Siemens Halske versus Siemens Rohre


I am new to tubes and have heard that Siemens Halske tubes are much better than Siemens Rohre. I am wondering if this is true for 6DJ8 tubes. Often times on Ebay I see tubes advertised as Siemens Halske but the box in the picture will say Rohre on it. Should I completely eliminate any Rohre tubes from consideration? Thanks in advance for your input
Joe
128x128gammajo
Joe,

Here's a link to a lot of information regarding Siemens tubes:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.mpl?forum=tubes&searchtext=siemens+rohre

Joe,

Here's an Ebay ad that looks like the tubes you want:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-NOS-Tubes-Siemens-Halske-CCa-6922-E188CC-E88CC_W0QQitemZ110111680990QQihZ001QQcategoryZ67816QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Joe,

Here's some more threads to help you understand the various Siemens CCa:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/search.mpl?forum=tubes&searchtext=siemens+cca
Joe: Not sure that I made myself clear on my earlier reply. If the box says Siemens Halske Rohre, it's not another brand. The word Rohre means tube. It could be a Mullard Rohre (Tube) or Amperex Rohre (Tube). Good luck in your pursuit of the right tubes.
Thanks for the input. I have read the cca threads, I have a PHD but this stuff taxes the brain! Added to that is when I call some reputable dealers they say they have not seen a genuine early cca tube in years and that most everything out there is a fake. It make it a bit hard to be confident. At $50 who cares, at $500 I do!
I agree, Joe. You need to be careful and selective. You need to have assurance that you are getting a geniune Siemens CCa tube when they are commanding such high prices.
Added to that is when I call some reputable dealers they say they have not seen a genuine early cca tube in years and that most everything out there is a fake.
Gammajo (System | Threads | Answers)
That must be Andy Bowman, yes? Gotta love him. He told me the same thing four years ago. Since then, I have purchased several pairs of CCa tubes from various sources...none of them tube dealers. Every tube has been genuine.

Siemens started to box their tubes in Rohre boxes in the mid 70s. The quality started to decline somewhat around that time, especially regarding microphonics. That's why Siemens & Halske boxed tubes are preferable. Better and more consistent quality.
Grant- how can you tell they are genuine? so far I can tell that dull grey getter supports are older than shiny, but what else. is there anything to the story I heard that no genuine CCas were made with gold pins? I have a quad of gold pin, dull gray tubes stamped Siemens CCa. Of course I also have a pair of 308s in a well known tube dealers box that are inked Siemens 7308, but the dull top of tube marking says 7308 made in USA.
Generally, the CCa can be identified by four seams on the bottle top, date code stamping on the riser or on the glass, grey (or shiny) mica supports, thick getter supports (thin wire getter supports are indicative of early 70s production), shallow rather than deep gettering on the bottle, and the Siemens&Halske blue and yellow box.

There are some good photos of Siemens tubes here.

How can you be certain? There are no absolutes. If you install the real deal they will have a sound clearly superior to any other Siemens tubes you will have heard before. Huge soundstage. Complete tonal balance from top to bottom, and highs that are extended right to the edge of being too much of a good thing...without going over the edge. If the difference is not profound, then you may not have the real deal.

I have not owned any CCa tubes without gold pins that I can recall, but I am not absolutely certain of this.
Well, they are all gold pins, some with codes on the support, all with 4 seams on bottle, one in blue/yellow Siemens & Halske box (very clean printing), 5 others in white boxes. Unfortunately, I do not have any gear right now that uses the E88CC/6922 tube.
Thanks for the input. For example this current add on ebay, the fellow says that there are no date codes etched on glass or frame and they have 07347 made in Germany printed on the back. He feels that they are early sixties. Any opinion as to genuine early 60's
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3APIC&viewitem=&item=13009844
I have bought similar (as the ebay link above) tubes off ebay upon a tube expert's ( that I highly trust) suggestion and it turned out to be the best tubes(Early sixties Siemens CCa) I have tried so far on my DAC. Thus leaving up to its reputation as one of the best tubes. Since then I also have bought a pair of 50's grey d getter Siemens CCA and performance is consistent with the reviews. Leads me to think that these are genuine tubes. Just another vote of confidence.
Thank you all for your comments. Nilthepill, you you mean that you bought your cca's from the same seller referenced above?
Joe
Gammajo, No I don't think it was the same seller, but description, picture , characteristics are same same as when I bought mine just few weeks/months ago. Note that I said " similar". I should add that I should be "liking" the 50's tubes, but for may taste I much prefer the early 60's CCa's. You did not ask for this, but I might as well say it and add to more confusion ;-)
Nice link Tvad. I have 4 pairs of the early gray riser Siemens( some call them gray plates) and all have the codes on the glass but one.
But they are ECC88 not CCa, although CCa are said to be the pick of the litter from ECC88.

Semens & Halske E88CC

Characteristics:

- double stage getter

- AØX ≠XX code on getter support

Comment:

Quite rare.

That is the info from the website. I think a bit of an oversight as most I have seen that have the codes on the getter support are the silver riser.

I have 8 tubes with the AØX ≠XX code. 7 being gray riser with code on glass and 1 gray riser with code on getter support.

Go figure!

I also found the ECC88 gray riser to be better then the later CCa silver riser. YMMV

This is my favourite tube from the 6JD8, 6922, 7308 family.


04-10-07: Benie
I have 4 pairs of the early gray riser Siemens( some call them gray plates) and all have the codes on the glass but one.
But they are ECC88 not CCa, although CCa are said to be the pick of the litter from ECC88.
Benie, I have owned Siemens E88CC (not ECC88) grey riser tubes, and they are EXCELLENT (and inexpensive...relatively speaking). In fact, they are my second favorite Siemens tubes next to CCa. Yes, you can hear the difference between CCa and grey riser Siemens E88CC, but for many people (myself included) the higher price of the CCa is not worth the expense for the small tonality gain over the E88CC grey riser tubes.

FWIW, to my knowledge, all Siemens CCa are E88CC/6922. Any E188CC or 7308 being sold as CCa are not CCa at all.
If you have your mind set to go for some rare Siemens CCa tubes on Ebay, bid your max because there will be last second snipers lurking nearby.
If you happen to choose Ebay to shop for tubes, there are alot of fakes out there so make sure you do your homework. There is a dealer name bugleman that sells alot of counterfeits, look up bugleman on the audioasylum, there is quite a bit of write up on him. Yes, I did get burn by him years ago buying a pair of CCa's. But, it was my fault for not researching before I bought.

Good luck!
No Joe. I don't need any CCa for now. I have a back-up pair and am good to go for a few years. Good luck and I hope you win a good set of CCa to enjoy the music for many years to come.
Ditto Tubemiser's warning about E-Bay sellers. I'll add "realjazzcat", despite his spotless feedback.
04-10-07: Tvad my mistake, I have E88CC Tubes not ECC88.
Late night posting with one eye open I guess.
The pair on E-Bay with original boxes sold for $510!

That's nuts.

With a little more homework and research two pairs of used, but new-testing Siemens CCa could have been purchased for that price.
I agree with Tvad. That price was outrageous for a pair. A nice quad for that price would have been more acceptable.
I have obtained a quad of cca's through the a'gon want ads, but other offers keep coming in including one for a pair of ANOS cca RCA label for $150 a pair. If interested - email me and I will refer you to the person selling. Joe