The Type 10 Triode

The Type 10, 10Y, UX210, CX310, VT-25, 801a, VT-62. Wow, that's a lot of type designations! This is a very early tube, one of the first amplifiers. Dating to 1925, the 10 makes a whopping 1.5 watts of some of the most clearly articulate and dynamic single ended power ever created. From left to right, a 1920’s Cunningham CX310, a 1920’s Sylvania 210, 1930's Taylor and 1960's Hytron 801a/VT62. The CX310 is the clear winner here sound wise, and is probably my favorite tube in the entire collection. The 801a versions also sound amazing and are capable of much higher power output than the 10Y, making 8 or so watts in the right circuit. The 10 was widely used as a transmitter as well as an amplifier and the Sylvania tube pictured here, as well as the 801a were industrial, not consumer tubes. Of the four tubes pictured here, only the Cunningham globe was intended for an audio circuit. The later ST glass 10Y also sounds very good, but the 10 globe is in a league of its own. Tube data for the 10 can be found here.

Type 10. A nice assortment of mid-1920's globe 10 tubes, all by Cunningham. The early 10 globe has the very desirable Tungsten filament, and glows as bright as a small lightbulb. In the later ST versions the Tungsten is replaced with an Oxide coated filament. The Oxide tubes sound good, but its the Tungsten filament you want. The Tungsten elevates the fidelity of the tube in really magical ways that are probably impossible to match in a new modern production tube. This is the undiscovered magic of the 1920's captured in a bottle! The downside though is that once the tube has been used and those Tungsten filaments have been heated, they become quite brittle. Especially now that these globe 10 are almost 100 years old caution from physical shock is required. Allow these tubes to cool completely before handling! Of the four I own pictured above, only two have survived. One was killed in transit and another due to handling while hot. I felt it break. Let my expensive mistake be your warning. All that said, this is without doubt one of the best sounding tubes ever created.

Type 10. Here is a rarity, a Cunningham CX310 new in the box from 1928 or so.

Type 10. Of the same era, late 1920's, one an audio amplification tube for a high-end radio set, another a transmitter tube.