Perfect matched & balanced pair of vintage Telefunken E88CC/6922 Audio Tubes - Ulm 1962/63 - Strong NOS
Tubes Summary
Behold the illumination at night, write down how your music sounds the moment these tubes start glowing and keep your notes forever. The finest in the fleet, Telefunken E88CC is unequivocally the supreme commander of the entire E88CC/6922 tubes family. This gorgeous pair is from the early 1960s' Ulm, Germany production - the most sought after Telefunken sound.
Sound Characteristics
Like any other Telefunken tubes, these E88CC's are very pleasant to listen to: liquid, euphonic, with a slightly warmer midrange than many other German tubes, which makes your sound experience smooth and non-fatiguing, and all that happens on a unbelievably realistic holographic sound stage, where everything feels bigger, wider and taller. Sound texture can be felt through infinite levels of details, laying on top of each other, both in depth and in width. So your quest for superb sound clarity can end right here. Lastly, it never gets old to say that no other brand is even close to these when it comes to low noise - Telefunken tubes are "extremely" quiet just as legend has it.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
Beside the world-class sound characteristics, we treasure this pair also because the near pristine condition of inscriptions on the tubes. Ulm factory date codes are 100% visible on both tubes:
U0212104D (U = Ulm, Germany, 2 = 1962)
U1203504 (U = Ulm, Germany, 3 = 1963)
And of course the diamond mark on bottom - the symbol of the best sound one can ever find on E88CC's.
Professional Sound Evaluation
The pair worked wonderfully and sounded terrific in our professional studio setup for monitoring.
- Input: Cambridge Audio CXC V2 dedicated CD transport + Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC
- Amplification: Liquid Platinum Tube Amplifier by Alex Cavalli
- Output: Focal Clear MG Pro open-back headphones
Our full tube sound review was written 100% based on the actual listening experience while this pair of tubes were running in the system described above.
Professional Tube Testing
Both tubes tested Strong NOS (110%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance both in uMhos and in percentage of nominal):
Tube 1: 14,000/14,900(112%/119%)
Tube 2: 14,200/15,000(113%/120%)
Good tubes start around 7,000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 12,500 - 13,000, and Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 12,500. Test result can also be seen in the pictures. In case you wonder what all these numbers would mean to your sound experience, it's actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to a tube's ability to amplify sound so the higher the numbers the stronger.
Packaging
This pair of tubes will be packaged in the original Telefunken tube boxes, secured by a hand-made paper ribbon (by courtesy of Soundlumia.)
Shipping Policy
- Ship worldwide! Flat-rate standard shipping (USPS Ground Advantage) within the US.
- Same business day handling. Orders are scheduled to ship within 24 - 48 hours of complete payment and in most cases they are posted on the same business day or in the AM the next business day.
- We combine shipping for multiple purchases. Please request invoice for total before making payment or receive shipping credit after order has shipped.
- Customers outside the US please pay extra attention: International shipping is through USPS First Class International by default. It's the least expensive option and includes $100 insurance but may take longer than other carriers. If you prefer to use a different carrier or add extra insurance to your order please contact us before you buy so we can get you the correct shipping rates.
Return Policy - Please READ carefully
Returns are acceptable in the case that we made a mistake by delivering you wrong or defective products. All of our tubes are guaranteed to arrive in the exact condition as described in our listings. We run professional tube tests + sound evaluation TWICE: before they are approved for listing AND before we ship them to customers. That means there's no possibility of you receiving a "defective item", therefore there is no plausible way for a customer to try returning a tube by reporting it as "defective". This type of return will NOT be accepted without proof that the product is faulty. A dispute will be opened with eBay in this scenario. We do NOT accept returns for buyer's remorse which includes customers who decide they don't like the subjective tonal signature of a tube. Please contact us to work things out before submitting return requests claiming "item is defective" or "item not as described."
Tube rollers abusing the return system will be reported to eBay immediately and negative feedback will be left to your account - that's guaranteed. We have already opened several dispute cases to report abusive buyers and eBay has always ruled in our favor. We are committed to working closely with eBay to help rid the marketplace of dishonest, unjust, unreasonable, abusive buyers that are detrimental to the vintage tubes market and the audiophile community.