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The Amazing W.E. VT52....

99.5.232.186
Posted on March 22, 2015 at 21:00:23
drummerwill
Audiophile

Posts: 965
Location: St Louis Mo.
Joined: January 7, 2003
.... " The 45 Special". What's so special about the 45 special ?
Well not a lot of difference, except if it's a Western Electric VT52.

Tonight I broke out my pair of W.E. VT52's I've had these for about 15yrs. I used them off and on with my VT52 amp ,but mainly used a pair of Sylvania's. But The W.E.'s always topped them.

The W.E.'s definitely bring out the detail in the music, that type 45 type detail but much more intense...The construction of theses tubes are some of the finest tube design done. . Compared to W.E. today's stuff is crude by comparison. ( Well not all of todays stuff). But certainly a majority of what's available.


I'm so glad I hung on to these Treasures !

Have fun!
Willie













 

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RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52.... the flipside !, posted on March 23, 2015 at 13:33:54
drummerwill
Audiophile

Posts: 965
Location: St Louis Mo.
Joined: January 7, 2003
 To be perfectly honest I was enamored by the design of the tube.......

After listening last night at low levels and today at higher volumes, the W.E. VT 52 has a bit too much upper band sound.... After listening at higher volumes it became too much to listen to. ( To my ears ).

I put in a pulled the VT52's , and put in a set ST 50's. ...Ok

Now there's plenty music up and down the scale !!

So for me the Type 50 sounds much better than the VT52, in this SET amp.
Maybe a 2 Stage IT coupled PP W.E. VT52 would be the way to go .

Anyone got a pair of WEVT52 or better yet a quad of NOS WE VT52's to loan me for a future build !!!!


Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it!


Have fun

Willie

 

The Amazing Raytheon VT52.... , posted on March 23, 2015 at 17:09:16
GSH



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RE: The Amazing Raytheon VT52.... Oh my !..., posted on March 23, 2015 at 20:48:11
drummerwill
Audiophile

Posts: 965
Location: St Louis Mo.
Joined: January 7, 2003
.... That's very neat looking also... I've never owned a good Box DHT.

Have you heard it in an amp ? I the one box VT52 I had was gassy, so I never used it.

Thanks

Willie

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52...., posted on March 24, 2015 at 09:55:58
Ed Sawyer
Audiophile

Posts: 2595
Joined: November 3, 2000
 I have a single WE VT52 I always wanted to do something with. I should probably part with it since I haven't been motivated to find a mate for it. Nice looking tube, basically the same construction as their VT-25.

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52...., posted on March 24, 2015 at 10:27:11
Al Noakes
 Same here , got all sorts of rare singles : 801 483 PX4 AC/PX26 DO26 and also have a single WE VT52 . Maybe one day I'll find another , I eventually had luck pairing 205F but it took years . The trouble is onced paired up is spares

Al

 

Have to agree, posted on March 25, 2015 at 08:53:20
Gordon Rankin
Manufacturer

Posts: 2928
Joined: June 9, 2000



Willie,

I have 2 amps at home, a pair of older VT52's I made called the Corona and these all silver jobs I used at RMAF last year...

WEVT52, WE274B, WE417

Love em... also have a beat up old stereo parallel feed amp I made like 20 years ago when Mike made the first PF transformers. VT52 NU, WE417, Bendix rect.

Thanks,
Gordon
J. Gordon Rankin

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52.... the flipside !, posted on March 25, 2015 at 09:24:34
Stuben
Audiophile

Posts: 669
Location: Guber Ohio
Joined: December 30, 2005
 I built a couple of mono block SE VT-52 amps IT coupled driven by 5842s. I couldn't get he magic out because my speakers are not quite efficient enough (around 94db/watt) I used Sylvania VT-52s.

I finally bit the bullet and dropped the cash for a pair of 50s. The 50s are glorious. I think I read on the VT-52 web site that WE VT-52 has a higher plate dissipation.

Is this your experience?

Stuben

 

My absolutely GREAT VT-52 story ...., posted on March 25, 2015 at 11:12:52
drlowmu
Manufacturer

Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005
 In November 1991 or 1992, I visted an old line K.C., MO. electronics store that was shutting down, to buy a small part.

As I paid for the part, the clerk told me that I had missed the big auction, a week earlier, where all their decades-old vacuum tube stocks were sold off in a "going-out-of-business" auction.

He knew I looked very disappointed, so, the clerk said to me, "Since you missed the auction, help yourself to a VT-52 over in the middle of the store, to go with your part purchase."

In 1991, I did NOT know what a VT-52 was. I walked over and saw about 100 tubes, all VT-52, mostly engraved base WEs. What struck me was I KNEW they were DHTs because of the 4 pin bases.

I walked back to the clerk and told him " Instead of taking one for free, can I just buy the lot of them, and can you give me a good deal, because (a) it was my birthday today and (b) I did not have much money on me.

The clerk thought it over and said "Sure. How about $20.00 for the lot". I said " that was really fair but I was REALLY broke, and is there ANY way he could possibly do it for $10.00 " He thought for a moment, and he agreed !!!

When I loaded the tubes into my VW Rabbitt, I didn't know WHAT they were, but..... I started JUMPING up and down WILDLY in the store's back parking lot, from JOY !! I could not contain myself. Two or three very big jumps !!!

As I recall, there may have been a TOTAL of 104 NOS VT-52s, about 74 or 77 were WE engraved base VT-52s, and the remainder were Hytrons. So, my cost was 9.62 cents a tube, for each NOS VT-52 !!!!!!!!

I sold ALL the tubes to Japan, as I recall , I think a company called EIFL, and got $65.00 each for the W.E.s and $50.00 each for the HYTRONS.

I THINK I next visted vintage speaker reconer, Don Davis, "Dr. Field Coil" down in Austin, and bought four more RCA "Ubangie" bass enclosures with the VT-52 proceeds. At one time, I owned six Ubangies...in a two bedroom house in KC. MO !!

I have a warm feeling, when guys mention VT-52s. I wonder, who else took the VT-52 TRIP I took ???? Isn't that a great story, and amazingly, its TRUE !!

Have a nice day !!

Jeff Medwin

 

RE: My absolutely GREAT VT-52 story ...., posted on March 26, 2015 at 14:00:54
Ed Sawyer
Audiophile

Posts: 2595
Joined: November 3, 2000
 Kind of a douche move, actually. how about a story that doesn't involve just profiteering off someone else's generosity, and immediately flipping said benefit by selling to Japan?

Too bad the store got screwed on that whole experience.

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52...., posted on March 26, 2015 at 18:44:11
airairy
Audiophile

Posts: 43
Joined: July 19, 2008



my best ever amplifier
Komuro SET vt 52

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52...., posted on March 26, 2015 at 21:07:03
Sidewinder
Audiophile

Posts: 254
Joined: April 13, 2001
 Hello,
Is the Komuro SET VT52 schematic to be found on the net? If not could you describe its design?
Thanks,
David

 

W.E. VT52...., posted on March 28, 2015 at 02:31:20
airairy
Audiophile

Posts: 43
Joined: July 19, 2008
 Komuro SET VT52 schematic cannot be found on net

The tubes are match pair of WE vt 52 from 1939 (I have additional 2 pairs of those)
WE 274b 1960'
Match quad of VALVO 6201/ECC801S/12AT7 *BLUE LABEL*Gold Pin TUBES
For my very subjective opinion it is the best SET I want to have

 

RE: W.E. VT52...., posted on March 28, 2015 at 06:49:06
Wojciech
Audiophile

Posts: 4124
Joined: June 23, 2009
 What speakers you use with Komuro?

 

RE: My absolutely GREAT VT-52 story ...., posted on March 29, 2015 at 11:09:35
drlowmu
Manufacturer

Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005
 Hi Ed,

Respectfully to you, it would be very interesting for me to know what YOU would have done, if YOU were in that same EXACT situation.

I think everyone got what they deserved, and I acted rationally.

Jeff Medwin

 

RE: The Amazing Raytheon VT52.... Oh my !..., posted on March 29, 2015 at 12:52:12
drlowmu
Manufacturer

Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005
 Guys,

We have EML making all types of 45s.....GLOBE Type 45s, and center tapped filament Type 45s these days in an octal base, mesh plates, gold plated grids, with extra large getters and 30% less distortion than ANY Type 45.

My friend Barry in London just got two pair / types as his birthday present.

I would guess, the EML will be superior to a WE VT-52. Just guessing. And we can actually GET them, NEW, with that old green Mexican sauce - called mucho dinero.

Jeff Medwin

 

RE: The Amazing Raytheon VT52.... Oh my !..., posted on March 29, 2015 at 14:18:27
airairy
Audiophile

Posts: 43
Joined: July 19, 2008
 I haven't enough experience to make assumptions - so I need to hear before making my assumptions

I had experience with other EML tubes
For instance, I had tried the EML274B that cost 300$ instead of WE274B that cost 5 times more
I had biased in favor of the EML as I hoped to sale the WE274B and have some money in my pocket
The WE274b was much much better sonically then the EML. For me, the EML was a waste of money.
Surly it is more then $1000 cheaper to believe that the new EML274B sound better


 

RE: W.E. VT52...., posted on March 29, 2015 at 14:22:32
airairy
Audiophile

Posts: 43
Joined: July 19, 2008



Horns ( BD Oris Swing)

 

RE: The Amazing Raytheon VT52.... Oh my !..., posted on March 30, 2015 at 11:10:53
drlowmu
Manufacturer

Posts: 9730
Location: East of Kansas City
Joined: January 10, 2005
 Respectfully, honestly, to spend $1,000 or more on a rectifier tube is something I just CAN'T wrap my head around.

I could be quite happy with a brand new JJ 5U4GB, at about sixteen dollars.

**** I feel that there are SO MANY things WRONG with most tube amps I see, that the $984 dollar money difference can be better applied to the amp in FAR more performance-beneficial ways. ****

Things that come to mind are better (lower DCR) power transformers and chokes, much better high conductivity wire, and better power supply and Rk capacitors. Any and all of the above, individually or together, will TROMP any performance differences you can hear between these rectifier tubes we are discussing.

YMMV, fine with me !!

Cheers,

Jeff Medwin

 

.... Oh my !..., posted on March 30, 2015 at 21:41:56
airairy
Audiophile

Posts: 43
Joined: July 19, 2008
 The price of NOS are based on Supply and demand
I am really sorry that for me the WE 274b work much better sonically
and even prefer to pay that coat.
Your assumption about something wrong with the amplifier because I prefer to pay much more for that tube is only your assumption
and let me not give my opinion about it.
I am into hearing , not to do assumptions

I have SET base on Siemens Da tubes that cost a lot -is that mean for you that the amplifier is "wrong"?
Its Rectifier Tube is Siemens Z2B and driver tube Siemens c3gs that cost much less- so does it make the AMP more "right"?

Back to WE VT52 - I have 3 new pairs from 1939 that cost me on around $300 each pair
You mention EML 45 tubes that by your assumptions are better -
Well, they cost twice as WE vt 52-so by your rational they are good for wrong amplifiers

 

RE: The Amazing W.E. VT52...., posted on May 9, 2015 at 01:59:19
sv572-10
It's an amzing tube and deserves a nice high quality transformer to really sing.

A Dutch guy asked me to make something speciall for a reasonable price (<€200,- each)
So this is what i made. Ra=3750 Rs=16 Ohm. Copperloss 0,17dB HiB c-core.











 

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