We are very pleased and proud to report that on January 5, 2022 we celebrated our 24th year of selling on eBay! Please check our many years of eBay feedback. Thanks to you for your continuing support!
THIS AUCTON IS FOR A MATCHED PAIR OF VINTAGE DATE 12AX7LPS TUBES. THESE ARE VERY DIFFERENT SOUNDING FROM THE Sovek 12AX7LPS TUBES THAT ARE BEING MADE TODAY AND SOLD TODAY.
SOME SINGLES, MATCHED AND BALANCED PAIRS, BALANCED SINGLES, (and possibly) MATCHED QUADS, MATCHED SEXTETS AND A MATCHED OCTET MAY POSSIBLY BE AVAILABLE. IF YOU NEED MORE THAN IS ON eBAY AT THIS MOMENT, PLEASE CONTACT ME VIA eBAY AND I WILL LIST WHAT YOU NEED ON eBAY FOR YOU.
THESE MAY ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON ANOTHER OF MY eBAY AUCTIONS AS BALANCED TUBES, SINGLES, AND MATCHED AND BALANCED PAIRS. I MAY ALSO BE ABLE TO SUPPLY ADDITIONAL MATCHED PAIRS SO PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS AND I WILL LIST WHAT YOU NEED ON EbAY FOR YOU.
Gm READINGS WILL BE ON EACH TUBE BOX
NOTE: I AM ABOUT TO MAKE A VERY STRONG SIMPLE STATEMENT. Please read my feedback as well as comments from other customers below, before you rush to any judgements about me or the following statement:
"THIS PARTICULAR BATCH OF THESE SOVTEK 12AX7LPS TUBES SOUND BETTER THAN ANY OTHER 12AX7 TUBE THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD."
Even more impressive to those who may be somewhat skeptical, more than 9 out of 10 of the eBay buyers who have purchased these tubes from me, have ordered more of these same tubes from my eBay auctions after they received their first order.
IN A NUTSHELL, HERE IS THE STORY ON THESE PARTICULAR TUBES:
1) These tubes were offered to me in a bulk nested lot, with no boxes, by one of my suppliers. I committed to purchase 100 of them.
2) When these arrived, I noticed that these were not newly made but rather the date codes indicated manufacture in late 2002 and early 2003. I recently was fortunate to get two other batches of these tubes with 1999 and 2001 date codes that are equally good. The tubes on this auction are either 1999, 2001, or 2002 vintage dates. NOTE to read date codes on these Sovtek tubes: The first number on these tubes is the year of manufacture, and the second number is the month of manufacture.
3) Two audiophile friends and I tested these at first in a single-ended system which is very revealing. All three of us were blown away by the combination of musicality and transparency combined with a "punch" and very tight bass which is rarely...if ever...found in single-ended.
My friends each immediately purchased 10 of these tubes from me as that was all I was willing to part with.
4) These were then tested in a pair of new TAD mono-block amps and again, the sonic results were astounding. These sounded better than any other 12AX7 tubes we tried including Vintage NOS European 12AX7 ECC 83 tubes.
5) I then tested these in my own pair of vintage Mcintosh MC60 amps. Again, I was blown away by the improvements offered by these tubes over any other 12AX7s that I have ever used including vintage NOS Tele 12AX7s and vintage NOS Mullard 12AX7s.
6) By now, my curiosity was really awakened, so I tried these in several vintage Fender Blackface amps in my own collection. I tested these in a 1960s Blackface Super Reverb and in a 1960s Blackface Vibrolux Reverb. And again, absoutely sonically wonderful.
In conclusion, I can say that these particular RIBBED-PLATE tubes sound better to me, (and my two friends) than any other 12AX7 that we have ever used in both audiophile equipment and in my vintage Fender amps. And this includes American made NOS tubes and expensive NOS vintage European tubes.
Now obviously there is no way that I can say for certain that you will like these as much as we did, but the above statements are all absolutely true.
I am so enthusiastic about these tubes that I ordered the remaining 100 from this same supplier, which cleaned out his stock on these older but brand new 12AX7LPS tubes. I now have found some more, made in 1999 which are on this auction.
I CAN NOW ALSO PROVIDE MATCHED SETS, BALANCED TUBES, MATCHED AND BALANCED SETS, AND INDIVIDUAL TUBES. CONTACT ME VIA EBAY FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Please look at my feedback. I am known during 19+ years on eBay for honesty and accurate descriptions.
Please contact me using the eBay Contact Seller link with any questions.
And now the emails are starting to really come in...please read some comments I have received about this particular production run of these tubes from folks who have purchased these tubes from me:
"Hi Sandy. I wanted to drop you a note to let you know the pair of tubes you sent are totally righteous. I had factory installed tungsol tubes in my preamp and the difference with your tubes is like comparing night to day, It sounds like I bought a new preamp. Your tubes sound outstanding with more clarity, detail and depth of sound. I can't wait until they burn in. I will be back for another set to replace a pair of Golden Lion reissues in my DAC. Thanks again, Dave Fox"
Audiophile Rob Beneckson of Miami emailed these comments after purchasing these tubes from me on eBay for use in his headphone amplifier:
"Sandy,
Audiophile Johan Valenteijn of The Netherlands emailed these comments after receiving these tubes from me:
"I put your two NOS Sovtek ECC83 12AX7LPS tubes together with two of your tube dampers per tube in my outstanding power-amp Llano Trinity 200 (USA handbuild).
As a matter of fact, they outclassed the two Telefunkens I used before. Great stuff. Feel free to use this email in convincing any other potential buyer." With kind regards, Johan Valenteijn, The Netherlands
Audiophile Bob K. of Miami who after carefully evaluating these tubes had this to say:
"Sandy, You’ve done it again! Thank you for letting me know about the “special run” older date-coded Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes.
In my TAD-1000 system they are magnificent. While I am keeping the EI Gold Pins I bought previously (they have their own attraction), these NOS Sovteks are something special.
In my system, they opened up the soundstage even beyond the Gold Pins. I first used them in my amp, but after hearing the change they made I used up all you sent me in my McIntosh C20 preamp.
As you know, I am careful about making declarations of "better" or "best". I see too much nonsense, and often combinations of carefully selected components can make magic. Nevertheless in MY SYSTEM, these Sovtek 12AX7LPS tubes are it!
How you can uncover these gems is beyond me, but thank you for it...Keep up the great work. You are saving me from a lot of expensive trial and error."
Bob K., Miami, FL
Audiophile Alex Taylor writes:
"If I was to make an overall comment on the audio quality of these tubes, I would say that the "blackness" or low noise level and neutrality is absolutely outstanding. This quaility is key to the fantastic sounstage and musicality as well as the transparency of these tubes. I believe that I would agree with you, that these are the best sounding tubes I have ever used in my PAS3!" Alexander Taylor, Detroit MI
One of my good customers in Hong Kong writes:
"Hi Sandy, Thank you again for bringing to eBay this legendary tube. I actually had heard of these early-run 12AX7LPS tubes before this, but I thought this was a legend and I certainly never thought any of these would be available. I replaced every 12AX7 in my McIntosh system and now I will purchase two more spare sets. I will need more than what is now on the eBay auction so please consider that when relisting...maybe you can list 30 at a time in the future?" Sammy Tong, Hong Kong
Guitarist Bill Owens had this to say:
"The 12AX7 LPS tubes arrived in 2 days. I installed them in our vintage Blackface amps and the clarity and sustain is awesome! You might be interested to know that these ARE different than the Sovtek 12AX7 LPS tubes you get today. I know because I have used the current 12AX7 LPS tubes and these are most definitely different! I can't wait to start recording our new CD tracks with these tubes! This is like finding a supply of NOS PAF pickups that were hidden away for years!" Bill Owens, Los Angeles, CA
KNOW YOUR SELLER! WE GUARANTEE ALL OF OUR TUBES ARE GENUINE, PLEASE CHECK OUR FEEDBACK.
NOTE: Unlike some other sellers, ALL SHIPPING/INSURANCE/HANDLING charges for 2-3 day delivery service in the US as well as International Delivery options are stated up front in our auctions.
This bid price is for one factory fresh VINTAGE MATCHED PAIR OF BRAND NEW OLD STOCK Sovtek 12AX7LPS TUBES. These tubes are from a bulk-pack and will be supplied to you in white boxs. Your bid price is for one MATCHED PAIR of these tubes. If you need more than one matched pair, just contact me an I may be able to even supply Balanced and Matched sets. These tubes are brand new old stock (from 1999, 2002 and 2003) and are supplied in white boxes.
All that New Sensor, the Manufacturer and Importer states about these tubes is: " S" Spiral filament for no hum with AC filaments."
Feel free to check my feedback and bid with confidence. Please email with any questions before bidding. We accept MasterCard, Discover and American Express through PayPal. We reserve the right to reject bids from those with negative or hidden feedback. If you fall into this category, please email before bidding! We also reserve the right to declare this auction null and void if eBay is not accessible during the last three hours of this auction.
SHIPPING COSTS-DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL
(Effective Jan. 18, 2016)
SPECIAL NOTE ON SHIPPING COSTS: I ship within the US via Priority Mail. My actual out-of-pocket cost to ship even one tube within the US is $9.60 for Priority Mail plus an additional expense for the private shipping Insurance plus $.65 for the Delivery Confirmation Number (that I will email to you after shipping). I then need to carefully pack the tubes, make out the shipping label and Delivery Confirmation form and wait in line at the post office to ship. I am certainly not making a profit on shipping these tubes.
VERY FAST domestic shipping and insurance for the 1st pair of tubes, using USPS Priority Mail (2-3 Day Service) with Delivery Confirmation and extremely careful packing is $9.60 within the US including Alaska and Hawaii. Insured Priority Mail shipping to Puerto Rico is also $9.60. Extra matched pairs shipped together are only $2.00 extra per additional pair for shipping and insurance within the US. 98% of our items are shipped the same day or next business day after payment is received.
One International Shipping Option would be USPS First Class Mail International (4-7 days transit time) Insurance is NOT available with First Class Mail International but the cost is $16.55 and this cost includes the additional time required to fill out the customs forms. Again, extra pairs shipped internationally together in the same package via Airmail Letter Post cost only $4.00 extra for each additional pair.
Our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED International Shipping option is USPS Express Mail International at a cost of $52.00. Express Mail International is the ONLY international US Postal Service shipping method that can be tracked and if desired we can request that the USPS email you and me with updates as this package travels to your country. Extra pairs shipped internationally in the same package via Express Mail International cost $2.00 for each additional pair.
IMPORTANT SAVINGS SAVINGS ON SHIPPING COSTS: If purchasing multiple items, please email me at the end of this auction and I will also combine shipping on mulitple items to help offset the cost of Express Mail International.
=============================================================================================================================
ATTENTION: ITALY / ITALIAN BIDDERS:
Due to NUMEROUS AND REPEATED problems with the speed of Italian Customs & Post Office, we cannot respond to questions about shipping via First Class International to Italy for SIX FULL WEEKS after the ship date. If your item is being shipped to
Please click on: "View Seller's Other Auctions" for more interesting items. Please check my feedback and bid with confidence. Good luck & thank you for bidding. You may pay for this item on your Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express card at no extra charge through PayPal. If you use PayPal Instant Payment, I will get immediate payment and be able to ship without waiting for your payment to arrive. Thanks and Good Luck to all!
Photos and Text Copyright 2007 sandyphoto
Copying of images or text will be reported to eBay and further legal action will be instituted.