Using metallic ingots of Y-Cu and Cu-Ba alloys made by both an electron beam- and/or arcmelting, refined alloy oxide powders of various purity grades for the ceramic superconductors YBCO(123) were prepared by the conventional grinding and firing techniques. Bulk specimens of YBa2Cu30x, which were fabricated by both sintering and melt-growth methods using these refined alloy oxide powders as starting materials, were characterized by the measurements of Tc and Jc. It is noted that these specimens showed a tendency to have higher Jc values, as compared with the specimens prepared from chemical reagents of Y203, BaC03 and CuO. Such results are interpreted in terms of the commercial and physical variations and changes in microstructures of specimens induced by the use of different starting materials, refined alloy oxide powders or commercial oxide reagents.