Valve Art tubes are made in China


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Some words about tube matching.

We ship out VALVE ART allways matched.  We have a collection of finest tube testers here, and big tubes like KT88 and KT66 are re-tested and re-matched at JAC Music. 

We re-match the big penthodes at the same values as Electro Harmonix uses for their tubes.  The Electro Harmonix values they do not give out,  but from the many shipments we have, we were able to reconstruct those values of course.    

These are matching classes often used in  HiFi industry. We use these also.  

  1. Plate current below 2.5% difference = best possible match. Also called PLATINUM match. 
  2. Plate current maximum 5% difference = very good  match.  Also called GOLD match. 
  3. Plate current maximum 10% difference =  "good match".
Unmatched tubes can have differences of  300%, and still are good tubes by itself. So on a tube tester, these will pass as a new tube.   However,  it is obvious that a pair with 300% difference will not sound good, because one tube must work much harder than the other. Loss of maximum power, and extra distortion will result from it. The "best" tube of an unmatched pair will do most of the work, get warmer from this and die sooner.   So use only matched tubes, for lowest distortion, highest output power and optimized lifetime. 

VA-KT88
This KT88 is said to be made on original old machines from the M.O. Valve company, UK. 
The tube base is kitted to the glass, so you won't have any vacuum defects due by  mechanical stress from pulling out the tube often. (Note: This is a  weakness of some KT88, like TESLA) . We offer a version with a nice polished nickel plated tube base.

Very rugged version. Can be used for HiFi or Guitar amps. 


VA-KT66
The Valve Art KT66 is one of the nicest Chinese tubes available.  This  tube is made with the original tools of the G.E.C. Company, who produced this tube in England.    The KT66 is the European version of the 6L6,  but I the KT66 is much better. For instance the KT66 was used by the Company QUAD for their HiFi amplifiers, but the 6L6 didn't make it any further than a guitar tube. 

Thanks 
Frank Braeutigam 
for this  picture! 
Click here to enlarge 

What is so nice about the KT66, this tube has  a hand blown tube base, just like the original English tubes. Click on the left image to get it magnified, and you will see the details. 

Check here for a picture of the original KT66 from the G.E.C., UK. You will see the Valve Art is a perfect replica, using the original old machines from G.E.C. ----> KT66-G.E.C.

  High Resolution image - High Resolution side view

VA-6550
Nice copy of the original 6550 tube, with original cylinder glass.   The Valve Art has three getters for long lifetime.