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In Reply to: copper cap rectifier posted by jerry on October 30, 2001 at 01:56:00:
I have a pair of the WZ34s, which is Weber's replacement for the 5AR4 rectifier, and I've used them in Welborne Laurel 300B IIX amps.They sound, well, "sandy" :)
I felt that their shortcomings outweighed the benefits. There was definitely more "weight" to the music using these, and they add emphasis to very loud, aggressive rock - particularly in the bass and lower midrange. On the other hand the music loses all the delicacy and clarity that an all valve system has and also seemed to lose some top end detail.
It was an interesting experiment (and not an expensive one), but in the end I thought that the best use of these guys would be as replacement parts for guitar amps. If you have the dollars to spare I'd recommend putting the money towards a pair of nice NOS rectifiers instead.
Cheers
TG
Follow Ups:
... These are the types of comments i wanted to read...
The prices of European manufactured NOS 5AR4s are upwards of $85 a tube and rising constantly. If it fits mechanically, the Mullard made GZ33 is an excellent substitute at about $40. NOS Matsushita (Japan) manufactured 5AR4s are another "affordable" choice. Matsushita bought their tooling from Mullard and copied Mullard's design.
Eli D.
This is a great statement as you compared it in an amplifier that many of us consider to be fantastic...i.e. the Laurels.Thanks,
Anand.
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