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Amperex
Amperex JAN 7308 E188CC Tubes Matched Pair - Green Print - USA 1960/61 VR5 - NOS
Amperex JAN 7308 E188CC Tubes Matched Pair - Green Print - USA 1960/61 VR5 - NOS
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Perfect matched & balanced pair of vintage Amperex JAN 7308 audio tubes w/ Gold Pins - Made in USA 1960/61 - Green Print - Strong NOS - Very Rare
Product Summary
Built and tested according to military specs of the US Joint-Army-Navy, Amperex JAN 7308 has been one of the most reliable 6922/E88CC tubes known to the world: its quality is more than premium, although it doesn't carry the aweing PQ label like its more expensive siblings do; its performance is superb and in fact very few tubes in this price range can claim to be stronger; its low noise should only by judged by the most experienced sound experts because we are talking about the very tube built for and certified by US military for mission-critical communication devices; its sound signature is fantastic - the Amperex USA 7308 sound at its best. And this pair is the ultra rare green print edition - another high-end 7308/E188CC offer exclusively from Soundlumia!
Sound Qualities
The clarity and sound detail on JAN 7308 are second to none. Similar to their USN-CEP 7308 big brother, these tubes deliver the same resolution and grip you get from the best German and Dutch tubes from the same league(7308/E188CC.) They have a clean, incisive presentation, but are also euphonic and musical. There's no one area they are weak in so you can use them for most listening occasions - music, monitoring or movie watching. The sound stage is not only wide but also deep so every listening experience feels like at a live concert. The instrument separation is not done as beautifully anywhere else, as one would expect from tubes this quiet. The top end is smooth and airy and there's absolutely no brightness or harshness. The midrange presentation is very similar to the Amperex Holland 7308/E188CC tubes - large, expansive and transparent - with added thickness in the upper midrange, which makes your sound warm and intimate, especially on the vocals. The bass delivery is world-class, as one should expect from a military tube at this level of the game: accurate, full-bodied, dynamic and always present.
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.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
This pair is so rare because about 95% of the inscription (Amperex brand, Made in USA print and JAN lettering) is intact. The Amperex USA date codes etched on glass are perfectly visible on both tubes:
Tube 1: VR5 *0I (VR5 = change code, * = Amperex New York, 0 = 1960, I = September.)
Tube 2: VR5 *1K (VR5 = change code, * = Amperex New York, 1 = 1961, K = November.)
Professional Tube Testing
Both tubes tested Strong NOS (120%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance in uMhos and in percentage of nominal):
Tube 1: 13,800/14,100 (110%/113%)
Tube 2: 14,100/14,000 (113%/112%)
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.
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