2x Amperex/Philips SQ 7316 ECC186 Foil D-getter - Holland 1959 Ct1 - Near NOS For Sale

Important Note - Please READ
This item qualifies forSoundlumia-sponsored3-dayworldwide delivery at special flat rates.
US shipping: $15 for ALL states via FedEx ExpressInternational shipping: $35 for ALL countries viaDHL Express Worldwide
We are committed to safe, expedited and guaranteed delivery of high-value items to serious and committed buyers, wherever they are in the world. NO other shipping options are offered for this item. Please refer toShipping Policyor contact us for details.
Product Summary
The \"textbook Heerlen sound\" has been referenced in several Soundlumia listings of Amperex Holland 7316/ECC186 tubes, and many tube enthusiasts asked what that all means.So this is the answer: the late 1950s and very early 1960s tone, the beginning of over a decade\'s excellence in sound, the classic tonal template for all the great (and greater) Amperex/Philips/Valvo/Miniwatt tubes to be made in the years to come, the timeless Philips radio tone that many of us grew up listening to.
But there\'s also a \"secret\" version of the textbook Heerlen sound that very few have heard: ECC186 (aka 7316 or 12AUWA) tubes made in Holland (and ONLY in Holland.) As an improved version of 7316/ECC186designed for computers, ECC186 has aa special cathode that allows the tube to be operated without anode current for long periods of time without damage. Remember the last time you heard people talking about the elusive \"circuit tubes?\" You are looking right at them! It would be fascinating to understand the technicality as to how this special design had made the the Heerlen sound so amazing, but our audiophile ears perhaps only care to know this is Amperex Holland\'s official answer to Telefunken\'s ECC802S and Mullard\'s 10M Series. In other words, these tubes compete and ONLY compete in the Holy Grail league of the 7316/ECC186 family.Sound Qualities
The most distinctive sound feature of the Amperex Holland ECC186\'s is the transparent, natural and expansive midrange presentation, with a slight touch of warmth that illuminates your music. Every piece of music you play through these tubes sounds like from a vinyl record, whether your sound source is phono or not. The sound stage is spacious, deep, structured and holographical. Bass is incredibly deep but well controlled and feels as accurate as on the high end German ECC82\'s (Siemens, Telefunken, Valvo Hamburg etc.) The stellar performance of ECC186 plus the d-getter take all these wonderful sound qualities to a whole new level: instrument separation is super clean, detail retrieval is surreal, and it goes without saying that the extremely low noise on these tubes is to the vanishing point.
Professional SoundEvaluation
The pair worked wonderfully and sounded terrific in our professional studio setup for monitoring.
- Input: Cambridge Audio CXC V2 dedicated CD transport + Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 Multibit DAC- Amplification: Woo AudioWA7 Fireflies (3rd gen) Balanced Headphone Amplifier- Output: Focal Clear MG Pro open-back headphones
Our full tube sound review was written 100% based on the actual listening experience while this pair of tubes were running in the system described above.
Professional Tube Testing
NO shorts or gridleakage.NO noise or microphonics.
Both tubestested Strong NOS(110%+ mutual conductance value for NEW) and balanced on a reliable and recently calibratedMercury 2000 tube tester with the following result (mutual conductance both inuMhos and in percentage of NEW):
Tube 1:2,800/2,600 (127%/118%)Tube 2:2,400/2,000 (109%/90%)
Good tubes start at1,500and new tubes (incl. NOS/NIB)2,200, and theMercury 2000\'s rated mutual conductance (nominal) for new ECC186/7316 tubes is2,200. Test result can also be seen in the pictures.In case you wonder what all these numbers mean to your sound experience, it\'s actually quite straightforward: mutual conductance directly translates to atube\'s ability to amplify sound,so the higher the numbers the stronger.
Appearance & cosmetic condition
Both tubes are in near pristine cosmetic condition - nearly 100% of the paint is still intact, and the identical etched Heerlen date code is perfectly visible:
Ct1 ⊿9B(Ct3 = ECC186/7316 Production Gen #1, ⊿= Heerlen, Holland,9= 1959, B = February)Ct1 ⊿9F(Ct3 = ECC186/7316 Production Gen #1, ⊿= Heerlen, Holland,9= 1959, F = June)
Packaging
This pair of tubes will be packaged in NEW reproduction Amperex and Philips tube boxes.
Shipping Policy
-This item qualifies forSoundlumia-sponsored3-dayworldwide delivery at special flat rates.
US shipping: $15 for ALL states via FedEx Express International shipping: $35 for ALL countries viaDHL Express Worldwide
- Declared value for ALL international customers will be accurate and correct. Formal invoice from Soundlumia showing FULL purchase amount will be provided as customs documents, attached to the DHL package.
- Same day shipping: Orders placed by2:00PM US Pacific Timeon weekdays are posted on the same day, otherwise the next business day.
- Combined shipping available - request invoice for total before making payment or receive shipping credit after orderships.
Return Policy - Please READ carefully
Returns are acceptable if we made a mistake by delivering you wrong or defective products. Tubes we sell are guaranteed to work because we run professional tests and sound evaluation TWICE: before they are approved for listing AND before we ship them to customers. So the \"defective item\" case doesn\'t exist and please do not bother trying - this type of returns will NOT be accepted without proof that tubes are faulty and we will open disputes with . Sound experience is very subjective and we do NOT accept returns because you do not like the tube\'s sound signature or because you changed your mind about your purchase. Please contact us to work things out before submitting return requests claiming \"item is defective\" or \"item not as described\" or \"just didn\'t like it\" or \"changed your mind.\"
Tube rollers abusing the return system will be reported to immediately and negative response will be left to your account - that\'s guaranteed. We have already opened several dispute cases to report abusive buyers and has always ruled in our favor. International buyers who request return or refund claiming your country\'s import duties or sales taxes/VAT/GST are too high will be reported to immediately for dishonesty and will be permanently blacklisted from purchasing from Soundlumia. We are committed to working closely with to help rid the marketplace of dishonest, unjust, unreasonable, abusive buyers that are detrimental to the vintage tubes market and the audiophile community.