Quality of Philips "Miniwatt" series of ECC83
Kenneth
For a number of years I have been using Philips' "Miniwatt" series of ECC 83
(NOS tubes) in my guitar and HiFi equipment. I have been pleased with the
quality and reliability so far.
I have noticed that quite a few people in the newsgroup are quite
knowledgeable about the history and quality of different tube brands.
So my question is: Does anybody know anything about the history of the
"Miniwatt" series? And how do they rate in sound quality and reliability as
compared to other brands of that era.
Regards
Kenneth Karlstrom
Gruvmyster
Philips was the actual maker of many of Amperex's tubes. I believe
"Miniwatt" is their European branding, as I don't believe Philips sold
many tubes under their own brand in the states. I have a few Miniwatt
12AX7s that are identical to Bugle Boys. If they're made in Holland,
that's what they are and would explain why you like them!
I've also seen Miniwatt EL34s and EL37s made by Mullard. As I understand
it, Philips, at least at some point in their history, owned Mullard
(anyone?). I have a book called "Valves for AF Amplifiers" published by
Philips Technical Library in 1954. On the cover is a metal-based EL34,
which probably shows some connection, I would guess. I also have some
Amperex EL34s produced in Holland from the late '50s that internally are
hard to tell apart from a Mullard.
In any event, I'm sure the Philips you are using are very good quality.
Enjoy them!
Regards,
Doug
Kevin Deal /UPSCALEaudio/
In article <5452sp$l51$1...@ninja.dataphone.se>,
m9...@bure.abc.se (Kenneth) wrote:
>For a number of years I have been using Philips' "Miniwatt" series of ECC 83
>(NOS tubes) in my guitar and HiFi equipment. I have been pleased with the
>quality and reliability so far.
>
>I have noticed that quite a few people in the newsgroup are quite
>knowledgeable about the history and quality of different tube brands.
>
>So my question is: Does anybody know anything about the history of the
>"Miniwatt" series? And how do they rate in sound quality and reliability as
>compared to other brands of that era.
>
>Regards
>
>Kenneth Karlstrom
It's the same tube as an Amperex Bugle Boy. About the same vintage. Miniwatt
was what they called them in Holland and other parts of Europe. Philips owned
Amperex, buying them in 1955 to market their tubes in the U.S.
Best Regards,
Kevin Deal Fine Tube Components, Home Theater,
UPSCALE and Vintage Tubes from Telefunken,
Audio/Home Theater/Rare Tubes Mullard, Amperex, etc. Showroom
1410 Lemonwood Dr West Open 7 Days By Appointment.
Upland, CA 91786 (909) 931-9686
Mike
>>Gruvmysyter Wrote:
>>I've also seen Miniwatt EL34s and EL37s made by Mullard. As I understand
>>it, Philips, at least at some point in their history, owned Mullard
>>(anyone?).
Philips bought Mullard in the 1960's. They still own the name, and use it on
some industrial equipment.
Mike
Ron Kremer
On Fri, 18 Oct 1996 00:14:35 -0500, Gruvmyster <dhau...@mail.idt.net>
wrote:
>Kenneth wrote:
>>
>> For a number of years I have been using Philips' "Miniwatt" series of ECC 83
>> (NOS tubes) in my guitar and HiFi equipment. I have been pleased with the
>> quality and reliability so far.
>>
>> I have noticed that quite a few people in the newsgroup are quite
>> knowledgeable about the history and quality of different tube brands.
>>
>> So my question is: Does anybody know anything about the history of the
>> "Miniwatt" series? And how do they rate in sound quality and reliability as
>> compared to other brands of that era.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Kenneth Karlstrom
>
>Philips was the actual maker of many of Amperex's tubes. I believe
>"Miniwatt" is their European branding, as I don't believe Philips sold
>many tubes under their own brand in the states. I have a few Miniwatt
>12AX7s that are identical to Bugle Boys. If they're made in Holland,
>that's what they are and would explain why you like them!
>
>I've also seen Miniwatt EL34s and EL37s made by Mullard. As I understand
>it, Philips, at least at some point in their history, owned Mullard
>(anyone?). I have a book called "Valves for AF Amplifiers" published by
>Philips Technical Library in 1954. On the cover is a metal-based EL34,
>which probably shows some connection, I would guess. I also have some
>Amperex EL34s produced in Holland from the late '50s that internally are
>hard to tell apart from a Mullard.
>
>In any event, I'm sure the Philips you are using are very good quality.
>Enjoy them!
>
>Regards,
>
>Doug
News from Holland..........
The name Miniwatt appeared on Philips tubes in the latter half of the
thirties when they introduced their first 6,3 V heater range to
replace the then current 4 V series. ('A' tubes) The new 'E' series
had a more efficient cathode construction and hence required less
energy for a given amount of emission. This is the reason why they
marketed their tubes as the Philips Miniwatt series. All commercial
equipment tubes had this printed on their bulbs until the late
sixties.
Miniwatt has been a brandname on itself for the Danish Philips tube
production facility. So tubes with only Miniwatt on their bulbs are
made by (or made for) the Danish branch.
Other makes which are identical to Philips are Mullard (Philips UK)
Amperex (Philips North America), Dario (Philips France) , ADZAM
(Philips Belgium), Valvo (Philips Germany) . There may be a few
names more but I can't recall them et the moment.
Matsushita of Japan made tubes with Philips tools and knowledge,
these appear and are all identical to the originals from Holland.
(Philips was a large shareholder of Matshusita).
Regards, Ron Kremer.
Ron Kremer
candr
Thanks for the great info, Ron! Explains a lot.
Ray Parkhurst
Stein-Olav Lund
In article <326a3621...@news.worldonline.nl> rkr...@worldonline.nl (Ron Kremer) writes:
>From: rkr...@worldonline.nl (Ron Kremer)
>Subject: Re: Quality of Philips "Miniwatt" series of ECC83
>Date: Sun, 20 Oct 1996 15:12:21 GMT
>On Fri, 18 Oct 1996 00:14:35 -0500, Gruvmyster <dhau...@mail.idt.net>
>wrote:
<snip>
>News from Holland..........
>The name Miniwatt appeared on Philips tubes in the latter half of the
>thirties when they introduced their first 6,3 V heater range to
>replace the then current 4 V series. ('A' tubes) The new 'E' series
>had a more efficient cathode construction and hence required less
>energy for a given amount of emission. This is the reason why they
>marketed their tubes as the Philips Miniwatt series. All commercial
>equipment tubes had this printed on their bulbs until the late
>sixties.
>Miniwatt has been a brandname on itself for the Danish Philips tube
>production facility. So tubes with only Miniwatt on their bulbs are
>made by (or made for) the Danish branch.
Same here in Norway! Newer tubes (70's and on) are marked Philips
instead of Miniwatt, and the cartons are otherwise identical.
Maybe someone out there could tell more about this.
Stein
>Regards, Ron Kremer.
Stein-Olav Lund, LA9QV
Electronics Engineer
Sor Trondelag College,
Dept. of Engineering,
Inst. of Electronics
TRONDHEIM, NORWAY
Email:st...@iet.hist.no
"There's nothing like the sounds, sights and smell
of an old tube radio working.."
Claude Frantz
m9...@bure.abc.se (Kenneth) writes:
>For a number of years I have been using Philips' "Miniwatt" series of ECC 83
>(NOS tubes) in my guitar and HiFi equipment. I have been pleased with the
>quality and reliability so far.
I agree. "Philips Miniwatt" tubes are excellent. The french "Miniwatt Dario"
and the german "Valvo" tubes are probably exactly the same tubes, in most
cases. I think this is also true for the french "La Radiotechnique" tubes.
It is often difficult to discover the real manufacturer of tubes because
they are so often relabeled. Perhaps anybody known more about the
relabeling procedures used in the past.
--
Claude
(cla...@bauv106.bauv.unibw-muenchen.de)
The opinions expressed above represent those of the writer
and not necessarily those of her employer.
kenneth karlstrom
Wow !!
Quite a few people took interest in my question about Philips' "Miniwatt"
series of tubes. As I knew there are certainly very knowledgeable people in
this group. It has been a pleasure to read the answers.
Thanks all!!
Kenneth Karlstrom