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Components and Circuits For discussions about component types, alternatives and availability, circuit configurations and modifications etc. Discussions here should be of a general nature and not about specific sets. |
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27th May 2011, 6:36 pm | #1 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK.
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Mazda PP3/250 valves
I am slowly making progress sorting my collection of valves, and have discovered a couple of Mazda PP3/250's. According to the National Valve Museum - http://www.r-type.org/exhib/aaj0154.htm - the PP3/250 was Mazda's answer to the PX4.
They are untested apart from checking filament continuity, but they are clean and look in physically good condition. Knowing that some people go crazy for PX4's, are PP3/250's sought after, and what would be an estimate of what they might be worth? Many thanks, Andy |
27th May 2011, 7:00 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Using the most basic definition of what something is worth i.e. 'what someone is prepared to pay for it' one went for £260 on eBay a couple of days ago. There's no arguing with that.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/290566118463 Cheers, GJ Last edited by Station X; 27th May 2011 at 7:31 pm. Reason: Link added. |
27th May 2011, 7:03 pm | #3 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
I think I would regard that as "freak result"!
What is a realistic estimate? Andy |
27th May 2011, 7:13 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
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Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Brilliant ! I'll give you £50 for the pair. You might want to look at this eBay item first though. This is what they're worth.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/220733407428 Cheers, GJ Last edited by Station X; 27th May 2011 at 7:33 pm. Reason: Link added. |
27th May 2011, 9:22 pm | #5 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK.
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Hmmmm............
I need to get mine tested. Andy |
27th May 2011, 10:31 pm | #6 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Hello,
It seems that to get the highest prices on ebay you have to be prepared to send them abroad. Balloon shaped valves also tend to fetch more, as do tested good ones or N.O.S. Towards the end of valve production the valve designations became fairly interchangeable, so you have PX4s badged as AC044s and PP3/250s and sometimes vice versa or other combinations (AC044s as 4XPs etc). The sad thing is that I, like many others I expect, have domestic radios with dud or missing PX4s and these prices put them well beyond what we can pay. Yours Richard |
27th May 2011, 11:42 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
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28th May 2011, 7:38 am | #8 |
Rest in Peace
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
The price realised appears to be rising.
I sold a pair about 18 months ago and got less than half the amounts those are selling for. And, yes, they went "out east". |
28th May 2011, 7:42 am | #9 |
Dekatron
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Speaking from experience of selling these valves before, £250 is not unrealistic, especially on eBay, and selling to the likes of China, or Japan.
Yes, they need testing, and you will need to pack them very well, but in every transaction i ever had when I sold off my valve collection, dealing with overseas buyers was far easier than dealing with domestic customers! If you've no use for them, then pass them on, but don't kick yourself when you get a radio, or amp that needs one or two..... HTH Sean
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28th May 2011, 7:48 am | #10 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2007
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
I certainly wouldn't want the potential hassle of sending expensive valves abroad, with disputes about liability if they arrived u/s.
I think these are going to remain in my valve collection, I may need one some day! But they are now properly boxed - they had been in a large box of loose valves for a number of years! Many thanks for your replies. Andy |
28th May 2011, 7:59 am | #11 |
Octode
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
A wise decision Andy.
Aside from potential use in projects, these certainly aren't going to get less rare as time goes on, so the price can only go one way ( taking Audiophoolery as a given constant ! )
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Chris |
28th May 2011, 9:40 am | #12 |
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
At that price I be tempted to learn Glass blowing!
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28th May 2011, 9:56 am | #13 |
Dekatron
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Too True! Mine have now come out of the box of loose valves, polished, tested and carefully put in boxes with plenty of packing, I think I may even put them under the bed!
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28th May 2011, 10:43 am | #14 |
Dekatron
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
Someone's already doing it http://www.sophiaelectric.com/. If you click on 'Vacuum Tubes' you'll find new production PX4s towards the bottom of the page. At the factory gate they're about half the price of the old ones ($350-$400 per pair). They used to be available from KR Audio too http://www.kraudio.com/index.php?opt...emid=7&lang=en (maybe they still are ?) - made in the Czech Republic and slightly more pricey, I think, than the Sophias. It seems there's not enough demand for the big Chinese and Russian factories to be making them.
Cheers, GJ |
28th May 2011, 8:34 pm | #15 |
Rest in Peace
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Re: Mazda PP3/250 valves
One odd thing about these audio triodes is that many of the examples sold into the boutique hi-fi market are going into new-build amplifiers, where the valve choices are dictated by fashion. One day, when the PX4 has become completely unobtainable, the PP3/250 might suddenly be the valve to have, regardless of whether it's the same inside!
I'm always troubled by the paradox that eventually all modern Far-Eastern gear will have old British valves in, while all old British gear will have modern Far-Eastern valves. I think you're wise to sit on them; that's what I do. Not literally, you understand... Lucien |