Westinghouse and GE Tubes

SteveFord · « **on:** 20 May 2013, 11:04 pm »

I see a ton of them for sale but never hear anything about them.
I'm mostly interested in preamp tubes: 12AX7, 12AT7, 6SN7, 6FQ7, 6AH4, that kind of stuff.
Does anyone have any direct experience?

medium jim · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 May 2013, 11:59 pm »

Westinghouse's are good stuff...many actually are Canadian Marconi's labeled as WH.

Jim

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 May 2013, 12:58 am »

Many of them are rebranded Sylanias too, methinks. Does anyone know if they actually manufactured their own tubes?

medium jim · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 May 2013, 01:07 am »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 21 May 2013, 12:58 am

Many of them are rebranded Sylanias too, methinks. Does anyone know if they actually manufactured their own tubes?

Sylvania did make their own....

Jim

JakeJ · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 May 2013, 01:35 am »

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think GE or Westinghouse made their own tubes. Here a couple of links to some tube manufacturer history

http://vintagetubeservices.com/page8.html

http://www.tubecollectors.org/downloads.htm

I'll bet there's more info available to those who dig for it. Let the data mining begin!

ltr317 · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 May 2013, 03:51 am »

GE made their own tubes, as well as re-branding some for other companies. Other companies also made tubes for GE. All types of GE tubes (not counting re-branded for GE) I've tried sounded relatively neutral, except for older black plate models which were slightly warmer sounding.

Of the dozens of Westinghouse tubes I've tried, every one was made by another manufacturer, so not sure if they made their own.

medium jim · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 May 2013, 03:51 am »

Quote from: JakeJ on 21 May 2013, 01:35 am

I'm not 100% certain but I don't think GE or Westinghouse made their own tubes. Here a couple of links to some tube manufacturer history

http://vintagetubeservices.com/page8.html

http://www.tubecollectors.org/downloads.htm

I'll bet there's more info available to those who dig for it. Let the data mining begin!

GE certainly did....

Here's some Westinghouse's from Canada

Jim

JakeJ · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 May 2013, 04:41 am »

Like I stated, not 100% certain, but I now stand corrected.

medium jim · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 May 2013, 04:53 am »

Most think they're Marconi, but they have the RCA stop sign shield. Westies may be the under the radar tube as I've never had a bad on that I can recall, whoever they're made by!

Jim

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 May 2013, 10:55 am »

Quote from: medium jim on 21 May 2013, 01:07 am

Sylvania did make their own....

Jim

I meant Westinghouse. Sorry for the confusion.

I bought a sleeve of Westinghouse (Sylvania) 6DJ8 and they all went noisy/microphonic within a year. Maybe they bought and rebranded Sylvania's B-stock?

medium jim · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 May 2013, 03:04 pm »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 21 May 2013, 10:55 am

I meant Westinghouse. Sorry for the confusion.

I bought a sleeve of Westinghouse (Sylvania) 6DJ8 and they all went noisy/microphonic within a year. Maybe they bought and rebranded Sylvania's B-stock?

Seems like you have a lot of bad luck with tubes....

Jim

rajacat · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 May 2013, 03:49 pm »

I'm happy with my Westinghouse 6cg7's. They look identical to RCA 6cg7 blackplates. They suit my amp better than the RCA red label side getters.

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 May 2013, 03:56 pm »

Quote from: medium jim on 21 May 2013, 03:04 pm

Seems like you have a lot of bad luck with tubes....

Jim

What gives you that idea?

I've just been at this tube thing for 20 years and a lot can happen in that amount of time. 6DJ8s are finicky anyway.

medium jim · « **Reply #13 on:** 21 May 2013, 04:13 pm »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 21 May 2013, 03:56 pm

What gives you that idea?

I've just been at this tube thing for 20 years and a lot can happen in that amount of time. 6DJ8s are finicky anyway.

To have all 5 be bad, that's all...

Jim

Ericus Rex · « **Reply #14 on:** 21 May 2013, 04:44 pm »

Quote from: medium jim on 21 May 2013, 04:13 pm

To have all 5 be bad, that's all...

Jim

I just figured there was a problem with that batch, as all five in the sleeve were made together. Maybe you're right though! Any way to reverse the curse?

medium jim · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 May 2013, 04:49 pm »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 21 May 2013, 04:44 pm

I just figured there was a problem with that batch, as all five in the sleeve were made together. Maybe you're right though! Any way to reverse the curse?

Maybe some good karma!

Jim

geowak · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 May 2013, 05:47 pm »

I have the following NOS stocks made by GE;

12AX7 1967
12AX7 ?? 188-5

Have not any problem with them. I think the one pair is mil/spec. Those seem to be made more robust and I like the sound characteristics.

Also have a 12BH7A GE pair that is also marked HL 188-5. Very good sound.

ltr317 · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 May 2013, 05:49 pm »

Quote from: Ericus Rex on 21 May 2013, 03:56 pm

What gives you that idea?

I've just been at this tube thing for 20 years and a lot can happen in that amount of time. 6DJ8s are finicky anyway.

In many years of listening to many different types of tubes, the 6DJ8 tends to be more noisy or microphonic, or become noisy or microphonic faster than almost all other types I've experienced.

medium jim · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 May 2013, 06:05 pm »

Quote from: ltr317 on 21 May 2013, 05:49 pm

In many years of listening to many different types of tubes, the 6DJ8 tends to be more noisy or microphonic, or become noisy or microphonic faster than almost all other types I've experienced.

That hasn't been my experience, however, I've always went with 6922/E288CC/7308's which are made with tighter tolerances. But aren't we straying a bit from the OP's question?

Jim

ltr317 · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 May 2013, 06:17 pm »

Quote from: medium jim on 21 May 2013, 06:05 pm

That hasn't been my experience, however, I've always went with 6922/E288CC/7308's which are made with tighter tolerances. But aren't we straying a bit from the OP's question?

Jim

Yes. I was just confirming Eric's experience with my own. Also from my experience and from several other NY audiophiles, the Amperex 6922 and 7308 were especially noisy. Now back on topic.