This can only be good news as it widens the number of options, and also means that there are more factories making valves so we aren't at the mercy of say the Russian mafia ,who made a very good go of trying to shut down the Saratov plant.
Hopefully if this valve proves successful it looks like they will start adding more types of valve to their range and in the long term this should benefit everyone.
It's also great that they are made in the UK.
Regarding the microphony issue, I think they are trying to 2nd guess usage. It would be impossible to test these valves in all possible applications/ scenarios. It is worth noting on the testamonials that one chap has used a Fender HRD which is an amp where microphony is a real problem. Regardless, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.
I expect it is the hi-fi community that has been the motivating force behind this development, notwithstanding the fact that no valve has ever been designed to sound good in a guitar amp........
The valve seems to be a slight variant on the ECC83. In addition to having a slightly different internal structure, it has a slightly lower mu (90 vs 100), and draws less heater current, which will be a benefit in most amps, although could be a problem in amps with series connected DC heaters (Peavey classic 30?).
I answer a coup[le of other points:
Yes £30 seems a lot; however this is a UK made product that almost certainly does not benefit from the economies of large scale production (and may never do), so I expect if you looked at production this is not an outlandish price. By the way for all guitar amp applications matching triodes is pointless.
Of course we can "remake" valves using modern technology. However there really isn't the market to justify it, and the price would be high in this case around £30 per valve.
Let's hope that the product is good and that this will encourage a range of valve to be made that will give the end user some more choice.
