Description
Perfect balanced Philips SQ E88CC preamp tube - Made in Holland - 1961 - Very Rare Note: If you need a pair of early 1960s Philips SQ E88CC tubes instead of a single tube, please see our listing of 1962 Philips SQ E88CC Tubes Matched Pair. Tube Summary The beauty, the legend, the classic, the Special Quality(SQ) - this is the super tube from Heerlens high echelon that doesnt break your bank. Known for their superb musicality and ultra low noise, thanks to Philips proprietary SQ design, these tubes remain among audiophiles top choices for serious listening. Sound Characteristics Immediately appealing is the super smooth highs offered by these tubes with lots of open air. The overall tonality of SQ is warm, musical and euphonic. The midrange displays some secondary octave nuances, which is very unique and can hardly be found even among the top-end German tubes. Similar to the Telefunken tubes, the SQs can create infinite levels of harmonic depth and a liquid sonic texture without altering the musicality of the sound. The bass on these is the clear winner of the Heerlen tubes family: articulate, accurate, deep, textured, full-bodied and powerful. The sound stage is wide and structured - it feels the dimensions of the sound shape are clearly defined no matter how it moves. Vocal representation on the SQs is close to Mitcham and Blackburn Mullard tubes in terms of warmth, sweetness and texture, making them great alternatives to Mullards as the best vocals tube. But what truly shines on SQ tubes, especially the ones from the 1960s like this tube, is their magic in portraying piano music: creamy smooth, richly colored, realistic and intimate. For many audiophiles (incl. ourselves), theyre the go-to tube for piano sound. Listening to Claudio Arraus Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas on these tubes should be on your bucket list if you happen to be into classical piano music, but even if you are not, these tubes superb interpretation of piano music from any genre will amaze you. The ultra low noise on SQs also sets them apart from most of the high-end tubes. They dont just compete with Telefunken tubes in low noise; theyre known for being a long-term leader in low noise. As a result, you get superb detail and clarity from these tubes as well. Professional Tube Testing The tube tested Strong OS (110%+ nominal mutual conductance) on a Mercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance in uMhos): 14,700/14,900 Good tubes start at 7000 and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB) 12,500 - 13,000, and the Mercury 2000s 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, its actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to a tubes ability to amplify sound, so the higher the numbers the stronger. Appearance & cosmetic condition Besides the world-class sound characteristics, we still treasure this tube for its near pristine cosmetic condition given the tubes age - over 95% of the paint is still intact, and the date code of the Heerlen factory etched on glass is perfectly visible: delta 1G5 (delta = Heerlen, 1 = 1961, G = July, 5 = 5th week of the month) Shipping Policy - Ship worldwide! Flat-rate shipping (USPS First-Class) 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. Please 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 eBay International Shipping program by default. Its 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 before you buy so we can get you the correct shipping rates. Return Policy - Please READ carefully First of all, returns are acceptable as long as you are reasonable. Soundlumia sets extremely high quality standard for the products we deliver. Tubes we sell are guaranteed to work because we run professional tests and sound evaluation before they are approved for listing AND before we ship them to customers. So the defective item case doesnt exist and please do not bother trying - this type of returns will NOT be accepted without proof that tubes do not work and we will open a dispute with eBay. Sound experience is a very subjective thing, and lets be real its not that easy to run into compatibility issues between amps and tubes (so that one wont fly, either.) Please contact us to work things out before submitting return requests claiming item is defective or item not as described. We would really appreciate your respect to the professional work we have done (sourcing, testing & matching tubes, evaluating tube sound, sharing our sound experience with you, packing and shipping) to make these wonderful vintage tubes available to you at reasonable prices. Secondly, if you are a tube roller looking to game the return system, Number One STOP. Soundlumias founder is a seasoned sound professional who has advised orchestras and music studios in sound production in USA for over two decades, so knowing sound is the minimum skill requirement of our team. We are experts in sound and equipment - tubes, headphones, speakers, DACs, amps, turntables, CD Players - you name it. So no tricks here please. Abusive behaviors will be reported to eBay immediately and negative feedback will be left to your account - thats also guaranteed. We have already reported several abusers to eBay and we are determined to continue working with eBay to help rid of these unprofessional, unjustified, unkind, unfair and unacceptable behaviors that are detrimental to eBay, the vintage tubes market and the audiophile community.
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