This is not a listing about audio tubes but an invitation for you to hear the sweetest voice on Earth. No other tubes can deliver vocals like the Mullard's, whether they're from Mitcham, Blackburn or Heerlen, and that's a fact. These E88CC tubes are particularly special because they have the very rare yellow print and Cossor label and are being hunted to near extinction by audiophiles and sound professionals.
Sound Qualities
"Like a warm British jacket of the finest tweed, these glorious tubes have an attractive sweet warmth in their midrange and lower regions." This is how experts on audiotubes.com describe the sound signature of Mitcham Mullard tubes. The top end is silky and pleasant and doesn't get rolled off. They retain a fine sense of "air" at the top, and the upper midrange is smooth and liquid. These tubes reproduce human voice, especially female voices, with haunting realism. Full disclosure from your peer audiophile: Mitcham E88CC's are my go-to tubes for listening to Maria Callas and Frank Sinatra and I refuse to use other tubes. Mitcham Mullard's are also known to have an attractive sparkle at the top with rich bass...now we know where that "warm British jacket" comes from!
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
NO shorts or grid leakage. NO noise or microphonics.
Both tubes tested Strong NOS (110%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance in uMhos and percentage of nominal):
Tube 1 (Left): 14,700/14,000 (134%/127%)
Tube 2 (Right): 15,800/15,500 (144%/141%)
Good tubes start at 7,000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 11,000 - 11,500, and the Mercury 2000's rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new tubes is 11,000. 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.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
We treasure this pair also because of the pristine condition of both tubes - nearly 100% of the paint and lettering are well retained. The Mitcham date codes painted on glass are also visible on both tubes:
7L1 R9F2 (7L1 = E88CC production gen #1, R = Mitcham, 9 = 1969, F = June, 2 = Week 2 of the production month)
7L1 R9E3 (7L1 = E88CC production gen #1,R = Mitcham, 9 = 1969, E = May, 3 = Week 3 of the production month)
Packaging
This pair of tubes will be packaged in new white boxes.
Shipping Policy
-US Shipping: Flat-rate USPS Ground Advantage
-International Shipping:(Please read carefully)USPS First Class International is used for all countries EXCEPT: Armenia, Chile, China, India, Latvia, Mauritius, Mexico, Serbia, Slovenia, Tuvalu, and Vietnam.If you prefer to use a different carrier or shipping service, please contact us first so we can establish shipping rates before you make payment. If you are a buyer in one of the excluded countries,you must contact us prior to purchase to arrange shipping.Soundlumia-sponsored 3-day guaranteed worldwide delivery program ($35 flat rate for ALL destinations in the world) via DHL Express is highly recommended to serious and committed buyers.
- Same day shipping: Orders placed by2:00PM US Pacific Time on weekdays are posted on the same day, otherwise the next business day.
- Combined shipping available - request invoice for total before making payment or receive shipping credit after order ships.
Return Policy - Please READ carefully
Returns are acceptable if we made a mistake by delivering you wrong or defective products. Tubes we sell are guaranteed to work because we run professional tests and sound evaluation TWICE: before they are approved for listing AND before we ship them to customers. So the "defective item" case doesn't exist and please do not bother trying - this type of returns will NOT be accepted without proof that tubes are faulty and we will open disputes with eBay. Sound experience is very subjective and we do NOT accept returns because you do not like the tube's sound signature or because you changed your mind about your purchase. Please contact us to work things out before submitting return requests claiming "item is defective" or "item not as described" or "just didn't like it" or "changed my mind."
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. International buyers who request return or refund claiming your country's import duties or sales taxes/VAT/GST are too high will be reported to eBay immediately for dishonesty and will be permanently blacklisted from purchasing from Soundlumia. 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.