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More 6n3c-e thoughts ...

71.92.108.4
Posted on July 28, 2009 at 19:25:18
Jeff Day
Reviewer

Posts: 471
Location: Washington State
Joined: October 20, 2000
 I've been running the 6n3c-3 tubes in my Leben CS600 integrated amp since towards the end of 2006 if memory serves me correct. I bought mine from Watford Valves in the UK who sold/sells them under their Harma-cryo premium label (see link) as a 5881. The synergy of that tube with the Leben CS600 integrated in combination with the Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeaker was so enchanting musically that I ended up selling my Avantgarde Duos and Tom Evans Audio Design electronics that I had at the time, very good gear, and I've never looked back.

So that leads me to experiment over the last couple of days with the 6n3c-e in my Leben CS660P power amp in the main system. The Leben amp allows for all kinds of tubes to be run in the amp, but I have to say I'm very impressed with the new 6n3c-3 tube set I bought for it. I bought a pair of Harbeth Monitor 40.1 loudspeakers a while back for my main system, and I'd been having a bit of trouble with them producing too much bass. When I dropped the 6n3c-e in place of the Genelex KT66 tubes almost all of the bass emphasis that was bothering me disappeared - poof!

The 6n3c-3 has a very tight, deep, and controlled bass response, a smooth presentation with a lot of musically natural detail, nice clean highs, and an utterly transparent mid-range. These tubes are sonically excellent, and they play music very well too.

At the price these tubes sell for they must be considered a bargain. I suppose some will look at them and their decidedly non-flashy appearance and dismiss them out of hand. But I'll tell you, if these things came with a sexy ST glass enclosure people would be falling all over themselves and paying silly prices for them.

For Leben owners: I'm running mine at a plate voltage of 450, and with a cathode resistor setting of 460 Ohms, which I think gives the best sound for the CS660P amp.

There's lots of good tubes out there these days, and some may work better in certain applications than others, but if you have an amp you can drop them into, give them a try, I think you will be impressed.

Also, they seem very sturdy, and as I mentioned above I've been running the same pair in my Leben CS600 integrated for almost 3 years now, and if anything they have continued to improve sonically over that time, and I've not had a single problem with them.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents for what it's worth, on the 6n3c-e.

Best,

Jeff

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on August 13, 2009 at 11:49:50
arj
Audiophile

Posts: 186
Location: Asia
Joined: February 9, 2004
 [quote]For Leben owners: I'm running mine at a plate voltage of 450, and with a cathode resistor setting of 460 Ohms, which I think gives the best sound for the CS660P amp.[/quote]

Hi there Jeff, am Thinking of rolling these on my CS600 instead of the currentwinged C 6L6GC . Being a tube novice and , I would be mighty obliged if you could let me know if i could use this with the standard voltage and resistor settings for a 6L6GC/5881 ?

Cheers.

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on August 13, 2009 at 13:06:55
Jeff Day
Reviewer

Posts: 471
Location: Washington State
Joined: October 20, 2000
 5881 settings will work perfectly for the CS600 when using the 6n3c-e tubes. In fact they are my favorite tubes in the CS600 by far.

Best,

Jeff

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on August 14, 2009 at 08:02:04
arj
Audiophile

Posts: 186
Location: Asia
Joined: February 9, 2004
 Thanks Jeff..have placed the order and now have to endure the long wait till i get em

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on August 14, 2009 at 08:51:52
Jeff Day
Reviewer

Posts: 471
Location: Washington State
Joined: October 20, 2000
 Have fun and let me know how you like them.

Best,

Jeff

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on October 9, 2009 at 12:08:45
arj
Audiophile

Posts: 186
Location: Asia
Joined: February 9, 2004
After a really long delay I have mine on my Leben.

They have close to 3 hours on them now and i can already hear a more defined Bass compared to the earlier Winged C 6L6GC.

the killer is the smoothness in the midrange though..there is a definite ease in the sound.
But is the treble a bit recessed ? Or should i leave it alone for a couple of Hours more. Eg the impact and decay in triangles is all there but seems to be lower in volume than before.


unfortunately doing an A/B on power tubes is too lengthy a process :(

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on November 3, 2009 at 14:04:11
stonecabin
 Just interested to know how the 6nc3-e set are going now you've had them in for a while Arj. I am looking for some valves for my cs600 in place of Winged c 6l6's.

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on July 28, 2009 at 21:05:38
tubers
 Did you try NOS TungSol JAN-CTL 6L6WGB/5881 tubes?

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on July 29, 2009 at 17:20:20
Jeff Day
Reviewer

Posts: 471
Location: Washington State
Joined: October 20, 2000
 I haven't, but given your suggestion, and Michael's response, it sounds like I should!

Best,

Jeff

RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on July 28, 2009 at 22:20:21
Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 13111
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005
Contributor
  Since: June 24, 2005



Did you try NOS TungSol JAN-CTL 6L6WGB/5881 tubes?

I know you addressed this question to Jeff but I have used the 5881 tungsol and they were very nice but the WGB/5881 are a superb sounding tube thats getting harder to come by but its well worth the price of admission.They mirror the 6n3C-E in many ways and they are more refined than the standard TS 5881.
If the power supply waveform isn't pretty,neither is the sound in most cases.
RE: More 6n3c-e thoughts ..., posted on July 28, 2009 at 19:40:15
Ty_Bower
Audiophile

Posts: 195
Location: Newark, DE
Joined: June 9, 2007
 Quote: "I'm running mine at a plate voltage of 450, and with a cathode resistor setting of 460 Ohms, which I think gives the best sound for the CS660P amp."

They're very respectable tubes. I run mine single ended at ~450 volts at the anode and 810 ohms resistance cathode biased. I'll assume your amplifier is push/pull, otherwise you would certainly be overbiasing them given the conditions you've described.

Very fine tubes. Enjoy!

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