Telefunken 3s4/dl92 info

[aholata]

I've been looking in to getting some Telefunkens to try in my new Quickie and search for them came up with some concerning info on these. There is a seller claiming that Telefunken maeby never made dl92's themselves but where relabeling mullards. And furter digging came up with info that all real telefunken tubes have diamond mark molded between the pins.  I've no Telefunkens to check this. But shortly real telefunkens should have diamond mark and relabeled even saying "made in germany" tubes have something else like in this case R1A3 which means made by mullard.

Any insight on this?  Has anyone more info on this?  Has anyone demonstrably real german made telefunkens in their hands? Maeby Mullard really did these but to telefunkens specs so they would be different to mullards owns?

Info is there but i could not link it here as external links are not allowed.

-Tatu-

[Paul Birkeland]

I suspect that you are correct about the Telefunken DL-92.  I have a decent stash of Brimar and Mullard DL-92s, but no Telefunkens to compare them to.

[Bonzo]

Only two pairs of Telefunken, but none of them with the diamond.
The Italian pair have this code printed on the bottom "PA1 L6K".

[aholata]

Hi, been through a lot of tube identifying pages and info, so i'll try to read out the code.

But deeper one gets in to this stuff more concerned one should be about few things. First lot of manufacturers relabeled stuff back in the day so your tubes could be "real deal". But there are lot of fakes out there, they faked them already back in the day and there is a good writing in net about it by re-seller of nos tubes. Apparently all the old factories printing machines for markings are used by fakers today to re-label tubes, and someone is even laser carving those telefunken diamonds to tubes.

All this has made me very careful when looking for tubes.

But back to that code, PA1  L6K, viser correct me if i get it wrong.     PA means tube type DL-92, 1 is probably factory code for variation of this type of tube,    L is factory code it's    Mazda factory in   Bruxelles, France, 6 is year code and K month code.

-Tatu-

[Paul Birkeland]

I think it's important to mention that a vintage tube rebranded as something else isn't exactly a fake.  A French Mazda DL92 labeled as a Telefunken may not be Telefunken made, but there's nothing disingenuous about this.  (And the Mazda DL-92 sounds great)

[aholata]

Amen to that, i was about to write that down too in my last post but had to run from work to get kids from daycare...

That is exactly my point that if telefunken re-labeled these, there are at the moment bargains to made. When you can figure out if telefunken actually did this and to which makers why to buy 40 buck telefunkens that might in worst be fakes (fakers usually fake mainly expensive tubes) when you can have exactly the same tube under different name from less than half price.

And by looks of it...can't find telefunken tubes any where...this could be good news as long people/sellers don't catch up to this and start asking "telefunken" money for the original manufacturers ones too...

And yes mazda ones are one of the tubes to get.

-Tatu-

-Tatu-

[Paul Birkeland]

Nobody is going to bother making fake Telefunken DL92s, there just isn't enough demand for that.

[Bonzo]

Nobody is going to bother making fake Telefunken DL92s, there just isn't enough demand for that.

  true, and maybe the "Telefunken hipe" is due to a more stringent quality control they imposed to their subcontractors... who knows?

[aholata]

I quess the low demand for these tubes is one reason why there seems to be very little information anywhere about these tubes. You really have to get some tubes and compare them.

-Tatu-

[mcandmar]

I have seen dozens of different brands, but i suspect there were only half a dozen european companies who were manufacturing them. Valvo, Siemens, Lorenz, Philips, Mullard etc.  I have a few sets of Telefunkens and they are not all the same tubes, i.e bought in from different companies, or produced in different factories.

My favorite are the Philips DL92 tubes with ribbed plates which i think were made in the Sittard Holland plant. I suspect a couple of my Telefunkens might actually be Philips tubes.

[Bonzo]

My favorite are the Philips DL92 tubes.

I'll check if mine are ribbed too, but I confirm Philips sound fabulous!