warning for fake NOS tubes from mullardmagic.co.uk

Last april i bought 3 7199 tubes from mullard magic. They were advertized as NOS.
It's also what staed on the reciept. (NOS for me is New Old Stock).

Some weeks ago i had the opportunity to measure them with a tube tracer, and they were far from new. They were in fact at the very limit of useless.

I can veryfy this with comparative measurment ( actual tube curves ) of real 7199 that i bought as new several years ago. They fit the original sylvania tube curves very well, the ones from mullardmagic does not.

I have written to them from two different mailaddresses and got no answer whatsoever. So either they are dead or they don't care.

Be aware !

To bad about your 7199's. I have a SCA35 that push the 7199 to it's limits and noisy tubes are a no no. Right now I use the Sovtec 7199 which has higher gain and a little different sound and not a true 7199. I have tried several times to get a good set of 7199s from reputable dealers and in every case I had to return the tubes because one or both were to noisy to to use. In another thread I got hammered because I was told there are plenty of good 7199 out there to buy. I don't think so, I think most good tubes are in already in the hands of customers and dealers are out of anything that should be sold.

KCA has some RCA and GE NOS 7199s. $44 and $52. USA but I doubt if shipping to Sweden would be too bad.
The guy at KCA can be a little cranky but he's straight up.

Dave_in_Va wrote:KCA has some RCA and GE NOS 7199s. $44 and $52. USA but I doubt if shipping to Sweden would be too bad.
The guy at KCA can be a little cranky but he's straight up.

well, i do have a few NEW 7199, and in addition i currently don't use a 7199 amp. So i will manage for a while.

BTW i sold my last sovtek 7199 a while ago. It would have been interesting to collect the curves ( but i had no tracer at that time). Anyone willing to lend me one or two so i can
measure them properly ? Prefferably in europe to reduce postage and awiod customs.

sailor wrote:To bad about your 7199's. I have a SCA35 that push the 7199 to it's limits and noisy tubes are a no no. Right now I use the Sovtec 7199 which has higher gain and a little different sound and not a true 7199. I have tried several times to get a good set of 7199s from reputable dealers and in every case I had to return the tubes because one or both were to noisy to to use. In another thread I got hammered because I was told there are plenty of good 7199 out there to buy. I don't think so, I think most good tubes are in already in the hands of customers and dealers are out of anything that should be sold.

Can 6GH8A with adapters work?

The Sovtec 7199 has more output. Works just fine in a Stereo70 if used in pairs but in the SCA35 it has more gain than the over driven circuit can handle so at start up before the music starts it causes a squeal. However I don't have a problem with them when the music is playing. I read somewhere that they were actually a different pentode /triode repined by Sovtec to work as a 7199.
Yes the 6GH8A will work with the adaptor in the SCA35 but it also has a little more gain than the present circuit likes.
I pulled up KCA unless I misread he has only 1 GE and 1 RCA. The problem is if one is noisy I'm out shipping both ways. I have had to return 4 sets from different dealers so far, so the shipping and no tubes is getting expensive.