Western Electric 618-A/B

... from DIY Forum discussion board "The Lab":

"Be warned, as with anything this expensive, there are fakes out there, fakes that would fool an experienced WE dealer at a long glance.

The official reference data says it has a mag shield, but no reference to an electrostatic shield.
30/250/600 : 25K
total DCR 214:2680
average of 19 HY inductance on low winding
30-15K rated response

I have seen DCR measurements of 9.9/213/(222 total) : 1145/1642/(2k78 total) for the windings.
Also seen 9.6/202/(212 total) : 1100/1530/(2k63 total)

There is a secondary center tap that I only see used in one amp for PP operation. All other examples use the full winding SE.

I've heard from some old timers who worked at the WE plant here that it was an extremely difficult wind, by all accounts."

This once quite cheap mic-trannies, now much sought-after for MC-phono cartridges, are among the VERY best sounding with low impedance moving coils cartridges.

Prices are reaching higher and higher peaks... only, worth repeating: beware of fakes, relabelled, artificially aged replicas.

Some past auctions...

A correctly priced WE 618B on Ebay

... and another hideously priced WE 618B on Ebay

... and a recent - still going on, actually - one...

WE 618A in a beautiful custom case

Is it worth the risk (of fakes or shorted/damaged units), hassle, cost, etc.? Cannot say...

... what I say is I wish to everyone loving beautiful sound to find a pair for cheap...