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Amperex
Amperex 6DJ8 ECC88 Bugle Boy Preamp Tubes Matched Pair - Holland 1965/66 - NOS
Amperex 6DJ8 ECC88 Bugle Boy Preamp Tubes Matched Pair - Holland 1965/66 - NOS
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$130.00 USD
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Product Overview
The most popular tube at the Soundlumia store, the audio tube that every serious audiophile wants to own, and perhaps the most legendary 6DJ8 tube on the planet. They fly off the shelves faster than we can restock, but here we are again: a very rare tightly matched pair of vintage 1965's Amperex Bugle Boy tubes made in Heerlen, Holland.
Sound Qualities
As far as the tonality, there isn't much to say except that who doesn't love Bugle Boy? These are the tubes that defined the house sound of Amperex Heerlen - very detailed, great bass definition, extensive midrange and the right amount of warmth. Instruments sound very natural and vocal reproduction is over the top. The sound stage is spacious and well structured, and instrument separation is the best you can get in this price range.
Professional Sound Evaluation
The pair worked wonderfully and sounded terrific in our professional studio setup for monitoring.
- Input: Cambridge Audio CXC V2 dedicated CD transport + Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC
- Amplification: Liquid Platinum Tube Amplifier by Alex Cavalli
- Output: Focal Clear MG Pro open-back headphones
Our full tube sound review was written 100% based on the actual listening experience while this pair of tubes were running in the system described above.
Professional Tube Testing
Both tubes tested Super Strong NOS (120%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance both in uMhos and in percentage of nominal):
Tube 1: 16,000/15,900 (128%/127%)
Tube 2: 15,400/15,900 (123%/127%)
Good tubes start at 7000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 12,500 - 13,000, and the Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 12,500. Test result can also be seen in the pictures. In case you wonder what all these numbers mean to your sound experience, it's actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to a tube's ability to amplify sound, so the higher the numbers the stronger.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
We treasure this pair also because of the great cosmetic condition of both tubes - over 90% of the paint is intact and well preserved. The Heerlen factory date code etched on glass are perfectly visible on both tubes:
delta 6A2 (delta = Heerlen, 6 = 1966, A = January, 2 = Week 2 of the production month)
delta 5K? (delta = Heerlen, 5 = 1965, K = November)
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