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Re: United Electron EL34 tubes? (in ST-70)

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GlassJukie

(A)

In Reply to: Re: United Electron EL34 tubes? (in ST-70) posted by tasmith1969 on May 21, 2006 at 07:28:40:

"Also, GET RID OF THAT CHINESE RECTIFIER!! It will fail."
That was only for testing! Good eye! It's gone now. I'm using a JJ. I tried a Mesa 5AR4 also, but the JJ had a more "controlled" low end. Is it woth it to buy NOS Mullard or something for the rectifier? I see RCA and other "made by Mullards" for ok prices on eBay.
I got some nice NOS Mullard and Amperex 6DJ8s for the front end. I'll post a followup comparison later. I still have some others in transit now.
Thanks,
James

Follow Ups:

Re: Mullard-based rectifiers - Bill Thomas 09:11:42 05/21/06 (1)
Mullard was a prime manufacturer for GZ34/5AR4 rectifiers. MANY American companies bought their tubes from Mullard and simply re-branded them as RCA or GE tubes (as did Dynaco). Later in the game, some US manufacturers made their own 5AR4's. There is absolutley NO difference between an RCA or GE 5AR4 that started life as a Mullard tube, and an actual Mullard branded tube. The critical thing when buying tubes on eBay is to know your seller. Feedback helps, but actually knowing that the seller is someone you can trust is MUCH more important.
The order of preference for GZ34/5AR4 rectifiers is basically this:
1. NOS Mullard, or Mullard manufactured tubes from other makers.
2. American NOS 5AR4 rectifiers (NOT Mullard manufactured)
Anything else is questionable. If you MUST use a current-production tube, avoid ANY Chinese sourced tubes. They tend to fail catastrophically. Russian tubes are only *slightly* less suspect. For longevity and reliability, NOTHING beats a NOS Mullard manufactured tube.
So-called "NEW Mullard" tubes have absolutely NOTHING in common with the old Mullard tubes. The Russians simply bought the name, just as they recently did with Tung-Sol. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.
Of course, these are my own silly, personal opinions and are generally unencumbered by the thought process.
Bill
- I had my JJ arc - Paully 17:33:15 05/21/06 (0)
  and I don't believe I am the only one. I used to think rectifiers couldn't make that much of a difference. They do and an NOS Mullard is most certainly worth it!

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