easyeyes Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Took a chance and called one of the local hi-fi dealers here in England and guess what he has available? He has the German Telefunken Smooth plates with the diamond for about 30 pounds and the Mullard long plates are going for 15 pounds. I've heard lots of talk about these tubes and wonder if the smooth plate/long plate are the ones to purchase. With the exchange rate, you know the dollar isn't doing too well, I can get the telefunken for $50 bucks each and the mullard for $25 each. I do not use my phono section so $100 for the two, are the telefunkens worth double the price or should I save some money and go with the mullards? As of right now, I do not have any back up tubes, if one goes I'm stuck. EE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Go with the Mullards, the difference in sound doesn't justify the extra 25 bucks, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 The Mullards are better anyway as far as I'm concerned. I use my Telefunken smooth plates as drivers only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 The thing I have found in reference to the mullards is yes they sound pretty darn good. But after testing littleral 100's of tubes Mullards , Amperex , RCA and so on can not hold a candle to the longevity of a Telefunkens they are almost industructable and easy to Identify. Besides I truly prefer there sound in Scott gear anyway. But $50 a tube wow !! They better be never used NOS with perfect lettering and then some ! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 You've got to be kidding. I still have quite a few of those mullards, amperex & a few telefunken (lots of GE I can unload too) from my old former days of tube rolling. Had no idea they went for so much! Hmmmmmmm....... looks like its ebay time. In all honesty, in my ARC SP6, I like the RCA's with the big red RCA letters on them made in Great Britain. If you're really interested, I may be willing to part with some of these. email me & we can talk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Art, I figured you would just donate them to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 LOL Craig Craig...well, maybe there's an exchange in our futures....... Can you rewire & rebase a KT99's for use as an 8045G? a tube I'm looking for........12ax7 made by International (IEC) out of Japan. Kinda dirty, but extremely sweet sounding. They were in my original ARC SP6A, can't find them anywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 I have some Michitac;oijpZEHFpd something or other that came in a Allied/Knight amp I have could they be something I should take another look at ?? Craig Oh and I'm sure if I have the specs on both tubes rewire the sockets as long as the transformers can handle the tube change I could do it. Is this a common tube change ? Oops just reread your post you want me to alter the tube itself uuuuummmmmmm I don't think my fat figures could handle such delicate work But can't the socket of the amp just be rewire to accomplish this ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 Craig, no, its a supposedly something where they rewire the pins for triode operation. They put a new base on the tube too. Gold Aero was doing this about 10 years ago. The KT99 & 8045G look extremely similar. I'm not sure, but it seems to me like the KT99 was, you might say, inspired, or based on the 8045G. The 8045G wasn't a "true triode". The 8045G (output) & 6240G (driver) were made specifically for the MB3045. Unique output trans too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Artto, How long have you been using the Luxmans? I always wanted to own a pair. I know that they were designed by Tim De Paravicini of EAR and had owned a pair of EAR 509's,for many years. Do you happen to know if they have similar qualities? Thanks, Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Guy, I've had them since 1979. I got a great deal on them. The dealer I bought them from had nothing but low efficiency "high-end" (lol) speakers. When they found out I had Khorns, I guess they saw it as an opportunity to dump them as they didn't have any speakers the MB3045's could drive effectively. I needed 3, so they ordered a third one from Luxman (I'm surprised Lux actually broke a pair). $250 each. The bargain of the century! And then a few years later I ordered $700 worth of tubes from Luxman. Alpine bought them out & never cashed the check! I haven't ever had the opportunity to hear the EAR 509's in direct comparison with the MB3045. But from what I know, De Paravicini used a similar design concept for the EAR's. In the MB3045's the "trick" is apparently in the output transformer. Its quadrafilar wound (4 parallel wires wound together). Its what De Paravicini called his balanced-bridge or cross-shunt design which basically makes the tube that is "on", automatically force the other tube "off" at the crossover point, eliminating crossover or notch distortion. And according to De Paravicini, that circut is also the basis of the EAR 509 MkII and EAR 549 valve power amplifiers. The amps are extremely well built. I'd say, as far as tube amps go, they are very neutral sounding. But still have the ability to "see" every detail. Great presentation of space. And, they are dead quiet. Turned all the way up, with your ear to the Khorns, there is absolutely no noise or hum. They have a very powerful low end (flat to 12Hz at full output) & a nice "bloom". That full bodied tube sound with the solidness of SS sound on the low end. If you ever get a hold of some, beware! Most of the ones out there have been modified to use a different output tube, usually KT88. KT88 has less than 1/3 the current capacity of the 8045G. It really doesn't do the amp any justice. There were also some mod's for EL34 & a Julius Futterman version using 6LF6. IMO the Futterman version was the best mod, but I believe the 6LF6 is out of production now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Thanks for sharing that info. I will keep looking for a pair. Is there a source or an equivalent for the 8045G tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn58 Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 wow the telefunkens are up there! I just tested my all orig scott 299b tubes (smothplate telefunkens.) all tested 100 on my sencoore tc162 tester. the 299b works and looks like new but is missing the rectifire tube.some how it got broken in a move. I have been sitting on this one for 10 years .It was found at the local dump when I was dumping.I just could/nt let it sit there having grown up with my fathers 299a.Which I still have.Gata get these tuned up to use again. would go nice with my vintage hersey's. whats a good rectifire tube to use with the telefunkens Maybey ill get some rca or mullereds for the other scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Guy......yeah......me, LOL I have about a dozen used originals & 17 NOS Gold Aero. Unfortuantely they don't last long. I've got about 400 hours on them & one tube in one of the amps is already starting to go (a Gold Aero). Seriously though, they come up on ebay once & a while. A pair of used original 8045G usually fetches $300+. There's really no exact substitute for the 8045G. The Gold Aero 8045G were made from Ei KT99 (I believe). Thats why I was asking Craig if he could externally rewire KT99 as a triode. The original 8045G was actually a pentode power beam internally wired as a triode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Thanks again artto, There was a very nice pair on Audiogon,about a month ago. They were in mint condition with original box/manuals and low hours 8045G's. The seller asked for $1500. Is it a fair price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 I think its very fair if its in orginal condition. Right now I think the prices are down because people are afraid of the tubes being out of prodcution for many years. I've seen Futterman modified ones going for $1800+. If you buy any of these, and you are using them with something like a Khorn, you can probably get away with lowering the bias. The spec calls for .75volts. I've got mine biased at .67V now. And may reduce it down to .6V. Should make the tubes last a lot longer if you don't need the power. Also, be aware that these amps are a real pain in the *** to bias & need to be rebiased more frequently than most amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted March 21, 2003 Share Posted March 21, 2003 Thanks again, I'll keep that in mind. I've became insane(poster). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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