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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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Tubes Asylum Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ |
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In Reply to: Anyone using Allegro 12AX7B tubes? posted by Dave Pogue on June 7, 2006 at 04:38:26:
Just kidding!I bought those tube many years ago from a guy who them bought many years prior to that. He was an Audio Research fan. I did not pay (and he did not pay) anywhere near the current asking price.
Are they worth the current price? Who knows?
You have to keep in mind that in the eighties, audio designers loved the 12AX7, but the current production 12AX7 was not that good. So started companies like RAM and RUBY who would buy lots and lots of Serbian and Russian tubes and test for the best. Buy a hundred tubes; find ten good ones. Therefore you need to charge about 20 times the regular market price for the tube that pass the tests. Hence at $5 tube sells for $75. And there were customers for this kind of thing. That was the era of the green pen for CDs, Armor All, VPI bricks, etc...
You can decide for yourself whether these tube sellers were performing a much needed service or just ripping us off.
Now, the current Allegro Sound website claims NOS status for these sandblasted mysteries. They may indeed be NOS. Perhaps the current seller has bought the remaining stock from the eighties. We ARE in America -- the land of free enterprise. The only thing that bugs me is that there are no photos of the tubes. He shows his test gear. But we're aren't just buying testing. We're buying tubes -- really expensive ones at that.
Now just consider if Dave bought a sh*tload of new Chinese tubes. No doubt they are quite acceptable. (Yes, guys with good ears like them!) They usually cost $5 a piece. Three Allegro 12AX7B tubes would cost $225. With $225 Dave could buy at least 45 Chinese tubes (or Russian tubes or Serbian tubes, etc.). Would he have just as good results? Would he go insane testing his tube? Would he be looking for somebody to sandblast his tubes, gold-plate the pins, cryo them, and then put his name on them, and sell them on eBay for $75 a piece?
I'm glad some guys like them. But I personally would never pay that kind of money for a tube simply because I can't afford to.
Have fun and remember it's only audio. If you're going crazy, you can find sanity by picking up an instrument and playing it!
Dale.
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Follow Ups
- What?!!! I should sold them on eBay for $75 a pair! - Dale D 15:48:45 06/13/06 (0)
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