Unofficial Tube Market Survey

[6f6]

Which tubes would you all like to see in production again? Hopefully someone will take notice of this and try to get article in audio mags and drive a new market for replications of classic tubes. For my own part, I would love to see some new 01A and 6A8G production. The 01A could be used by the audio crowd and the antique radio crowd. The 6A8 was an extremely common converter used in many radios. Incidentally, it also is useful in making small homebrew AM transmitters- but it costs about $20 to get one if its in stock. What are your guys' choice for repro tubes?

 

[SY]

6LF6
EC8020
T160L

 

[jon_010101]

The Bendix Red Bank series would be at the top of my fantasy list.

 

[kevinkr]

71A, 01A, 12A, 26...

D3A, 5842/417A (Westrex may make these soon, but the price will be stratospheric.)

Nothing very exotic on my list..

 

[ak_47_boy]

STC4212 would be cool, but not too practical i think.

 

[richwalters]

Solely the stuff I'm using all the time;
As per SY with additions

12BY7A for my HAM radio.
6550A version.
Geometrically redesigned innards for the KT90 to blow away KT88's.
EF86
My demands are modest.

richj

Time "antique" was renamed "heritage" audio ?

 

[Tubelab_com]

Sy wants the 6LF6, I would prefer the 6LW6 which is the same tube with an octal base. Other that that, some reasonably priced 45's would be nice.

 

[HollowState]

Some 8233/E55L's in a octal base. (I know...I'm dreaming)

SY wants T160L

Isn't that the heavy duty 811 also known as a 572B once made by Waters. Penta sells a Chinese 572B with a carbon plate that's basically the same thing, although probably not the old Waters quality.

Victor

 

[w5jag]

Some 8233/E55L's in a octal base. (I know...I'm dreaming)

Isn't that the heavy duty 811 also known as a 572B once made by Waters.
Victor

That's what I thought.

Pretty sure the last Cetron 572B's I had were dual marked as T160L. I think I may still have some Amperex 572B that are dual marked as T160L.

Win W5JAG

 

[HollowState]

Hi Win,
Yes, I forgot that they were available with the Cetron name. Of course they're almost surely Chinese because Richardson owns the name and puts it on everything. And I would never buy tubes from rip-off Richardson! Didn't know Amperex had them too.

 

[Wavebourn]

I dream of a "positron" type tubes, complementary to existing ones, i.e. with a negative plate voltage to use instead of P-type MOSFETs I use now.
Another dream is an "anti-tube" with opposite grid curves of the same shape for perfect cancellation of non-linearities...

 

[Audio_idiot]

26, 45

Reasonably priced.

 

[soundbrigade]

El Beaver-man wan see muchos of dose Japanese 6CA10

 

[andyjevans]

201A - prefer the globes
26 globe
10Y
31 ST

And - there's no 9 pin tube I really like, but one I do like is the rimlock ECC40. So what I'd like to see is a new ECC40 but in a 9 pin 12A*7 base. If they made these as good as the originals you could throw away all your 6922, E80CC, 12AT7 etc. Now that would put the market into confusion!!!

 

[the_manta]

6336
RE604
magic eyes

 

[soundbrigade]

And - there's no 9 pin tube I really like, but one I do like is the rimlock ECC40.

I'd like to see a bunch of novals as octals: EL34, ECC88 ECL82/86 ....

 

[ilimzn]

I'd like to see a bunch of novals as octals: EL34, ECC88 ECL82/86 ....

EL34 already is octal and ECL82/86 you can't fit into 8 pins, unless you use a top connection, which is always a problem.

 

[soundbrigade]

Meant EL84, my finger slipped a looooooong way. Yeah, I realized that that triodes/pentodes can fit in an octal ...
But all those 12AX/AT/AU7 could be available as octals.

 

[316a]

More effort into new stuff such as a thoriated 2A3 and 300B . Low Ra triodes with thoriated spiral filaments and radial anodes like the big old Eimacs would also be nice . A Sovtek 45 would also be a winner if their 2A3 is anything to go by . As well as valves , decent reasonable priced sockets .

cheers

316a

 

[kstagger]

I'll take any solid reproductions of the old audio faithfuls - KT88, 6550, etc - provided the cathode chemistry is up to snuff. Not sure how the new 'reproductions' stack up in that department - but I don't see many people paying the big $$$ a 'real' reproduction would take.

Other than that, the oldies need reproduction - 71A, 45, 10, 50, 26, 27, etc - and not just for us - but all the antique radio guys.