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In Reply to: Odd Matsushita 5AR4 posted by thoriated_tiger on September 20, 2004 at 09:17:29:
There was a Matsushita on ebay a week or so ago that looked like a D getter Dutch Philips labeled for Mats. Check the closed items on GZ34---
Follow Ups:
I'm the one who got that 5AR4 =o) I thought it was the common "seamed top" mullard copy. I didn't even bother asking the seller if it had the seams. I *like* the matsu X-seam Mullard copy!Welp, if this is really a Dutch Phillps, then uh.. this tube sold for the price of a new Russian 5AR4. Would that qualify as a 'deal'? ;o)
The getter halos are really weird looking. It looks more like an oven rack than any 'halo' getter I've seen. I can sorta-see a 'double-d' but man, it looks more like an oven rack.
So this is a Dutch Phillips 5AR4. We'll see how my Dyna likes it tonight ;o)
I think you got the kind of deal that those who educate themselves properly can get on ebay. Anyone who knows what is what knows that anything Matsushita made will be a great bargain-- In addition to their great GZ34s I think that the Matsushita EL34 is a PHENOMENAL tube; it combines a hint of the airy, extended treble of Dutch Amperex with a reasonable rendering of Mullard XF2-quality mids. Of course, those two types are perhaps "better" at what they do, but when was the last time you saw NIB Amperex for $20?!? You got an even luckier buy, knowing that Mats would not put their name on a crappy product; sounds like you got a VERY early Dutch or Belgian GZ34. I have to laugh when 12AX7s that are clearly Matsushitas but are labeled "Realistic Lifetime" (complete with gold pins) go unsold for $8, when the SAME TUBE (Mats made many of the IEC Mullards) labeled as Mullard 10M is a "treasure". If the grid posts are not copper, then that Mullard 10M is likely a Matsushita, though Dutch Philips made them briefly. I see NOS/NIB blue box, cross-hatch glass Mats GZ34s go unsold for $20! I'm sure you know this very well, but I think Japanese tubes are perhaps the most shamefully overlooked and undervalued of all time. These are the companies (Toshiba, Hitachi, NEC, Matsushita) that brought us the first mass production ICs, and delivered what was supposed to be nearly impossible-- a consumer market VCR. They cut their teeth making great vacuum tubes.
I knew about the cross-hatch EL34 and 5AR4. I seek 'em out occasionally, although the EL34 seems kinda rare these days.What I didn't know is that early on, the re-labling was going the other way -- European tubes re-branded as domestic Japanese. That's what threw me off on this one. Now that I know, I'll pay closer attention to any tube auction with 'matsushita' in it.
I have a quad of "GE" branded, Matsu-made EL34's. They're almost *gone*. The getter's so thin you can read a newspaper through it. They barely tickle my Hickok 600's needle. Yet they still sound great.. but I can barely bias 'em anymore.. they're really spent.
I need to get s'more of that =o)
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