REJECTS FROM OUR NORMAL TESTING - These tubes test below acceptable minimum. Earlier, we used to discard tubes that failed normal tests. Occasionally, we would keep a few and use in various equipment. Over time, we have discovered that many such rejects that test way below minimum still play fine.
For example, 5 reject tubes (50's Amperex 12AU7, 50's Eindhoven E88CC, 1960s Mullard ECC83, 1970s Tungsram and Siemens E88CC) that tested 30-40% 2 years ago still play fine after a few hundred hours of use. However, there is no guarantee how long any of these tubes will last in your application. Don’t be surprised if some of these rejects sound better than your current production wannabe Mullards etc. or may sound bad and last a short period. It’s an in inexpensive gamble if you like to play with tubes.
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