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what is the holy grail of 6922/E88CC's?


Schu

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I am looking to do some rolling here... I need to find a good set of 6922/E88CC that will deliver warmth and more important clarity.

I don't mind paying, but since I am fairly new to this, what are some highly regarded 6922/E88CC tubes... preferably units are good from a value perspective.

I don't mind paying for telefunkens if they actually deliver... and are real NOS.

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dont forget the 61np's gold grids for about 4 bucks each and regualr grids for less than 2 bucks each.

The HK 6922 will hiss in some systems..not sure why...all sonic frontier sfl-2's hiss with HK 6922's. Mine included.

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Silence is important for me... i cant live without the quite.

What amp are you using? My amp employs only one 6922 on the input side. Im finding this to sound really nice and dead quite my power tubes are el34's. I recommend looking at upscale audio's website. They offer a sonic descriptions of their tubes and offer great service.

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I'm inclined to believe Viktor at BAT knows a good 6922 as both my VK-3i Pre amp and P5 are loaded with the Sovteks or maybe they just sound good on his gears. Some say Mullard's, some say Amperex or I stumbled on this once ;)

The following ubiquitous quote from the TubeMuseum Famous Review of the Best Top 6922 Audio tubes ever.

1) E88CC or CCa Siemens & Halske 1950's to 1960’s D getter or 1960's O getter halo "Rarest and most sought after CCa, has gray or silver shield between plates and Frame-Grid construction. Most realistic sounding holographic soundstage, pure seductive sonic joy, Complex symphonic images emerge effortlessly

2) E88CC or CCa Telefunken West Germany 1960's "Excellent neutral holographic soundstage, vast vocabulary of tone Establishes remarkable layers of harmonics, very rare

3) E88CC or CCa Siemens & Halske A-FRAME construction late 1960's to early 1970's Beautiful open air holographic images, low microphonic tube construction, rare. Sonically Brilliant, Pristine, Musical & Therapeutic

4) E88CC or CCa LORENZ West Germany early 1960's Beautiful open air holographic images, very rare

5) E88CC or CCa VALVO Heerlen Holland 1960's Real sonic holography, extremely rare

6) E88CC or CCa Siemens single stem halo early 1970’s Fast & Accurate reproduction of tonal tapestries. Excellent performance, smooth highs, outstanding 3-D holographic soundstage, lots of open-air, inner detail, and overall perfect resolution and balanced sound. Improved dynamics, frequency extension across the spectrum are immediately obvious, making the music sound much more accurate and real. A major improvement over other E88CC / 6922

Audio tubes in general need to settle-in to the new environment, and get better with 'burn-in'. With the Siemens Halske E88CC you are going to hear ALL the frequencies passing through your system, the more sensitive the tube the more you will hear. You are using AUDIO GRADE tubes with the Siemens E88CC, which have a sonic-signature that reproduces not only the 'odd’ harmonics (1-3-5 etc.) but also the 'even' harmonics (2-4-6 etc.) The new tubes made today in China and Russia only reproduce 'odd' harmonics - that’s why everyone upgrades to a vintage made tube made decades ago when these rare 'earth-metals' were available in the inner construction of the vintage tube - now these metals are too expensive to use and today’s tube-makers have found cheaper substitutes which seem to work but do not reproduce all the nuances and textures in music. ... The Tube Museum New York
Edited by kaiser SET say
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I am looking to do some rolling here... I need to find a good set of 6922/E88CC that will deliver warmth and more important clarity.

I don't mind paying, but since I am fairly new to this, what are some highly regarded 6922/E88CC tubes... preferably units are good from a value perspective.

I don't mind paying for telefunkens if they actually deliver... and are real NOS.

IMHO, the cleanest, best sounding alternative to that tube is a vintage Siemens CCa. Not just any Siemens though, got to find the yellow box with blue seal. This tube is the Holy Grail you seek, no doubts.

I've rolled Telefunken E88CC's, RCA ECC88's, Bugle Boy 6DJ8's, Mullards you name it. The vintage NOS Siemens to me is hands down the best of the lot. Good luck finding one though.

Here's a pic of my two favorite variants of that tube type.....

post-10277-0-29220000-1390936728_thumb.j

Edited by Gilbert
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You will find that there will be alot of different opinions on this, and in most cases all the answers are right. The problem is this tubes can be very system dependant, so it will depend on your system as to which tubes sound the best. You have already gotten some good answers, for the most part the CCA's, Telefunkens, and the Gold Pin Amperex tubes are the best I ever tried in my system. These three top of the line tubes are usually real quiet also. For me it's the Telefunkens hands down I tried them all and could not best the Tele's for sound and quiet. At the same time though I used the Amperex 7308 JAN Gold Pin tubes in a different application and nothing could touch them, so it also depends on the application. PM me if you want more help...

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Definitely buy from a reputable dealer - if you're into tubes, its always beneficial to develop a relationship with a dealer you can trust. If you want to find the best sounding tube for your system and don't mind spending $$$, then I'd suggest buying several brands/types and listen for yourself. Each brand tends to feature characteristics that may appeal to you and match well with your unit, others not so much so there really isn't one 'best-sounding' tube out there as its very dependent on the application. Also, while these super rare and uber-expensive tubes do sound great, they're best implementation is in sensitive preamps and phono stages and remember, a good portion of their cost can be attributed to their scarcity, not just their sonics. They really don't stand out in the usual amplifier's driver stage and in most other gear, a similar but substantially more common NOS tube of the same manufacturer will provide all but maybe the last 1% of the sonics of the super tubes at a much lower price.

Edited by JBryan
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while these super rare and uber-expensive tubes do sound great, they're best implementation is in sensitive preamps and phono stages and remember, a good portion of their cost can be attributed to their scarcity, not just their sonics. They really don't stand out in the usual amplifier's driver stage and in most other gear, a similar but substantially more common NOS tube of the same manufacturer will provide all but maybe the last 1% of the sonics of the super tubes at a much lower price.

very good points... something I was already thinking about. I've been thinking about Gelanex golds or perhaps Mullards for my first

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while these super rare and uber-expensive tubes do sound great, they're best implementation is in sensitive preamps and phono stages and remember, a good portion of their cost can be attributed to their scarcity, not just their sonics. They really don't stand out in the usual amplifier's driver stage and in most other gear, a similar but substantially more common NOS tube of the same manufacturer will provide all but maybe the last 1% of the sonics of the super tubes at a much lower price.

very good points... something I was already thinking about. I've been thinking about Gelanex golds or perhaps Mullards for my first

This is true. When I call Brent Jesse I tell him what function the tube does. I also tell him I don't care about rarity or labels. There are lots of primo tubes with different labels that just don't command the same prices. They have yet to steer me wrong.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just bought two matched pairs of Genelex Gold Lion ECC88/6922 reissues from Jim McShane for my Audio Research PH5 phono stage. Jim tests and burns in the Gold Lion reissue tubes he sells. Anyway, I couldn;t be happier with my purchase. These aren't inexpensive, but Jim stands behind what he tests and sells, and I've only had great service and reliable tubes from him. I have had no problems with microphony or noise from the Gold Lion reissues. For my Audio Research LS7 line stage, I recently purchased two matched pairs of tested JJ E88CC/6922 tubes. This is what I have in my LS7 now, and I really like the warm midrange and sweet highs. My new set of JJ's is coming from the Tube Depot, since Jim McShane does not carry them anymore.

I'm sure that there are great NOS and OS 6922's out there as many have recommended. I usually get the best new production tubes I can get from reputable dealers.

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I paid Brent Jesse $250 for my 60's Siemens Cca and it sounds amazing in the NBS preamp! These can be noisy tubes so you must buy from a reputable dealer. I had many conversations with Brent and he is a straight up guy. He will be my only tube resource in the future.

Mike

Edited by Mike Lindsey
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I have used the following 6922 tubes in my set amps: Sylvania JAN, Gold lion reissue, Russian military equivilant( 6pnp? can't remember), and Bugle boys. The bugle boys are far and away the best sounding overall. The jan tubes and Russian tubes are a little brighter, the Gold Lions a little darker. Of course this is in my set up. Your mileage may vary. I have heard the pinched waist Amperex tubes were the very best out there, but I'm not willing to remortgage my house to find out!

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  • 3 years later...

https://zosoncsu.com/2017/09/11/1963-amperex-holland-7308-w-bugle-boy-logo-first-one-ever-verified-by-audiotubes-com/


Never before seen 7308 Bugle Boy Tube: Amperex (Holland) 7308 labeled (eqiv. E88CC or better) w/ the Bugle Boy logo (w/ production & date codes: 1963). First 7308 Holland Bugle Boy Ever Verified by AudioTubes.com in 20 years and counting.

I am gauging interest to see where people would put the value of this ultra rare and amazing sounding tube vs. other rare tubes. However this is a different caliber of rare even to say a CCa Siemens or the famous MiniWatt line, those are just hard to find due to cost at time of production resulting in low volume. The tube I have which still tests out at 77 out of 100 on my 82A tube tester (in line with orig Ebay test results in link above); being made in 1963 and it found its way to the US through Canada.

I found it on Ebay and had a strong suspicion this could be a diamond in the rough (ugly metallic Tektronix Sticker rating) at purchase. However I had to take a chance on it and pay the premium for an Amperex 7308 Holland ($70-$80) testing about 85% with no shorts or leaks present. Screen still in good shape, overall the tube itself was nearly perfect except that ugly sticker.. I did indeed notice the Bugle Boy logo showing barely at the bottom of the Tektronix sticker and did some research. AudioTubes.com lead me to believe this had to be a fake, since all they had ever seen  claiming Bugle Boy + Holland 7308 were always fakes from Richardson Electronics dressing up 6922's. This is why the fakes never have 7308 batch codes as you'll see in the photo (VR = 7308 for 1963). The Bugle Boy logo was older than the Tektronix sticker which meant it wasn't fake, AudioTubes.com only challenged the 7308 status which I then countered with various photos showing the VR code using both enchanced and non-enhanced photos. At this point Brent verified this as the only one ever seen in 20 years of AudioTubes.com!

I was offered $200 in 2015, but turned it down right after Brent from AudioTubes.com verified the tube as a real Bugle Boy, the first spotted online. $200 is about what a CCa brings, so what would you all value this tube at?


 

Quote

"In 20 years of tube collecting and tube selling, this is the FIRST real Bugle Boy 7308 I have ever seen!  It appears your tube was originally imported into Canada, as it has HOLLAND etched into the glass at the top.  This was standard for all Philips/Amperex tubes that were imported or sold in Canada.  It is just possible that for some reason the Bugle Boy labels were only sold in Canada?  The Holland name sandblasted into the glass is only seen on Dutch Philips or Amperex tubes coming out of Canada.


I think, due to the extreme rarity of a real Holland made and date coded 7308 Bugle boy, that 99% of those you actually encounter are fakes from Richardson Electronics.  Your pictures do reinforce some facts that still tell the real thing from the fake:  The fake 7308 or 6922 tubes NEVER have date codes or production codes on them.  Yours does, so I will concede that you have one of the very few real Bugle Boy 7308 tubes in existence." - Brent from AudioTubes.com in an Email Response to Me

 

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Edited by HallmanLabs
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