Thanks to all for the great info and clarification! Great group here. 
Tube markings “Made in Germany” and “Made in W Germany”
- Thread starter playittwice
- Start date
refer to post #12
yeah buddy! happy listeningThanks to all for the great info and clarification! Great group here.
I saw that it was already clarified, after I posted so was just agreeing with your post.
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ah, well i agree with your post! all the best, buddyI saw that it was already clarified, after I posted so was just agreeing with you post.
As an addendum and for future reference/purchases;
Is it better to know the origin of where tube is manufactured , vs the print on the tube? (Fairly new to tube buying, so asking for safe purchase decisions.)
ie: D=Valvo vs “Made in Germany” or Amperex as in this case the tube is actually a Valvo, not Amperex.
I think I’m stating this correctly.
Is it better to know the origin of where tube is manufactured , vs the print on the tube? (Fairly new to tube buying, so asking for safe purchase decisions.)
ie: D=Valvo vs “Made in Germany” or Amperex as in this case the tube is actually a Valvo, not Amperex.
I think I’m stating this correctly.
tubes are identified by manufacture, type (model). further identification is done by era/year, physical description.
correct. D=valvo hamburg. the first character of the second line of the manufacture code, D, identifies the manufacturer (valvo hamburg).
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I haven’t been around tubes as long as the veterans on here, but this is the first time I’ve noticed two different origins of manufacture on two exact tubes and having born-on dates that close, hence my curiosity.
It’s nice to see the fine folks on here can explain this, not only for myself, but for others that have possibly encountered the same thing.
It’s nice to see the fine folks on here can explain this, not only for myself, but for others that have possibly encountered the same thing.
oh, the exact same tube can have completely different brand names printed on them.
anyone can print whateever they want on the tubes, hence referring to the manufacture codes and the construction.
for example, every one of these are the same version (Df6)of valvo hamburg 6201 disc getter:
this one, the previous production run (Df5), even has "made ion holland" printed on the glass. hey, i know that hamburg is in germany!
yeah buddy!Hamburgers! Sorry, the Devil made me do it.
They are very good tubes!
Dswankey
Lunatic Member
This just my opinion but I'm going to say origin, let's move away from Amperex and Valvo and go with a different example.
Using 12AX7 for the purpose of my reply.
Consumer electronics manufacturers also had their name branded onto to tubes, Webcor was one such entity back in the day that sold primarily RtR tape recorders.
From my experience based on several different occasions any Webcor piece I've found all had the "Webcor" font branded onto the tubes which were all Mullard manufactured.
So back to your question if one was to ask are Webcor tubes any good a typical response from many folks here would be check the codes and seeing as they were usually Mullard the answer would be yes.
On the other hand folks who aren't that knowledgeable about tubes might dismiss a "Webcor" as inferior to say an Amperex based solely on name recognition.
Other example of a CEM's branding their name/logo:
The Fisher widely known for their use of Telefunkens,
Here's a Webcor Mullard example from my stash
different plant location. i seen that with Mullard tubes.
i can see etching on the glass i would say those are Mullard tube
Dswankey
Lunatic Member
It's already noted in my post that they are Mullard
mullard and philips both had several tube manufacturing facilities. each facility is denoted by character.
valvo hamburg only had one location: valvo hamburg, denoted by capital "D."
see post #4 for manufacture codes
hey buddy, see post #4--these are valvo hamburg D-codes.
mullard and philips both had several audio tube manufacturing facilities.
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ok ill keep my opinion to myself next time.