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March 3, 2009 - 10:19pm
#1
Tryin' Tasty Telefunkens
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Are they Diamond Bottoms? Diamond Bottoms are KING.
Seriously.
My last set of four was stolen by my old boss. As you might imagine, stealing a man's last set of four ECC83 NOS diamond Bottoms is a very evil act..
I was working on a set of tube Mono-blocks for him. I put my Diamond bottoms in there for him to hear, so he could know what they where about.
He sold the amps with the condition, from the buyer..that the diamond bottoms go along for the ride. He sold the amps and gave me a big fat nothing in return.
Oh, yes, I checked that first thing. They're gorgeous and sound fantastic.
Your old boss owes you, stealing a man's last set of four ECC83 Diamond Bottoms is a very evil act, as you say.
Bastard.
I just swapped out the Lafayette 12AU7s in my C-J PV12 for a set of RCA clear-tops...the C-J came with three sets of tubes, the original ones, a set of Lafayettes (which we think may be re-branded GE's; regardless, they sound great, very detailed) and a set of RCA clear-tops. It's fun mixing and matching tubes in the pre from time to time.
I just ordered a set of matched NOS Mullard 12AU7s for the PV12, and when those come in, the Mullards, the RCA clear tops, and the Telefunken are going in to be cryogenically treated. The tubes in the Jolida JD801 have all cryogenically treated.
Stephen, glad to hear someone can still afford things like diamond bottom Telefunkens in this economy. Possibly this downturn will bring some of those prices back down toward the Earth. Years and years ago I bought a stock of what were then vintage NOS tubes for my pre amp. What I paid $20 pr. for then are at last check going for about $200 pr. now. That's criminal! Even if they're becoming more and more rare, even if they sound as good as they do, that's bordering on the obscene IMO.
Have you replaced the wooden rollers in your isolation cups yet? If not, have you considered trying a few large glass marbles from the hobby store in place of the chrome ball bearings?
Hi Jan,
Well, these were expensive, but I got them for $56 each, so they weren't too expensive. Not like what those specialty tube vendors charge.
No, I still have the wooden balls in the roller block ass'y; I keep meaning to get some harder ball bearings, but keep forgetting. I thought about marbles the day I bought the wooden balls, but I couldn't find anyone that carries glass marbles anymore. The ones they had at the craft store were too small in diameter.
Sounds like "search engine" time. If you don't have someone in your immediate family who loves to shop the internet for arcane items such as "large glass marbles", you don't know what you're missing. A half day later you'll be presented with a print out of the dozen or so retailers that carry what you want, some local and some across the US of A and a dozen more than have various options that would work "just as well" along with a nice quarter sawn white oak credenza that would be perfect for the family room. And all you have to say is, "Gee, I've been looking for 'X' and I just can't find what I want." They'll take it from there.
Good price on the tubes BTW.
Stephen, you're a thinking tweaker, look at this thread and see if you have any other ideas for this problem.
http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showf...=true#Post62160
Okay, will do. BTW, your shopping post above was a riot! LOL!
Best,
Stephen.
Yeah, it would be if I didn't have to live with it 24/7.
Well, I remembered, per your query, that there was a really good toy store in the town where I work; so at lunch I went over and got some really nice, large glass marbles!
They go in tonight...another step up the ladder to audio nirvana...
Now, for that Conrad-Johnson Premier 11 A power amp....
congrats.
I happened to stumble on the score of my lifetime last year at about this time.... there is a gentleman that lives in the country about 10 miles from me..anyway, he was a US Armed Forces Radio repair guy in the 2nd war(he tells me stories of the first computers, warehouse size cooled with TONS of AC, had employees whose sole job was to walk down isles of the thing and replace tubes as they blew out!!..the crazy thing..it had about as much memory as a cell phone!
)
anyway...he came back to the USA and became a Tv/radio repair guy..well one day in the 80s he was working on a tv for like 12 hours, couldnt get it right, and walked out in a huff, never to turn those lights on again(figured if it made him that mad it wasnt worth it) ..so... he had an entire garage FULL of NOS tubes (many Tung Sols, some mullards, sylvanias, many, many others)...and I ended up buying his entire building(he was getting rid of it via auction if someone didnt haul it off) full of stuff for 2 grand. some 800 tubes, dual trace oscilloscopes...photofaxes.. im set for life. enjoying my tung sols at present
i will take pics soon and post em.
Congratulations on the score.
I use 3 Philips NOS Miniwatt ECC83's in my Tube Pre Amp and have wondered what Telefunkens might sound like instead. Have used a variety of other tubes from RCA 5751 tripple micas to Radiotrons.
The Philips ECC83 miniwatt have a nice 3D soundstage, warm mids and solid bass and airy highs and I managed to buy half a dozen at a good price.
But your Telefunkens sound like a great score. Congrats.
In 1982 I was working as a biomedical engineer at The Hospital of the University Of Pennsylvania. I was wasting time going through some unused lab space and I found a closet full of NOS Telefunken ECC82's and 83's. Over the years I have used, sold, traded or given away most of them. I have about a dozen left. I am keeping them for my own use.
The clear tops are over-rated in my opinion. Kind of a sterile, no texture presentation without the extension.
Wow. What a score.
Wow, another incredible score.