More EBAY Madness !!

[poynton]

Stick the words "Western Electric" or "Altec" in the post title and the price rockets !!!

New built with old parts.

6V6 349A Tube Power Amplifier for Western Electric 131A on eBay (end time 02-Apr-10 06:00:28 BST)

300B Stereo Power Amplifier for Western Electric Tubes on eBay (end time 05-Apr-10 06:50:21 BST)

Pair Power Amplifiers for Western Electric 300B Tubes on eBay (end time 28-Mar-10 02:09:33 BST)

Pair Altec Tube Power Amplifiers for 6L6 350B KT66 EL34 on eBay (end time 02-Apr-10 07:16:49 BST)



Andy


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[Merlinb]

The seller may be asking a high price, but he's got no bids yet!

 

[db!]

What's so special about western electric? Slap the name on anything and it sells like cupcakes laced with crack... I have a hard time believing that 50 year old components are noticeably better than more modern counterparts...

I also find it interesting how the seller's feedback is all private...

 

[Shoog]

It is a form of madness born of zero technical knowledge. Its the same mentality which will drive a paintings price to $30Million. Indeed these old components will sound inferior to modern versions (apart from some old valves of course).
Its the same mentality which supports the boutique HiFi world, add up the cost of components and you quickly realise that almost anything labelled high end HIFI is a rip off.

Shoog

 

[kevinkr]

It is a form of madness born of zero technical knowledge. Its the same mentality which will drive a paintings price to $30Million. Indeed these old components will sound inferior to modern versions (apart from some old valves of course).
Its the same mentality which supports the boutique HiFi world, add up the cost of components and you quickly realise that almost anything labelled high end HIFI is a rip off.

Shoog

Actually some people who collect these amplifiers and tubes are quite technically knowledgeable. (I know several) The WE91A 300B SE was an engineering tour-de-force in its time, (early 1930s) and was very well put together as well and that is part of the reason why they are revered today. I'd argue that it probably represents one of the very first "high fidelity" audio amplifiers developed in the United States. I have listened to both the original and modern clones of this amplifier and with the right loudspeakers it is a very nice sounding amplifier.

The collecting frenzy surrounding WE products is understandable in the context of its rarity and the spot much of this equipment owns in the history of quality sound reproduction.

Take a look here for some interesting history on the design of Western Electric amplifiers, and you will notice that they did it all well before we "discovered" it: Western Electric - Rosetta Stone for Triodes

Much of the best WE gear is probably living in Japan these days, those guys recognized the role WE played in modern sound reproduction and sought the old equipment out when many of us still were tossing it out. I might mention it is much the same for early RCA theater hardware and Klangfilm gear as well.

I've had limited exposure to some pretty amazing theater sound equipment and it is stunning the level of sound quality that could be achieved with those 70+ yr old amplifiers and speaker systems. (All field coil at that!)

I do think that the indiscriminate use of Western Electric to promote electronics which clearly has nothing to do with WE is unfortunate. On eBay obviously using the WE moniker increases hits as it is a common search keyword. (I use it too in searches.)

 

[jlsem]

Those prices are reasonable enough for a handmade one-off amplifier. This being a DIY website, most here are fairly out of touch as to what it costs in terms of labor and material to put something out with quality this high. There are probably close to 100 hours in a some of those amps, not the mention the time and effort to source the parts. Furthermore, there is nothing misleading about the use of Western Electric in his ad. One amp is a reproduction of a W.E. amp with W.E. parts and the other two use 300B tubes, something Western Electric is justifiably famous for. You guys need to get a life other than attacking someone else's fine efforts.

John

 

[Cassiel]

I agree with Jlsem. They're well made and reasonably priced. I see no reason to criticize the seller.

 

[HollowState]

I agree with Jlsem. They're well made and reasonably priced. I see no reason to criticize the seller.

I'm also in agreement. Someone has used old original iron (WE, Fisher & Altec) along with NOS and modern parts to construct some very nice amplifiers. But if you read the auctions carefully, you will find that in each case the output tubes are not included with the amps. You must supply them which will raise the price. The seller should have made that more obvious.

 

[rdf]

.. it is stunning the level of sound quality that could be achieved with those 70+ yr old amplifiers and speaker systems. (All field coil at that!)

Back in the early Eighties I was blown away by the sound produced by a pair of ancient 'console style' speakers in the AM transmitter building of my then-current employer. Back then they were just junk, I had no idea what an RCA field-coil was about.

 

[Wavebourn]

Actually, it is a fair price for hand made amp (in USA or Europe). And the seller is open to "Best Offer" option. Last year I sold my Pyramid -V prototype for price of transformers ($500) starting from low price. The amp was damaged by mail carrier, so I had to ship Pyramid - VII prototype loosing on shipment costs even more.
The next time if I sell something valuable on ePay I will definitely put a reasonably high price, and offer "A Best Offer" option.

Speaking of ancient things, I was impressed by 1966 Magnavox console, even though the amp and tuner were solid state. It has 15" woofers and horn tweeters. Currently I use it's internal speaker with external Sony SS receiver, with additional output attenuators (10 Ohm/1 Ohm), and it sounds great. However, I will build a tube amp and put inside.

 

[Arnulf]

Seriously, does anybody actually consider that "offer" option ? I've come across some tubey auctions/sales with this option but I never seriously considered it. Either the price was right or it was waaaay out of range, so I reacted accordingly.

 

[kevinkr]

Seriously, does anybody actually consider that "offer" option ? I've come across some tubey auctions/sales with this option but I never seriously considered it. Either the price was right or it was waaaay out of range, so I reacted accordingly.

I have actually used the offer option and got some rather good deals on tubes and test equipment, and IIRC a tuner as well.. Good deals sometimes happen this way, other times not..

 

[kevinkr]

Those prices are reasonable enough for a handmade one-off amplifier. This being a DIY website, most here are fairly out of touch as to what it costs in terms of labor and material to put something out with quality this high. There are probably close to 100 hours in a some of those amps, not the mention the time and effort to source the parts. Furthermore, there is nothing misleading about the use of Western Electric in his ad. One amp is a reproduction of a W.E. amp with W.E. parts and the other two use 300B tubes, something Western Electric is justifiably famous for. You guys need to get a life other than attacking someone else's fine efforts.

John

Actually I am inclined to agree with John as well, although I did not express any viewpoint about the auction in particular other than to comment on the WE phenomena in general and my particular concern about its use to sell products.

The amplifiers in question actually look pretty nice, if they sound good they are probably a bargain. I designed and built my 300B amp from scratch 6 yrs ago, and IIRC the BOM cost on mine would exceed the asking price of a pair of those amps. (And mine does not look nearly as nice.) Anyone thinking of buying such an amp obviously should do some research and check the sellers veracity (ask a lot of questions) and feedback rating..

 

[Bob W7ETA]

Guess I'm unusual? If I won't spend my money on an item, I don't buy it.

I've used make an offer, gotten turned down, and had some offers accepted.

 

[kavermei]

Might I add that, in general, South Koreans are very honest and integral people. In contrast, I would never buy such an expensive product on eBay from China or Hong Kong.

Kenneth