mike stehr Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Anyone know of any sources to find Mullards without getting jacked? $300 for a matched quad of EL-84's is a little ridiculous. All I need are 2 ECC83/12AX7, 2 EZ-81/6CA4 full-wave Rectifiers, and four EL-84/6BQ5's. The way it's looking, I'm not terribly concerned if they are NOS, good used tested, and matched wouldn't hurt my feelings. Telefunken or Brimar would be fine, but these are probably just as spendy. I may have to settle for Philips, or RCA. Is this the goin' rate for Mullards?! THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Would you believe that's actually a pretty fair price on those Mullards? I would buy the EL-84 Tesla JJ's (Slovakian) from 'Ned' at Triode Electronics here . Click on 'tubes' on the right and find your tube. The Teslas in Matched quad will run you $39.90. He also has the Tesla 12AX7's in matched pairs for $19.00. I couldn't find your 6CA4's there. For NOS and hard to find tubes I would use Brent Jesse. You can find him here . After you get to the page, use your browser find utility (for IExplorer click on edit, scroll down to find) and search the page for your tube you need. Looks like he has the 6CA4 for $10.00 a piece. You could also buy your 12AX7's from him if you wanted. They would be NOS and might cost a little more. Welcome to tube hell ------------------ Deanf>s> Cary AE-25f>s>SuperAmpf>s> - Sonic Frontiers Line 1 - Sony DVP-S9000ES - Klipsch RF7's SVS 20-39 CS Plus - Samson S1000 - HSU Research elec. crossover - MIT/Monsters f>s> Inside every small problem is a large problem struggling to get outf>c>s>-- 2nd Law of Blissful Ignorancef>s>c> This message has been edited by deang on 05-19-2002 at 06:05 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted May 19, 2002 Share Posted May 19, 2002 Hi Mike, I can see you're about ready to put your amps in service, congratulations. The bad news first. Unfortunately, Mullard EL84s are probably the most coveted NOS EL84, the hardest to find, therefore the high prices you see. NOS EZ81/6CA4s Mullards or almost any of the desirable brands are also not easy to find as pairs. Many guitar amps use only one and are your competitors for them. The beginning of the good news is, Mullard 12AX7/ECC83s are easier to find along with many other good choices. There is an opinion review of 12AX7s on the Welborne site. Joes Tube Lore I prefer Mullard but this is interesting reading. Additional good news. Mullard manufactured EL84s, ECC83s under other brand names like Webcor, Daystron, among others and are good finds. Tube World sells a very good pair of EZ81s for $25 that I used until I found Mullards. Kelly also list some NOS alternatives on his EICO page for all of the tubes you need. I'll also check my "vault" for you. I may have some Siemens/Phillips made in Germany EL84's, and some nice ECC83s. I send you an email. Klipsch out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 19, 2002 Author Share Posted May 19, 2002 Thanx! Dean, Jazman. There is quite a few tube retailers on the net. I guess I better start saving some money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arco Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 Mike, As I have found out, tube prices are more or less the same over the Internet, at least when you buy from reputable sellers. And I say reputable because, regarding coveted tubes (Mullards, Telefunkens etc...) there is a whole industry of "phony" items going on. So you might pay less for a quartet of EL84's, just to discover (or not, for that matter) that you bought chinese tubes with the adequate silk screening! Fortunately, there are also some physical characteristics attached to the tubes: Regarding original Mullards, for example, there must always be two small protrusions at the top of the tubes. This has to do with the specific machines Mullard used and can also be observed on the tubes made by Matshshita in Japan (Mullard sold them the tube making machinery!). If you cannot, finally, find appropriate Mullards my opinion is that you should try the PHILIPS ECG ones. Rather cheap, much easier to find and not bad at all! Good Luck, Aristidis www.aca.gr/pop_coumpas.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barista Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 Mike, here is another option... Get some Electro Harmonix EL-34s. They are basically replicas of the origional Mullard reference tube from 1966. Here is a chart of the EH EL-34 Vs. The Origional Mullard. Clickity Click! Clickity Click A full quad shouldn't cost you anymore than $80 (I've seen them with matched pairs for $60). I've got a set on my Sound Valves VTA-70i and they sound wonderful. Plenty of bass, and very punchy. Nice smooth sound overall. Very pleasing. They aren't exactly Mullards, but they are the closest thing you will find without spending 4X as much. Good Luck! ------------------ Barista T. Bill This message has been edited by Barista on 05-20-2002 at 11:31 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 barista, He needs EL84's not EL34's. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShapeShifter Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 Mike, I could not find affordable NOS Mullards. I used a Matched Quad of Tesla/JJ's from Ned at Triode, before finding a Match Quad of NOS Amperex Bugle Boy Holland 7189's. I'm still keeping an eye out for the Mullards, but haven't found any within my price range. Will keep you in mind if a source surfaces. Wes ------------------ KLIPSCH IS MUSICf> My Systems f>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLOUNDER Posted May 20, 2002 Share Posted May 20, 2002 Good luck finding Mullard 6BQ5's in the price range you can afford. They are rare and command a high price. You might try the Sovtek EL 84M 6BQ5's, I've used them for the past four years and have had good luck with them. The price from Ned at Triode is very reasonable too. The Brimar ECC83's work very well in my amps. What type of amps are you using? I'm currently using Fisher model 30A mono blocks that use the same tube complement. ------------------ Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 21, 2002 Author Share Posted May 21, 2002 Two Eico HF-12 integrated mono amps. Minus the integrated part, and two Tubes in the circuit. Just straight mono amps now. The 5751 type(Driver for 12AX7) sounds like it's worth a try for the price, thanks for the link, Jazman. It is a interesting article. Maybe I should just live with the Russian tubes you sent with the amps. But I really do need decent 6CA4 rectifier tubes matched, and at least one Mullard/Eico 12AX7. I have one. Has anyone compared either by listening or measuring a Bugle Boy Amperex against a straight up Amperex? 12AX7, 6DJ8 the type of tube doesn't really matter with this question. Has anyone ever looked over a bugle boy and just a plain Amperex to see if there is any difference in their construction? I'm really curious about this one, could this be Marketing? That little silkscreened Tube playing a Bugle? Tube Hell indeed. THANX! This message has been edited by mike stehr on 05-21-2002 at 07:40 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted May 21, 2002 Share Posted May 21, 2002 email brent jesse he's a walking tube catalog ------------------ Deanf>s> Cary AE-25f>s>SuperAmpf>s> - Sonic Frontiers Line 1 - Sony DVP-S9000ES - Klipsch RF7's SVS 20-39 CS Plus - Samson S1000 - HSU Research elec. crossover - MIT/Monsters f>s> Inside every small problem is a large problem struggling to get outf>c>s>-- 2nd Law of Blissful Ignorancef>s>c> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted May 22, 2002 Share Posted May 22, 2002 Mike, I've been going through my tubes, so look for an email from me tomorrow or the next day before you spend money. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 22, 2002 Author Share Posted May 22, 2002 Jazman, I won't have any extra cash until the 31st. I'm in no hurry. I finally just started sourcing tubes to see what is out there. Gee, now I know why I was so reluctant. You know, you don't have to sell me your spare tubes if you don't want to. But if you need the extra money, I'll have it. I would rather kick you the cash anyway. I really love these Eico's, a few more bugs and I should be ready for some good tubes. Everyone that has had listened to these amps is simply blown away by how good these old dogs sound. Except my girlfreind, she just keeps telling me to turn them down. She has mentioned that they sound more clear at lower levels. She also mentioned that I might losing my mind with this Audio thing. It is a addictive hobby. THANX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted May 24, 2002 Share Posted May 24, 2002 Mike, You've got multiple email. Check it ASAP. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted May 26, 2002 Author Share Posted May 26, 2002 Jazman!!! You have sent me Emails, I have replied to two of them on Friday. You have sent me two more today, I resent one and replied to the other. Are you recieving my Email replies?? They claim to be sent. Wotta PITA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted May 26, 2002 Share Posted May 26, 2002 Mike, Sorry, my web interface for my ISP email program has been suffering spasms. The additional emails you are getting are the result of messages I attemted to send two days ago and are somehow just getting through the mail server. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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