Tubes Summary

Stronger than time! This is the classic beauty in sound, admired by audiophiles for more than 50 years and will still be our top choice in the next 50 years. The legendary Siemens tone is considered the "reference sound" for serious classical listeners who need to upgrade the sound quality at phono stage. 

Sound Characteristics 

The airy and transparent sound produced by these vintage Siemens tubes has been unrivaled even to this day. The magically extended yet never tizzy highs, coupled with the slightly focused upper mid-range, deliver a clear presentation of the entire frequency spectrum, completed by the precise and deep controlled bass. And the most defining sound characteristic of Siemens E88CC tubes is their ability to retrieve the deepest levels of detail in sound, and these hidden sonic layers can go a long way to revealing the subtle ambient clues that help complete building a truly 3D holographic presentation. While as quiet and analytical as the best Telefunken E88CC tubes, Siemens E88CC's produce a warmer, smoother and more musical sound. To see how they compare to each other, please also see Soundlumia's exclusive Telefunken E88CC listings.

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, gas grid leakages or microphonics. 

Both tubes tested Strong NOS (110%+ mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (both in mutual conductance in uMhos and in percentage of the nominal value):

Tube 1: 17,500/18,200 (140%/146%)
Tube 2: 19,000/19,000 (152%/152%)

Good tubes start at 7000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 12,500 - 13,000, and the 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 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 better. 

Appearance & Cosmetic condition

Despite some loss of paint on one of the tubes, this pair overall is in great cosmetic condition. The 3-line Munich date codes etched on the glass are visible on both tubes although you may need to look closer to see them completely: 

Tube 1: N5 7I (N5 = E288CC 5th gen, 7 = 1967 or Rev. 7, I = September) 
Tube 2: N5 8D (N5 = E288CC 5th gen, 8 = 1968 or Rev. 8, D = April)

Packaging

This pair of tubes will be packaged in NEW reproduction Siemens tube boxes, secured by a hand-made paper ribbon (by courtesy of Soundlumia.)

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. 
 - Same day shipping: Orders placed by 2:00PM 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.