Sound qualities

What a great decade for the legendary Heerlen tubes! You get the "textbook" Philips/Amperex Holland midrange presentation that is transparent, natural and expansive, with a slight touch of warmth that illuminates your musical world. The top end is super airy, smooth and nicely extended like one would expect from the best Siemens tubes. Vocals are intimate, sweet and forward (but not right in your face) and that always reminds me how the vocals sound on the best Mullard tubes. Bass is deep and well controlled and the accuracy feels very similar to the high end German PCC88's (Siemens, Telefunken.)

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

This set was tested and certified by RoeTest V11 tester with the following result: 

Tube 1: 

Measured transconductance (GM): 9.98/12.03 mA/V  - 80%/96%  (100% = 12.50 mA/V)
Measured plate current (IA): 10.665/13.777 mA  - 71%/92%  (100% = 15 mA)

Tube 2:

Measured transconductance (GM): 13.21/9.48 mA/V  - 106%/76%  (100% = 12.50 mA/V)
Measured plate current (IA): 16.522/8.347 mA  - 110%/56%  (100% = 15 mA)

NO shorts, leakage or gas. NO noise or microphonics.

Curve trace is also included in the original RoeTest report.

Appearance & cosmetic condition

We treasure this pair for its near pristine cosmetic condition - over 90% of the paint is well preserved. The identical date code of Heerlen factory etched on glass is also perfectly visible on both tubes: 

⊿8A2 (⊿ = Heerlen, Holland, 8 = 1968, A = January, 2 = Week 2 of production month)
⊿9J1 (⊿ = Heerlen, Holland, 9 = 1969, J = October, 1 = Week 1 of production month)

Packaging

New white tube boxes.

Shipping Policy 

 - Ship worldwide! Flat-rate economy shipping (USPS Ground Advantage) within the US. 

 - Same business day handling. 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. 

 - 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 customs declaration is automated but it may take longer than other carriers. If you prefer to use a different carrier please contact us first so we can get you the correct shipping rates before you make payment.

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.