Is Northern Electric the NEW W.E.?

[rcavictim]

I have watched in amusement as the sums being bid for ancient Western Electric theater type sound equipment components and original tubes approach what the rest of us are used to paying for our automobiles or in some cases our house. Well no doubt some of this stuff sounds like heaven on earth and I do not challenge the quality. It is just a shock to see what some enthusiasts will pay for audio gear with enormous peer group status.

Since the supply of original WE amps are all but dicovered and sold by now to the pacific rim market I think I am seeing evidence of Northern Electric amplifiers becoming noticed by cash endowed audio collectors. IMO there is no difference in the quality of the hardware. Northern Electric was in the same way as Western Electric, a manufacturer of very high quality telephone plant gear and associated stuff.

Last night a 1935 mint but untested vintage pair of N.E. R4045C P-P 6L6 monobloc amplifiers (2 X 6L6 in straight pentode mode with one 5U4 rectifier and a phase splitting input xfmer i.e. no line stage preamp/driver) located in Hawaii got chased by three very determined bidders to the winning price of $3,309.00 US, about $3,571.00 CDN. Shipping off island to just about anywhere is gonna cost an additional $400.00 US. Last year I saw another pair of these fine amplifiers go for about half this price at around $1,600.00 US.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=250118364824

Question, are we seeing a trend here? Is NE becoming the new WE as WE stocks become next to unobtanium?

Am I smiling because I`m sitting on a mint working pair of these NE R4045C monoblocs? You betcha`!