Holding History

It's a surreal experience holding these NOS vacuum tubes in my hand that arrived last week. I decided I should stock up for when my headphone amp eventually runs through its initial pair that came with the unit. New Old Stock vacuum tubes are an interesting corner of the consumer universe. "Old Stock" because they were manufactured decades ago when arguably the technology and production technique was at its peak. And "New" because they've never been used. That's right; those six tubes are brand new. The WE408A were manufactured through the late 1940s into the early 1950s by General Electric in America for a huge Bell Labs AT & T order. By most standards, even considering their NOS status, the WE408A is not in short supply. Other examples are sought like an audiophile holy grail for their combination of sonic qualities and rarity in retired military depots and anicent science labs around world. This is a lot of excitement for something that is going to burn out like a light bulb in a couple of years. Not mine however; the especially rugged design of the WE408As - initially for underwater telephony applications - means my supply of six tubes should last a decade or more. It must be quite a story how these tubes ended up with a supplier in Saitama prefecture. And I can't stress enough; like natural diamonds or a beautiful voice, once the supply of these tubes is gone, their gone forever.