Joke of the day

[EC8010]

I just looked in the Farnell catalogue and saw that they listed 126 products in the "thermionic valve/tube" category. So I looked, well, you would. Almost all of the 126 products are made by Richardson Electronics, and none of them are in stock. Nevertheless, the prices are fascinating.

4852023: 12AT7/ECC81 £33.63

[Giaime]

AFAIK, Richardson rebrands Chinese tubes: am I wrong?

[Klimon]

Google:

Richardson Electronics, LaFox, IL

Makes a 300B, 845 and 50 sold under the Cetron brand for high-end audio, as well as a KT88 sold under the National brand. Richardson has large quantities of tooling obtained from old American tube factories when they shut down. Also makes some larger transmitting and high-voltage types. Richardson markets many tubes, obtained from other factories worldwide, under their own brandnames; such as Cetron, National and Amperex.

http://www.vacuumtube.com/Mfg.htm

http://www.blackdahlia.com/tipindex/MD-811/tip_20.htm

etc.

Simon

[Geek]

Originally posted by EC8010
12AT7/ECC81 £33.63

AIIIIEEEEE!

That's insane.

[Bas Horneman]

4852023: 12AT7/ECC81 £33.63

Looks like the marked up the tubes with the same profit margins as solid state stuff.

[pedroskova]

A gorgeous young redhead walks into the doctor's office and tells the doctor that her body hurts wherever she touches it.

"Impossible!" says the doctor. "Show me."

The redhead takes her finger, pushes on her left shoulder and
screams. Then, she pushes her elbow and screams even louder.

Next, she pushes on her knee and howls like a banshee...everywhere that she touches makes her scream.

The doctor asks, "You're not really a redhead, are you?

"Well, no" she says, "I'm actually a blonde."

"I thought so," says the doctor.

"Your finger is broken."



...don't know what this has to do with Richardson...other than the "Redhead" may be a customer of theirs.

[SY]

They're very proud of their 12AT7.

[EC8010]

Originally posted by SY
They're very proud of their 12AT7.

Do they have any right to be?

[SY]

You are seeing the consequences of self-esteem education.

[danFrank]

Richardson's is a bunch of rip-off artists that got into the audiophile tube pricing blow out game early on. Remember their Made in USA KT88 for $250.00 a pop about 15 years ago? The tubes they actually make in the USA are low quality but take advantage of the fact that "Made in USA" is on them and this will command way higher prices. And in a lot of ways, they were right.
Good tubes come from a good tube factory, Richardson's isn't one of them. Take their Cetron 300B... Probably the lowest rated 300B out there but it's like the second highest in price, behind the WE version.
15-20 years ago, Richardson's was playing the same old game, but at least back then they had stock of actual NOS tubes.
Go to Antique Electronic Supply in Tempe, Arizona. For the most part they are reasonable in price and they aren't trying to play the "let's swindle the tube audiophile with mumbo jumbo and stupid prices".
Sorry for the rant...