 6dj8’s I bought were from Andy. The first set had a bad tube. The replacement set was mismatched, and while I was waiting for the 3rd set I ordered the Reflektors. With Zero hours on them the Reflectors were better than the Tele’s which by then had about 150 hours. I kept the Reflectors in my 205 and never looked back.

Andy is a good guy and apologized for the entire episode but he’s not anywhere near infallible.
yoshimitsu's avatar
yoshimitsu OP
9 posts
 
Not trying to fix headphones, just an observation.

About Andy, i am not a big fan of selection processes like he does.

If a tube is NOS and unused, factory surplus etc the tube should work great.

Factories had quality control aswell back then.

Also his doing rather agressive marketing trying to cause distrust and sceptiscism towards competition. The prices are outrageous aswell, 200$ for a pair of EL84 is a scam.


jmolsberg's avatar
jmolsberg
467 posts
 
Amperex JAN 7308 white label was my fave when I owned decware. 
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