Fair market value of VT-137?

sweet & juicy SE amp for 1626 Darlings and the 6L6 family

Fair market value of VT-137?

Postby Ty_Bower » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:21 pm

EWBrown wrote:1626s are neat tubes... they are still relatively inexpensive, though not as dirt cheap as they were around 50 years ago =:o $)


So, exactly what is a fair and reasonable price for a 1626? If I can grab them for $10 (each, shipping included), am I getting robbed?
"It's a different experience; the noise occlusion, crisp, clear sound, and defined powerful bass. Strong bass does not corrupt the higher frequencies, giving a very different overall feel of the sound, one that is, in my opinion, quite unique."
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Postby EWBrown » Thu Aug 04, 2011 6:32 pm

Ten bucks for them isn't too bad, with shipping included, if they are NOS and not just used up, tired old ones (or UOS, Used Old Stuff) ;) (lol)

It may be tricky finding a truly matched pair, and they can have a fairly wide range of actual (measured) operating characteristics, but I've never had a problem with that, they seem to work well, anyway.

Just hunt around on e-bay, and if there are and hamfest / ham radio flea markets or antique radio swapmeets in your area, scope them out, sometimes these tubes can be gotten for a buck or two - other than the Darling circuit, they have never had much widespread audio acceptance or usage, as they were primarily designed as RF oscillator and Low Powered (5W or less) Class C RF amplification.

/ed B
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Postby kku » Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:59 pm

For amps using one tube per channel, the only problem with using unmatched pair will be one channel sound sounding a bit different than the other. Are there any other disadvantages?
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Postby Shannon Parks » Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:08 pm

kku wrote:For amps using one tube per channel, the only problem with using unmatched pair will be one channel sound sounding a bit different than the other. Are there any other disadvantages?


Not really. FWIW, I tested some Tungsol and some National Union 1626s, and they all biased the same.

I think I bought 20 National Union NOS JAN last year for $20 at the Peoria Superfest (which is next month - yeah!). Gave a quad each to Thermion and Francois and still had a dozen for myself. Funny, as now I realize that Francois gave me the quad of Tungsols a few years ago. It's good to have buds in the hobby.

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Postby EWBrown » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:26 pm

For SET operation, a bit of a mismatch isn't a real problem, but I was thinking in terms of the "yet to be tried", 1626 PP design, which I just may attempt in the near future O:)

I still have a few NOS military-boxed 1626s in the stash, plus a few loose, untested, ones of indeterminate heritage. :/

Didn't find any of them at the Waynesville NC hamfest last weekend :'(

Though I did find a blue laser pointer for $29, which was kinda cool :))

/ed B
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Postby kku » Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:13 pm

Learning about all these deals makes $8 per tube look like a rip-off. (sick)

I just laughed when I came across this listing. $35 for ONE 1626.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-RCA-CRC-1626-VT ... 488wt_1110

I wonder if there is a Russian 1626 version out there, just like they made their versions of 6L6, 807 and 6BG6.
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Postby Ty_Bower » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:12 pm

How about a quad for $200? Heck, I can get some nice KT88 for that price!

http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-NIB-BROWN-BASE- ... 0637555827
"It's a different experience; the noise occlusion, crisp, clear sound, and defined powerful bass. Strong bass does not corrupt the higher frequencies, giving a very different overall feel of the sound, one that is, in my opinion, quite unique."
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Postby TerrySmith » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:40 am

I just scored 10 NOS 1626 tubes, all RCA from Nov 1942 in identical boxes. $49.50 starting bid and no one else bid!
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Postby TomMcNally » Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:35 am

I just bought another set from that same guy Terry, works out to
$ 6 each with shipping ... can't beat it. Nice clean boxes too,
I've gotten some in the past with 1/4" of dust on 'em.

I wonder if the clowns trying to get $ 200 / quad buy them from
the same guy. hah
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Postby TerrySmith » Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:14 am

Just got done waking them up on a tube tester after an almost 70 year sleep! All tested perfect!

It almost seems all 1626 production was during the war?

Tom, have you tried a DC Darling yet? I was curious about the difference in sound.
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Postby TomMcNally » Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:29 am

No actually I haven't. I like the simple Darling cap-coupled design.
Low parts count, DC filaments, good sound for the buck.
The Clementine in Darling mode is sweet.
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Postby Ty_Bower » Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:17 pm

TomMcNally wrote:I just bought another set from that same guy...


It looks like he has a few more lots up now. Don't bid against me, please. ;)
"It's a different experience; the noise occlusion, crisp, clear sound, and defined powerful bass. Strong bass does not corrupt the higher frequencies, giving a very different overall feel of the sound, one that is, in my opinion, quite unique."
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Postby TomMcNally » Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:29 pm

No bidding here ... only SNIPING ! http://esnipe.com
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Postby Ty_Bower » Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:03 pm

TerrySmith wrote:Just got done waking them up on a tube tester after an almost 70 year sleep! All tested perfect!


Dumb question... I'm looking at the charts for my Eico 666, and don't see any settings for the 1626. Any ideas on how to set it?
"It's a different experience; the noise occlusion, crisp, clear sound, and defined powerful bass. Strong bass does not corrupt the higher frequencies, giving a very different overall feel of the sound, one that is, in my opinion, quite unique."
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Postby elbinster » Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:46 pm

TomMcNally wrote:No bidding here ... only SNIPING ! http://esnipe.com


I may have to cave and try this out. If you can't beat them, join them I guess. Plus this will make it so I don't have to be awake at 5:35am to enter the bid in the last seconds myself :|
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