Just got a nice surprise in the mail. I bid on seven 6BQ5/EL84's the other day. It was a Power Seller and he just had them listed as, "Seven Sylvania 6BQ5's, NOS." No test figures as he was selling them NOS. I get the tubes and I get 8 instead of 7. Wow!
That was a plus for several reasons. I take them out of the boxes to test them and, "Holy Cow," five of them are black plate.
I test the BP's and they all match perfectly within one to two points. Out of the three gray plates, one was older and a mouse had ate the end of the box off. It tested 82 and the other two tested 86. The BP's tested between 86 and 88.
Other tube news: I won three NOS, NIB 7025's. Can't wait to test them. This is the ultimate V1 tube, especially if it reads at least 27/27. Perfect for matching up to an ICBM in V2. In addition, I won two RCA 7025's and I am waiting on them. I have just a small number of 7025's left, maybe 8 or 9 and I wanted to restock. I also have two new in box 12AX7A Westinghouse tubes coming in. Finally, I received two Mullard Blackburn plant XF4 EL34's. I was able to get them for $99 plus shipping. I tested them and they test at a whooping 99/100.
So now I have a pair of Mullards for my other 602. Like I say, a good, balanced retubing is like doing a mod on your amp. You can hear the difference.
Marty