"New" el84's have been discussed what about NOS

[ajkimba]

I like the Phillps EL84s from Holland, (I think).

I like JJ's but some of the old pulls really sound great. I can't spend hundreds on NOS Mullards, but what sleepers are out there hidden in different glass?

[kd]

Hello AJ,

I think Tesla hexplates are the best sounding that I've heard. Last time I bought them they were around $45 or $50 for a pair.

Ken

[Buschman]

Tesla Hexplates get my vote> Good to see ya AJ.

[Bacchus]

Yeah AJ, +1 on the Tesla Hexplates. There are so far the BEST EL84's I've put in my 18W TMB! And believe me, I've tried many!

My very close second place would be the Telam/Polams... They come up on E-bay once in a while and they're usually reasonably priced.

The Sarge (Terry Kilgore) had some pretty good NOS Russians for sale a while back, but I don't know if he still has some now. You might want to contact him and see what he has on hand…

Cheers!

[Wicksy]

Mules, Tesla hex plates and Polams would be my favourite NOS glass. RFT arent bad, neither are RCA's and i havent really tried much else

[Alexo]

There are good deals to be had on old stock Made in Japans, very good tubes, under-valued, shhhh..

[demonufo]

Tungsram are rather nice.
Sylvania black-plates too, if a little dark sounding.
Never had the chance to try Tesla's, or Mullards for that matter.
Wasn't that keen on Brimars.

[Brewmaster]

I hear more of a difference in power tubes with my 1974 clone (Trem version) than with the TMB.


Tesla Hexplates for me. I have one fresh set left, so that means with the set I have in my TMB, I'm good for a few years. I like them better than the Mullards I have. I also have a set of Hammond labeled Amperex's that sound awesome. I'm saving those for another build I have underway.

I have some RCA's in the original boxes, and a bunch of the NOS Russian made tubes the Sarge was selling as well as RFT's, BEL, and Sylvanias. I'm just a hoarder at heart and I may be selling off some of the excess. With the quality of the JJ, TAD, et.al. there is no reason to hold on to all the NOS I have when I can sell some and finance another build.

[BooBird]

Bugle Boy's Rule, i also like my Sylvania 7189's too.
Boo

[59Vampire]

I dont get around this part of town too much but Terry turned me on to the hexies about two years ago. I think they are just as good as the mullards and I have many sets of mules hangin around! The hollands are nice too.

[Duke]

I like the Phillps EL84s from Holland, (I think).

I like JJ's but some of the old pulls really sound great. I can't spend hundreds on NOS Mullards, but what sleepers are out there hidden in different glass?

AJ, I stopped in at a local radio repair shop last summer. This guy has thousands of tubes. I bought a few matched pairs at ridiculous prices. My favourite by way far is a pair of Brimars that I paid $20 a pair for. I've seen one pair like them on eBay since then and they went for over $100. These were used tubes, the eBays were NOS. Mine tested fine.