June 8, 2012
-
Amperex Bugle Boy ECC88/6DJ8
The following is taken from Vacuum Tube Valley Issue 7 in an article penned by Eric Barbour © 1997.
“The 6DJ8 was introduced in 1957 by Amperex, the American division of Philips. It was developed by Philips in Holland, under the European standard designation ECC88, and intended as a cascade amplifier for television VHF and UHF tuners, nothing more…The 6DJ8 became a popular type, especially when the engineers at Tektronix discovered it. They found that it was consistent enough for their oscilloscopes, and gave excellent pulse fidelity….For many years Amperex/Philips was the major source, with Siemens, Telefunken, GE and Sylvania weighing in with their own versions later.”
And that concludes our mini-history lesson on the origin of this tube-type.
The sample set was purchased as part of a larger group of 10 Amperex Bugle Boy ECC88/6DJ8 tubes and all bear the same GAA Δ5H2 manufacture and date codes of August, 1965. These are the small O-ring type from Heerlen, Holland.
These tubes have been used extensively before and as such, did not change character over the course of the review. The tubes installed previously in the Premier 16LS2 preamplifier were the Amperex JAN 7308 green label type and the reader is referred to that review as background.
In addition, the reader should view the XLO Ultra 1 Interconnect installment in tandem with this one to get a more complete picture. My apologies for any content redundancies in the cited postings.
Listening Impressions:
- When compared to the Amperex 7308 green label:
- Detail is excellent but not quite as sharp
- Bass lacks some energy
- More midrange warmth and presence
- Tonally not as neutral but more atmospheric and in some ways more realistic
- The soundstage projects more often and further into the listening room with larger images
- Dynamics may be a little reined-in with less impact
- Bells ring with clarity and decay as slowly as the recording allows.
- Treble is clear but not accentuated. Violins are sweet, smooth and extended.
- Extremely natural sounding with an immediate involvement in the music.
As stated earlier, Amperex/Philips were the first to develop this tube and, in many ways, I do not believe that anyone else has done a better job at communicating the essence of the music.
- When compared to the Amperex 7308 green label:
Comments (6)
Wow, where did you get five Amperex BB 6DJ8s, all with perfect print?! Most of my Bugle Boy tubes have that easy-to-come-off chalk-like paint. Too bad the panties don't come off that easily
Actually, besides the six in the picture, I have an additional four that look the same. I bought the lot of 10 and they were pulls from a Tektronix oscilloscope. So they must have been put into the equipment straight out of the box and there was little to no wear on the labels. The tubes themselves tested well into the good range also, all of them measure at 105 which I believe is out of 120 max. I think, don't know for sure, that most current production don't even score that high.
We won't go into the ease of removal part of your comment.
Very concise reviews of those tubes, JDA1951.
What are the components of your Audio system?
@JAFANT -
I've posted a similar response to this on your Xanga web site, but should you see this first, you may view my system here: http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/5271.html
Hope you liked the BB 6DJ8 review.
I love Conrad Johnson gear.
So far, the best system I have ever demoed
as the CJ Act 2 Series 2 preamp + 350 Premier SS power amp!
@JAFANT -
I haven't been fortunate enough to hear either. But based on reputation, that must've sounded very, very nice.
My usual amp, a c-j Premier 140 is at conrad-johnson for repairs and to have the capacitors upgraded to the more recent Teflon type they now use. I'm waiting impatiently for its return.