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RE: Low plate resistance vs. reputation for 'good tone".

I have used the ECC99 in two (2) amps.

The first was as a driver for a 300B. This choice was based upon some work done by a local designer Scott Thompson who did a scholarly comparison of 6SN7 vs ECC99 for driving 300Bs. Scott's website no longer exists, unfortunately but the paper he did showed relative distortion values etc. and clearly showed the "technical" superiority of the ECC99 over 6SN7 for that (driving a SE 300B) application.

Later I built a pair of Menno VanderVenne VDV70/100 (the 100W version). I did some tube rolling and simple experiments with those mono-blocks. One change I found made quite a difference (improvement) was to replace the 12AU7 common cathode amp + concertina splitter with an ECC99. This may have been due to the fact that I triode strapped the Parallel Push Pull EL34s for 45 Watts out instead of 100W and the load on the concertina splitter would have been more "difficult" with the EL34s in triode mode. Those mono-blocks have been sitting on my shelf for the last 5 years waiting for me to rebuild them into something better (parallel push pull 300B).

As a "SWEEPING GENERALISATION" (and we know how dangerous they can be)I am of the opinion that 90% of the "Bad", "Poor Sounding" amps out there (both SE and PP) are that we due to inadequate driver stages. A lower rp driver tube is a good start in fixing these issues.

Just one mans experience - I certainly have a batch of ECC99 on the shelf for the next project.

Cheers,
Ian



Edits: 11/16/10

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