My experience with Northern Electric was with their 12AX7 tube. I used it in my Bellari HA540 headphone amp and it was a quiet nice sounding tube. It outperformed an Old Stock GE white label 12AX7 tube from Brent Jessee. Looks wise and quality wise it is good to me.
Northern Electric Brand audio tubes
Does anyone have experience with the Northern Electric Brand audio tubes? Evidently they are licensed by the tube store and built in China for this Canadian company. Here is a link and briefly what they say about themselves... A dear friend in our audio club bought a pair of the 6SN7s and I have rarely seen any tube so beautifully constructed, I mean gorgeous. Now I know what your going to say next. That says nothing to how it sounds, and you would be correct, yet they sound pretty sweet. I haven't twisted his arm yet to bring them over and put them in something I understand, my kit. But hopefully that will happen soon. In the mean time, just putting it out there, what does the community know about these?
http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Northern-Electric
"Northern Electric had a rich history of producing high quality audio products and vacuum tubes in Canada. The original owners, Bell Canada and Western Electric, formed this company to produce telephone and audio equipment including vacuum tubes. Western Electric licensed their designs, processes, and technology to Northern Electric for the first fifty years of their production.
We are now re-introducing this classic brand and bringing to you the highest quality audio tubes possible. We are working together with a small, foreign tube manufacturer to produce exceptional high quality versions of common audio tubes. And while this manufacturer is not well known, they are the “Ferrari” of tube manufacturing and design.
The manufacturer’s immaculately clean factory houses state of the art and high precision equipment. All of the design and production is overseen by a living legend in tube design, Zhe Shen Liu.
Upon arrival in Canada, each tube is rigorously tested in a three-stage process for noise and electrical functionality. Tubes passing this are then printed and packaged for sale with an extended 6-month warranty."
http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Northern-Electric
"Northern Electric had a rich history of producing high quality audio products and vacuum tubes in Canada. The original owners, Bell Canada and Western Electric, formed this company to produce telephone and audio equipment including vacuum tubes. Western Electric licensed their designs, processes, and technology to Northern Electric for the first fifty years of their production.
We are now re-introducing this classic brand and bringing to you the highest quality audio tubes possible. We are working together with a small, foreign tube manufacturer to produce exceptional high quality versions of common audio tubes. And while this manufacturer is not well known, they are the “Ferrari” of tube manufacturing and design.
The manufacturer’s immaculately clean factory houses state of the art and high precision equipment. All of the design and production is overseen by a living legend in tube design, Zhe Shen Liu.
Upon arrival in Canada, each tube is rigorously tested in a three-stage process for noise and electrical functionality. Tubes passing this are then printed and packaged for sale with an extended 6-month warranty."