You know Will, I think my Amperex orange globe 6922 should improve a lot with break in, it was just that I had bought three pair of the White labels...mixed USA and Holland made...about the same time and the difference was so startling that I didn't want to be bothered with the break in.  It would be very surprising if just one change in manufacturing (code VL8 to VL9) could have such a dramatic change for the worse.  An orange globe just sold yesterday that was manufactured in October 1966...this is the oldest orange globe 6922 I've seen.  It had the VL9 Tube and change code.

Will, I've never used the 6922 tube in the Torii...just the CSP3 and Zen Signature Monoblocks.  Does the break in of tubes only depend on the Amp being on?  The volume used doesn't effect break in does it?  I'm thinking low level listening for a few days may work.  Just thinking out loud.  These days I'm very intolerant of having to break in things. Have you found any good black Friday deals?  I just bought a few things at pop market that I'll post in the what's spinning thread. Mark.

PS...OK, I popped the Orange globes into the Monoblocks.  They have exactly 24 hours of play to prove themselves. It should take several days.

Will, I know and agree with all you've said about the 7308s vs 6922s.  I was just pointing out that I hadn't initially tried the orange globes in the Torii but rather the Monoblocks. Maybe after break in, I might put them in the Torii for a short trial just for comparison.  Mark.

Will,  I hate to admit it but this Live Bill Evans I'm listening to with the Orange Globes after a little over 3 hours in the monos...is sounding pretty good.  Mark.

That is good news! My green globes are 68 as well, do maybe they will sound good too! 😀

I checked out the Amperex.  They are a little pricey for me.  Around $70-$90 per tube on eBay.  I'm not saying I won't try them, but what's available for less that would bring me closer to the 7308 sound?

The Genelex seem pretty reasonable.

I could not stand the Gold Lions in the Torri.  Harsh and pronounced sibilance.  Really disappointing. The National's from Upscale are really good for the money.  

That's great news Mark!  They were just sent today, he got behind on his shipping with the holiday.  It will still be awhile as I am in Canada. Thanks for trying them again, it gives me hope.  As long as they better the National's, I will be happy with the purchase, and as Will said, give me an idea of the amperex sound.  I am now curious of the made in Holland versions.  Some say a sweeter midrange but a bit less drive.

Wow those are pretty. Big halo 1962!

The seller of those Amperex 7308s I bought sent a message that on his Eico Tester all three tested 100%.  I have sent him a message to clarify what tester he used and if each plate is measured at 100%.  He sells a lot of tubes so I would hope he has the Ecio model tester that measures dynamic transductance and not the Ecio that is only an emissions tester.  This type of tube has very tight specs so even if they are 100% of NOS per emissions, they should have plates that measure very close to each other.  Yes, I agree a small risk but $41 per tube for 1962 tubes versus $95 each or more for a late 60's version...I'll take the risk.  Mark.

Stone, In regards to Uncle Kevin's note on 7308 tube labels...I agree with a caveat.  I've said before that the one orange globe 7308 I have sounds the same to me as my white labels. Also the white labels sound the same whether Military or PQ labeled...all of them made on the same line in NY. Inspecting Green, orange and white labels from the 60's online, I have found that they all have the same change code...VR5, so the manufacturing process and materials are likely the same with the print color, style and dates being the main difference.  However, by the early 70's...maybe the late 60's the change code changed to VR6....which indicates some change in the manufacturing process.  So those USA made 7308s with the etched VR6 code may sound different than the VR5 tubes...I have never listened to anything except VR5 coded tubes dating from the early to late 60's....no 70's 7308s.  Hope this clears things up a little.  Mark.

That's very interesting Greg.  They were on my initial list mostly because of Stone.  However the consensus from my earlier research indicated that anything from Amperex would better them.  But your comments made me look again and I did find one interesting comparison from AudioKarma. Please keep me posted if you do further comparisons.  I am Looking for a bit of lush, sweet, holographic midrange.  Here is the comment from Mike on AudioKarma:

6922 / 6SN7

Mr. Edison in the USA and Mr. Swan in the UK were two guys who both claimed primacy on the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Rather than duke it out in court in the UK, they merged their British companies (thus EdiSwan). Edison discovered the "Edison effect", but not the electronic tube itself, Fleming discovered the diode, deForest (bless his heart) the triode.


The Ediswan is a well-regarded British-made tube, some varying opinions on some 6922/ECC88's:

Siemens 6922/ECC88 A-frame getter: Lovely, full, detailed, not harsh at the top, but make sure you get the real thing.

Siemens 6DJ8 D-frame getter: Even nicer that the A-frame, a bit more lush and euphonic. Again, make sure you get the real thing - the 60's and earlier Siemens are incredibly hard to find, most dealers are selling the 70's and 80's stuff, often east German sourced.

Ediswan CV5358: Wonderful tube. Warm and detailed, tight bass, euphonic yet detailed, very 3-dimensional. Better than the more common CV2493, which is good, but not in this league.

Amperex 6922 PQ 'shield' logo: Preferably the white printing - less detail by a slight bit, but very 3-dimensional and lush. Great bloom. The 7308 PQ is also great, some feel it's even better.

Siemens CCa: Right up there with the other great ones. Very 3-dimensional, not euphonic but full sounding - really nice.

Mullard E88CC 10M series: Just like the Ediswan CV5358, perhaps a bit warmer bass.

... and the 6SN7...

Sylvania 6SN7GT: The best all-around 6SN7 (one that does everything well) is the JAN-CHS 1952 . IMHO this may be the greatest 6SN7 ever made. It has the midrange and treble attributes of the famous '40's Sylvania VT231 but with the bass response of a KenRad.

RCA VT-231: A bit syrupy. It certainly doesn't have the openess and detail of, say the Sylvania VT-231. But it's TONALITY is just, well...right. The sound of musical instruments - their tonality - is simply the correct one. Very musical.

Sylvania VT-231: Bright and lacking in the boom-bam department.

Well folks, the three 1962 Amperex White PQ 7308s I bought on ebay arrived in the mail.  They have replaced the Orange Globe Amperex 6922s in the monoblocks.  Unfortunately I have no time to listen today...maybe I can get some time in tomorrow.

They look brand new and will likely require 20+ hours of burn in. Orangecrush, I'll let you know how they compare to the 1968 Amperex 6922s which have been very good once they had some hours on them. Mark.

Orange,  I've only got 1.5 hours on the NOS pair of 1962 Amperex White Label PQ 7308s.  Played a Bill Evans at the Vanguard 1980 CD and now Joni Mitchell's "Blue".  Superb...clarity and detail without bite...if that makes sense, beautiful.  I'm sure they'll improve even more with some hours.  I definitely like them more than the 1968 Orange Globe 6922s.  From what I remember there wasn't as notable a difference between the Amperex white label 6922s and the 7308s. But my audio memory is horrible.  Mark.

Good Orange.  Just remember it's a marathon...not a sprint but I'm sometimes the same way. Now that you've got some nice tubes you can be patient and get a deal on some high testing Amperex White Label 7308s... I'd try to pay $45 each or less.  The edginess may lessen with burn in but a lot depends on other factors...the recording, other tubes and cabling.  Also I'm not sure how much your Superfly emphasizes the high end...my HR-1s and Omegas do.  So with the HR-1s I added some resistors and with the Omegas I use 60's or 50's Amperex 6DJ8s to tone down the high end.  Everything works together.  Have Fun,  Mark.

Thanks Mark. Ignorance is bliss. These are keepers for sure.  But like you said, I am in no hurry now.

Nice job posting this Mark.  It is sometime tough to see the internal workings/soldering etc. in some listings. I have also noticed that the labeling on fakes can be recognizable if you compare with the known real thing, typeface is not the same for all letters or even the location on the tube...although this isn't always true. It's tough especially when you think you see a great deal. I find that once I know a seller is legit and has a lot of sales at a 100% rating I stick with him.

Thanks

JD