Tube Summary

Enjoy the most musical 6DJ8/ECC88 tube on Earth - Amperex 6DJ8 PQ (Premium Quality) made in Holland from the early 1970s! PQ tubes are among the greatest Amperex tubes ever made and are highly sought after by serious audiophiles. These prestige tubes were made with special filament technique to produce special quietness in sound - something one can only find on Philips SQ (Special Quality) or high-end German E88CC tubes. 

Sound Characteristics 

As a major step-up of the famed early production of Amperex Holland tubes with steel pins (Bungle Boys, Orange Globe etc.), these tubes combine the best of both worlds: the large sound stage, transparent midrange and liquid & harmonic sound from the Bugle Boy & Orange Globe, and the laser precision imaging and superb smoothness in the top end from the PQ series. We have recommended PQ tubes to so many satisfied customers who use them in their phono setup that we have given them a nick name "sound purifier" - the sound that comes from these tubes has absolutely no edginess, glassiness or harshness, and you hear nothing but the soul of your music and all of it. These are the best tubes to to put in the phono stage to "purify" your sound.

Professional Sound Evaluation

The quad was split into two matched pairs, both of which 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 these tubes were running in the system described above.

Professional Tube Testing 

All four tubes tested Super Strong NOS (120%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance in uMhos and percentage of nominal):

Tube 1: 15,400/15,300 (123%/122%)
Tube 2: 14,250/14,000 (114%/112%)
Tube 3: 14,100/14,800 (113%/118%)
Tube 4: 14,500/14,900 (116%/119%)

Good tubes start around 7000 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. 

Appearance & Cosmetic condition

This quad is so rare because nearly 100% of the paint is intact on all the four tubes, and they share the same exact Heerlen date code:

GAE ⊿2L2 (GAE = control code for 1970s, ⊿ = Heerlen, Holland, 2 = 1972, L = December, 2 = Week 2 of the production month) 

Packaging

This pair of tubes will be packaged in new white boxes.

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 Ground Advantage 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 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 tax/GST/VAT 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.