[6BQ5]

Well, the price of some NOS 6922s was creeping into the stratosphere the past couple of years ...
at least the RAM tubes seem reasonably priced.

But I now see a brand NEW 6922/6DJ8/7308 equivalent being manufactured by EAT (EuroAudio Team). The design seems to be based on the uber rare ECC Telefunken.

http://www.euroaudioteam.com/ecc88.php

Detailed Spec Sheet
http://www.savantaudio.com/eatecc88.pdf

Holy crow, they are going for $225 a pop each! 
That would be nearly $700 to re-do my RM-5 preamp!

Can they ever be THAT GOOD to justify such a price premium?
These are among the most expensive I've seen going, save perhaps for some of the rare Amperex species from the 1950s which seem to pop-up at some greedy dealers.

They don't even grade them for noise which makes me wonder. 

[ohenry]

I saw that too.  It's intriguing, but can it really beat some of the classics like an Amperex 7308?  I'd like to find out, but I've already reached my audio stupidity quota for this year.   

[jon_010101]

This reeks of snake oil 

The heat sink suggests that they want to hide its identity.  Probably standard new-old-stock, and nothing you couldn't buy on eBay in a proper original box for 1/10th the price.

[jules]

This reeks of snake oil  Laughing

The heat sink suggests that they want to hide its identity.  Probably standard new-old-stock, and nothing you couldn't buy on eBay in a proper original box for 1/10th the price.

That's a little cruel isn't it  , though I have to admit I wanted to have a look when it's claimed to be based on the Telefunken ECC88. I suspect they are probably genuine though, given they show this 300b without a cover:



Interesting that they are claiming it's equiv. to ECC88 and not E88CC. It's also possible to get hold of real, NOS E88CC Telefunken for less than the cost of these.

If it's being compared to a Telefunken it's not going to have the same sound signature as an Amperex.

jules

[Roger A. Modjeski]

I could not find the most important spec for a pre-amp tube which is MU. The filament current is also 20% lower than the spec of a 6922. I would stay as far away from this tube as I can.