Telefunken E188CC Sound

06-11-06: Glory
I have a Audio Note dac with Amperex white label gold pin PQ shield USA.
I just bought the Siemens CCa gray plate that is in the mail.
I am about to pull the trigger on the Telefunken E188CC for $325.00 new in the box and

I can only speak for the sound from my Sonic Frontiers Line one preamp, with that said, I prefer the sound from the early 60s Siemens CCa tubes to the Telefunken E188CC tubes. Imo the CCa just has a better overall musical presentation.

After you have the Siemens CCa broke-in post back with your opinion of the tube. Same if you buy the Telefunken, let us know what you think of the two tubes.
Jim

After you have the Siemens CCa broke-in post back with your opinion of the tube.
Jea48 (Threads | Answers)

Broke-in? If tubes don't sound good after 8 hours of warm-up, then they're the wrong tubes for the application or the listener's preference. We're not talking about capacitors here.

Tvad,

Nice to get a reply from you and others. I have had both exact tubes in preamps (AA M3A) and a CD player (Tjoeb 99). They were nice (not exceptional), and they were not worth this kind of money when compared to other brands (Philips and Amperex) that sounded as good or better in my system. And BTW, stating that 400.00 for a pair of tubes is NOT "black and white" thinking as Glory states; rather, it is thinking influenced by a semblance of economic reasoning. When Wall Street hits 20,000, it will make economic sense to pay this kind of money, but until then . . .

Broke-in? If tubes don't sound good after 8 hours of warm-up, then they're the wrong tubes for the application or the listener's preference. We're not talking about capacitors here.

Hi Tvad, even eight hours would be a break-in period. I purchased two new pairs of the Early 60 Siemens CCa tubes about a year ago. And yes after a few hours they do start to open up. After about 25 hours they sounded even better. Even used NOS tubes that were not in service for many years need a few hours of Burn-in, maybe a better word, would you not agree?
Jim

A few hours of burn-in would be appropriate, IMO. 25 hours would be unecessary...also IMO, although at least one tube dealer has mentioned the necessity of 24 hour burn-in for some NOS tubes. He specifically mentioned this regarding tubes quieting down. My experience has been that extended burn-in did not mitigate tube noise.

I would question whether better sound after 25 hours is directly related to the tubes, or whether it is related to all the electronics warming up, and capacitors fully charging, etc. Of course, if all the gear is left on 24/7, then perhaps the 25 hours on the tubes is the cause.

06-11-06: Bojack
...they were not worth this kind of money when compared to other brands (Philips and Amperex) that sounded as good or better in my system.

The key words here are "in my system." The general consensus is that CCa tubes do indeed sound better in many systems, but as always, one's results may vary. Clearly yours did. Perhaps down the road in a different system that you assemble, the differences will be more evident.