Soundlumia’s Opinion
Under the commanding pose of the angled getter support lies the ultimate clarity in sound. As much as we love the overwhelming details made possible by these bad boys, please be aware they show no mercy to any lossy digital sound sources such as high-definition streaming video/audio, and distortion in sound during playback can be heard. Dedicated CD transport or lossless formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAVE etc.) on PC/Mac (not on mobile devices) are recommended if you want to fully unleash these tubes' amazing power in your system. Phono, if available, is highly recommended to be used as sound source because analog input is lossless by definition.
To get everyone on the same page, we will be comparing these to the Hamburg-made Valvo ECC83's with the regular getter support only, which is already an excellent choice for audiophiles looking for distinctive German tube sound: the grip is tighter with a great deal of substance added to the overall sound presentation, especially to the midrange, which feels much warmer and more intimate; the angled getter support seems to have "bent" the sound stage into a flattened panoramic view, which is still holographic but is much wider and holds so much more information about your sound: everything can be heard (or rather "seen"), whether you knew it existed before or not, or whether you think it should exist or not; the naturalness of sound is not heard on any other tubes in the sense that these tubes tell you what IS and what IS NOT in your sound, e.g. you can tell the differences between the sound of natural rain in some movies and the sound of fake rain (water poured from hoses above the stage) in other movies; the clarity of sound is "clinical" - as in how your doctor would say you are either sick or not sick and absolutely no muddiness or ambiguity in between should be allowed - perhaps that's why they can get punishing to lossy digital sound sources; the musicality is unequalled as by now the only thing left in your music for you to hear is EVERYTHING in your music as long as the sound source is right.
| 2x Valvo 12AX7 ECC83 w/ 30° Getter in Orig. Boxes - Hamburg 1959 I60 - Same code |
|
30° Matched Pair
|
Transconductance (mA/V) |
Plate Current (mA) |
| Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
| Tube 1 |
1050 |
1150 |
|
|
| 105% |
115% |
|
|
| Tube 2 |
950 |
980 |
|
|
| 95% |
98% |
|
|
|
Certification Device |
Certification Date |
| RoeTest V11 |
8/18/2024 |
| Valvo ECC83 12AX7 Short Plates 30° Angled Getter Matched Quad - Hamburg '59 I60 |
|
30° Matched Quad
|
Transconductance (mA/V) |
Plate Current (mA) |
| Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
| Tube 1 |
1.48 |
1.37 |
0.977 |
0.932 |
| 93% |
86% |
81% |
78% |
| Tube 2 |
1.38 |
1.43 |
0.857 |
1.052 |
| 86% |
89% |
71% |
88% |
| Tube 3 |
1.46 |
1.59 |
1.165 |
1.232 |
| 91% |
99% |
97% |
103% |
| Tube 4 |
1.48 |
1.5 |
0.91 |
0.985 |
| 93% |
94% |
76% |
82% |
|
Certification Device |
Certification Date |
| RoeTest V11 |
9/26/2024 |
| Valvo ECC83 12AX7 Short Plates 45° O-Getter Matched Pair - Hamburg 1960/61 I60 |
|
45° Matched Pair
|
Transconductance (mA/V) |
Plate Current (mA) |
| Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
Triode 1 |
Triode 2 |
| Tube 1 |
1.35 |
1.54 |
0.887 |
1.127 |
| 84% |
96% |
74% |
94% |
| Tube 2 |
1.5 |
1.56 |
1.052 |
1.12 |
| 94% |
98% |
88% |
93% |
|
Certification Device |
Certification Date |
| RoeTest V11 |
9/11/2024 |
30° Angled O-getter - Matched Pair
2x Valvo 12AX7 ECC83 w/ 30° Getter in Orig. Boxes - Hamburg 1959 I60 - Same code
$387.50
Professional Tube Testing
NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.
One tube tested NOS (100%+ nominal mutual conductance value) and the other one Near NOS (90%+ nominal mutual conductance value) on a reliable and recently calibrated Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following results (mutual conductance both in uMhos and in percentage of nominal):
Tube 1: 1,050/1,150 (105%/115%)
Tube 2: 950/980 (95%/98%)
Good tubes start at 700 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 1,000, and the Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 1,000. 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 these numbers the stronger.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
Both tubes have nearly 100% of the paint and lettering remaining, and the identical Blackburn date codes are perfectly visible:
I60 D9I (I60 = ECC83 short plate production gen #0, D = Hamburg, 9 = 1959, I = September)
Packaging
ORIGINAL Valvo ECC83 tube boxes.
30° Angled O-getter - Matched Quad
Valvo ECC83 12AX7 Short Plates 30° Angled Getter Matched Quad - Hamburg '59 I60
$657.90
Professional Tube Testing
This set was tested and certified by RoeTest V11 Professional Tube Testing System with the following result:
Tube 1:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.48/1.37 mA/V - 93%/86% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 0.977/0.932 mA - 81%/78% (100% = 1.2 mA)
Tube 2:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.38/1.43 mA/V - 86%/89% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 0.857/1.052 mA - 71%/88% (100% = 1.2 mA)
Tube 3:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.46/1.59 mA/V - 91%/99% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 1.165/1.232 mA - 97%/103% (100% = 1.2 mA)
Tube 4:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.48/1.5 mA/V - 93%/94% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 0.91/0.985 mA - 76%/82% (100% = 1.2 mA)
NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.
Curve trace is also included in the original RoeTest report.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
These tubes have nearly 90-100% of the paint and lettering remaining, and the date codes are perfectly visible:
I60 D9K (I60 = ECC83 short plate production gen #0, D = Hamburg, 9 = 1959, K = November)
I60 D9H (I60 = ECC83 short plate production gen #0, D = Hamburg, 9 = 1959, H = August)
Packaging
NEW reproduction Valvo tube boxes.
45° Angled O-getter
Valvo ECC83 12AX7 Short Plates 45° O-Getter Matched Pair - Hamburg 1960/61 I60
$348.75
Professional Tube Testing
This set was tested and certified by RoeTest V11 Professional Tube Testing System with the following result:
Tube 1:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.35/1.54 mA/V - 84%/96% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 0.887/1.127 mA - 74%/94% (100% = 1.2 mA)
Tube 2:
Measured transconductance(GM): 1.5/1.56 mA/V - 94%/98% (100% = 1.6 mA/V)
Measured plate current(IA): 1.052/1.12 mA - 88%/93% (100% = 1.2 mA)
NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.
Curve trace is also included in the original RoeTest report.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
Both tubes have nearly 100% of the paint and lettering remaining, and the identical Blackburn date codes are perfectly visible:
I60 D0F (I60 = ECC83 short plate production gen #0, D = Hamburg, 0 = 1960, F = June)
I60 D1D (I60 = ECC83 short plate production gen #0, D = Hamburg, 1 = 1961, D = April)
Packaging
NEW reproduction Valvo tube boxes.
