Western Electric 396A

My hunch is that quality control was a bit higher in the 50s and 60s during the heyday of tubes. Once transistors came into the picture in a big way and really started to phase out tubes, then the quality of tubes dropped, perhaps due to cost cutting measures. This is speculation on my part.

You will almost always find that 60s tubes sell for more than 70s tubes, and in my experience, 60s tubes sound better, and have a more consistent sound from tube to tube.

That sounds like a reasonable theory. The WE 396A's on Ebay seem to be going to around 100 bucks per matched pair if they are NOS. But then you can get the 70's stock pair for around half of that from companies like Antique Audio supply.

06-10-07: Abdou
That sounds like a reasonable theory. The WE 396A's on Ebay seem to be going to around 100 bucks per matched pair if they are NOS.

Although tube prices are rising, $100/pair is insane.

I bought several 1950s WE396A from an E-Bay seller early last year for about $20/ea. At that time, the going price was $50/pair. $100/pair is plain silly.

I found GE 5 Star 5670 preferable to WE296A in my application (Paradisea DAC), and those go for about $40/pair.

Thanks, I'll see if I can lay hands on a pair of those to check them against the WE.

I'm using them in a sophia baby tube amp. The sophia guys suggested the WE tubes to increase transperancy and dynamics.