Amperex 12ax7.. Matched pair... Worth $70 ?

larry777

I can get a matched pair of Amperex 12AX7 tubes made in Heerlen Holland in 1968 for $70. Matching date codes of Delta 8c1 & 8c2 (I-65 Revision). They have Grey ladder plates with one side hole plate and top Halo Getter. They test good and are quiet and clean. Tube 1 tests 103-102 and tube 2 is 109-105. Is this a good price for these tubes, or should I look for something else for my Yaqin MC-100B amp ?

heiney9

What type of label do they have? Orange World Globe? For $70 that's a fair price. While still nice tubes anything after about 1965-1966 starts to loose some of the magic, IMO. Tube manufacturing and materials started to decline because tube sales hit the wall about that time and by the early 70's tubes weren't near as good as the earlier days. Anything with orange AMPEREX label or Orange World Globe label are most likely distributed by Richardson Electronics who bought out Amperex.

1968 is right on that line, but $70 is a very fair price for 12AX7's...........Certainly better than many of the Chinese and Russian offerings. I generally don't buy anything after 1966 unless it's something like a Ei, etc.

Hope this helps. Also keep in mind gray ladder with single side hole and halo getter are very common and available.

H9

larry777

Thanks for the update H9. Maybe I will try to get even more details about these tubes especially since they are common. I wonder what else is out there thats better in this price range ? I understand RCA Blackplates are good also.

heiney9

Early RCA black plates are excellent, one of my faves. But they sound a bit different than a typical vintage Amperex. What power tubes are you running in the Yaqin? The RCA's in general are a tad darker and have a slightly creamier midrange, sublime on vocals. In general the Amperex's of the vintage you are looking at are a tad more sparkly and might sound a tad lean in the midrange compared to the RCA's. Earlier Amperex from Holland have a very nice airy, open soundstage. The 1958 and 1959 Amperex long plates are to die for!! But very pricey and typically hard to find.

It really takes experimentation in ones rig to determine which is "better". That's the thing with tubes, it's a rabbit hole in order to experiment and find what works for you.

heiney9

Duplicate post

larry777

The power tubes in the Yaqin are 4 stock KT88-98's. The others are 4 stock 6n8p (6sn7) along with the 2 12AX7B's. To replace, I thought it best to start with the 12AX7...then the 6sn7 and last the KT-88 ,and so I am learning what I can now. Just bought the amp new in December and its not broken in yet with less than the 100 hours. First I was thinking Tung Sol reissue, Psvane or Gold Lion for the 12ax7's then I starting reading about NOS ( you know how it is ). Feedback on line suggests that this amp responds very well to tube rolling especially the 12ax7 and 6sn7 tubes. Most people find the KT-88's pretty good overall and leave them until last to replace. Maybe thats not the way to do it,I don't know as I am completely new to tubes.

larry777

Update : I found Electrohome 12AX7 tubes with the short Gray ladder plates...Halo Getter...date code 1963...Phillips/Amperex. They came from a working Electrohome Organ and have ridges/seams at the top of the tubes. They are I-65 and have the Amperex flash when turned on. They are advertised to be in great shape with little use and are going for $25 each or $20 each if you buy 6 or more. Any comments on these ? Research shows that these tubes were made by Phillips/Amperex.

organ

Check the seller's feedback first. "Little use" can mean different things to different people. Every organ pull I've purchased were tested first.

heiney9

larry777 wrote: »

Update : I found Electrohome 12AX7 tubes with the short Gray ladder plates...Halo Getter...date code 1963...Phillips/Amperex. They came from a working Electrohome Organ and have ridges/seams at the top of the tubes. They are I-65 and have the Amperex flash when turned on. They are advertised to be in great shape with little use and are going for $25 each or $20 each if you buy 6 or more. Any comments on these ? Research shows that these tubes were made by Phillips/Amperex.

Many, many Electohome tubes were manufactured in Canada since Electrohome was a Canadian company. Philips had a plant in Canada. Just know what you are buying. At $25 a piece they probably aren't Heerlen or French made Philips tubes. I personally have never taken a chance with the Canadian manufactured Philips tubes, but I'm sure they are good, especially @ $25/piece. If the seller is reputable for that price they are probably a good choice.

Code will look something like this:
I65
r3G2

H9

P.s. The French made Amperex tubes sound just as good to me as the standard Heerlen made tubes of the same vintage. I would assume the Canadian tubes are good too.

larry777

Thanks for the additional info as it is all helpful. The tubes were tested by the seller and all tested excellent. The codes are I65 r3G2 and I65 r3F3 & 3F4 which looks like the 2nd week of July and the 3rd and 4th week of June 1963. These tubes are showing as 9 on the audiogon scale so maybe worth a try at that price. All tubes were taken from a working Electrohome organ.