E80cc comparison
- Thread starter Sablon Audio
- Start date
It’s a lot of money I know but the improvement in sound quality was like moving up a couple of equipment levels. It’s quite an extraordinary valve but I didn’t hear what it was capable of until I changed the rectifier away from a Tak274b.
The tube on the left could be an old version from Valvo ?
Kind regards , Alexander .
Kind regards , Alexander .
Thanks Marc! I have tried the ecc40 but i find them being a bit "thick" sounding in my system... Really like the E80CC and wants to explore among the different ones. When I asked for more information I meant information that made it easier to buy the specific tubes you were describing as year, code.... For me the tube world is a jungle and I'm having a hard time to figure out if all the "red label" Tungsram is as the ones you reviewed or if it is specific ones....
At the time being me system is hooked up with your XLR (which Rikard had the kindness and generosity to lend me! Amazing cables! Congratulations on a work well done and thank you for sharing your experiences with different tubes to the Baltic!
I´m definitely interested so please let me know what you're willing to sell and price.. Kind regards. JP
Hi JP, thanks for the kind words and I’m glad you’re enjoying my evo xlr cable!
I do agree that the ecc40 is thicker sounding but Rikard has a sweeter tooth
I’m not clear which model of e80cc you have there but if it is Siemens labelled with rhodium pins then it was made by Tungsram. If however it has gold pins then it would be Philips Heerlen production. I prefer the Tungsram as it is clearer and higher resolution.
The regular Tungsram production had yellow print on them but the better testing examples had red print and were aimed at industrial users. I’m not sure which of these would have been supplied to Siemens.
My general rule with buying tubes is to try buy the oldest examples because they were made to higher standards, before the introduction of transistors led to cost cutting.
With Tungsram tubes, they usually have a little silver tag inside to indicate the date though to an extent this is less critical in valves made inside the ‘iron curtain’. For Philips tubes, you will find date codes printed between the pins but they will look like hieroglyphics unless you refer to online lists.
Before we go much further though, it would be useful to consider your budget as some of these rarer pieces with pinched waist and D foil getters are expensive, with a capital ‘F’! That money could be better spent elsewhere in your system and fwiw lampi dacs are very responsive to clean power (Cord / fuse / rectifier) so it may be better to pick some low hanging fruit in these areas first. @VoicesInMyHead is very knowledgeable in these areas and I’m sure will be happy to guide you.
I do agree that the ecc40 is thicker sounding but Rikard has a sweeter tooth
I’m not clear which model of e80cc you have there but if it is Siemens labelled with rhodium pins then it was made by Tungsram. If however it has gold pins then it would be Philips Heerlen production. I prefer the Tungsram as it is clearer and higher resolution.
The regular Tungsram production had yellow print on them but the better testing examples had red print and were aimed at industrial users. I’m not sure which of these would have been supplied to Siemens.
My general rule with buying tubes is to try buy the oldest examples because they were made to higher standards, before the introduction of transistors led to cost cutting.
With Tungsram tubes, they usually have a little silver tag inside to indicate the date though to an extent this is less critical in valves made inside the ‘iron curtain’. For Philips tubes, you will find date codes printed between the pins but they will look like hieroglyphics unless you refer to online lists.
Before we go much further though, it would be useful to consider your budget as some of these rarer pieces with pinched waist and D foil getters are expensive, with a capital ‘F’! That money could be better spent elsewhere in your system and fwiw lampi dacs are very responsive to clean power (Cord / fuse / rectifier) so it may be better to pick some low hanging fruit in these areas first. @VoicesInMyHead is very knowledgeable in these areas and I’m sure will be happy to guide you.
Thanks for you extensive information! Rikard has indeed been my highly appreciated guide and sold me a couple of tubes as the E80CC tubes and a gn1064 Telefunken mesh anode from 1934!
Ok! I have to buy som E80CC Tubes and E83f as spare if nothing else. Upgraded all my power cables a couple of weeks ago with great result and will follow your (and Rikards) recommendation and change the fuse aswell!
Ok! I have to buy som E80CC Tubes and E83f as spare if nothing else. Upgraded all my power cables a couple of weeks ago with great result and will follow your (and Rikards) recommendation and change the fuse aswell!
I do like e83f instead of 6sn7 but feel that it works better with a denser sounding / solid plate rectifier. Am very much enjoying an early viennese production tungsram pv4200 along with the valvo d foil e83f (and nickel e80cc)
Thanks! Will try to get a hold of one of those but seems a bit challenging to find!
You probably won't find one easily however I am told that the Budapest built barium version is very good. The Valvo g2004 solid plate / ST shape is also a decent contender and is easily available at low prices.
maybe
it is tyical that
valvo hamburg code has D as first character in the (usually) second line.
philips herleen code has ? as first character in (usually) second line.
tungsram codes i do not understand, and their smaller tubes like ECC83 and 82 have metal tag.
it is also typical that valvo and philips have gold pins, while tungsram has rhodium pins. most of the E80CC have ribbed box plates. it is typical that tungsram have 4 holes on both side of each plate, while valvo and philips have 2 on each side at the top and bottom. but the tungsram nickel plate has smooth plates and 2 holes.
they both have seams cris-crossing the crown of the tube.
the tube on the left has smooth plates, 2 holes and black pins. the black pins i have only seen once before. i heres another like it on flea bay
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