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SA 16: WE 1967 300B Triode Vacuum Tubes Special Contest - Ended 11-22-16

Started by TelePlay, November 18, 2016, 11:57:07 AM

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TelePlay

Another special auction contest just for the fun of it is a pair of matched Western Electric 300B Triodes made in 1967 ( thanks to a forum tip by Fabius who thinks there is a huge upside ). They were listed in a 7 day auction with no reserve or BIN starting at $1.00 but within the first 2 days of the auction, the valves attracted 9 buyers placing 23 bids driving the price of these up to a lofty $1,325.00. There has to be an upside to these tubes but how much upside is the question. As of this posting, there are about 4 1/2 days left leaving 3 days to get your guesses in. I have no idea if these will increase steadily over the next 4 days, sell for the current price or be part of a high dollar sniping contest in the last seconds of this auction. This contest will indeed be a true guess for anyone playing and once again, it is just for fun.

Absolutely any and all members are very welcome and strongly encouraged to take a guess. After all, there are no wrong guesses, just one lucky one. No one knows the winning bid on any auction until it ends. However, it is important to get your guess in before someone else grabs your guess.

The seller listed it as a "Remarkable Matched Pair of NOS 1967 Western Electric 300B Power Triodes" with the item condition as " - - - " and "Test as New with original boxes and packaging" with the auction listing description as "Amazing Matched Pair of NOS 1967 Western Electric 300B Power Triodes
Same Production Batch - Both Test at 113% of New! From the collection of a retired Western Electric engineer, this remarkable find is a virtually identical matched pair of Western Electric 300B power triodes, circa May, 1967. They come with their original boxes, plus their original packing material. Even the date codes on the boxes match each other and the tubes inside! They were both tested on a recently calibrated Triplett 3444-A Tube Analyzer. Where the spec for New = 4600uM @ 60mA, these test as follows:

    Tube A: 5210uM @ 66mA  (113% of New)
    Tube B: 5210uM @ 62mA  (113% of New)

In addition, they were tested briefly in an SET amplifier and are guaranteed to be in good working condition. Strong silvering, no gas, tight bases. The boxes have some writing on them and show wear from long-term storage. New, perfectly matched pairs from the same production run and dating from the golden years of Western Electric manufacturing are extremely difficult to find today. This may one of the last such pairs you will ever see."


http://www.ebay.com/itm/332033343427

Since this is a "special rules" no winner contest, the best guesser will not be included in the CRPF Auction Contest Hall of Fame or be counted in the CRPF Contest Standings as a win. This one is just for fun. However, the winner will take a place in the Special Auction Contest Standings.

All I ask is that guesses be at least $25 dollars apart, one guess per player (can't revise a guess) and no guesses will be accepted with less than 12 hours to go in the auction -- special rules for a special contest . . .  ;)


S C O R E B O A R D

$   1,800.00 - Dan/Panther  ( 11 )
$   1,888.00 - skyrider  ( 3 )
$   2,063.00 - twocvbloke  ( 2 )
$   2,175.00 - tallguy58  ( 4 )
$   2,500.00 - Russ Kirk  ( 5 )
$   3,300.00 - Autonut  ( 9 )
$   4,150.00 - TelePlay  ( 12 )  -> WINNER - Final Selling Price $4,200.00
$   5,000.00 - Kenton K  ( 1 )
$   5,400.00 - wds  ( 8 )
$   6,000.00 - Fabius  ( 7 )
$   7,513.00 - Jim S.  ( 6 )
$ 10,000.00 - WEBellSystemChristian  ( 10 )


Auction Status

11-15-15       Listed      $         1.00
11-16-16       3 bids      $         5.55
11-17-16     23 bids      $  1,325.00
11-18-15     23 bids      $  1,325.00
11-19-15     25 bids      $  1,400.00   ( 11 bidders )
11-20-15     26 bids      $  1,425.00   ( 12 bidders )
11-21-15     26 bids      $  1,425.00
11-22-15     29 bids      $  1,800.00
11-22-15     16 bidders, 38 bids $4,200.00  Ended at 22:00:50 PST

Kenton K




tallguy58

Cheers........Bill

Russ Kirk

- Russ Kirk
ATCA & TCI

Jim Stettler

You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

unbeldi

Today these don't come in a cheap cardboard box anymore, but in a finely finished, laser-engraved wooden box.

TelePlay

Quote from: Jim S. on November 18, 2016, 08:37:38 PM
$7,513.00 Cheap to the right buyer.
JMO,
Jim S.

Of the 11 buyers who bid so far, 7 of them bid above the $1,000 line. 7 bidders want these tubes. Snipe time should be fun.

They don't make these anymore, right? Kind of like lake front property (they quite making natural, large lakes a long time ago) except lakes have a longer life span that vacuum tubes. And these are matched for some audiophile's vintage analog stereo system . . .

unbeldi

Quote from: TelePlay on November 19, 2016, 01:17:24 AM
Of the 11 buyers who bid so far, 7 of them bid above the $1,000 line. 7 bidders want these tubes. Snipe time should be fun.

They don't make these anymore, right? Kind of like lake front property (they quite making natural, large lakes a long time ago) except lakes have a longer life span that vacuum tubes. And these are matched for some audiophile's vintage analog stereo system . . .

Yes, the company that today owns the Western Electric trademarks and claims its history does still make 300Bs.  It's their claim to fame, actually, as the center piece to high-fidelity audio equipment.

TelePlay

I should have checked instead of making that assumption.

Yes, a brand new matched pair can be purchased for under $1,000. So, the premium price to be paid for this contest pair would be their being original WE tubes . . .

unbeldi

Hmm, the KR tubes are imitations, not genuine Western Electric tubes.  Go to the Western Electric website to see the originals.

TelePlay

Found the WE site. This is where you got the engraved box information:


"WE300B tubes are available in Singles or as Matched Pairs, Quads or Octets. The performance curves for each tube produced are stored in the computer which controls the test sequence. Another computer then performs the matching algorithm, working from the entire single tube inventory, to find the best matched pair for each order. Matched Pairs, Quads, and Octets are shipped in a laser engraved cherry box which protects the tubes in transit, as well as assuring authenticity.

Each tube ships with a card which contains the actual performance curves for that particular tube, not just the design curves. Note the serial number and date of the test. Each card is printed on a printer attached to the test station. The curves are measured for each tube!"


But, no pricing and looking at where to buy these new only had a few links but it looks like these are call for price special order tubes. I like the way they test these before shipping and add the test results to the shipment.

Up to $1,425 with 2 1/2 day to get your guesses in.

Fabius

Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905