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I will try my best to keep this to the point. A first hand comparison of the JJ E34L and the SED EL34. Have lived with the JJ's for about a year and have had no reason to leave them, but curiosity finally got the best of me to try the SED's that so many have liked so much. Got the quad of SED's and fired them up and let them settle in awhile...then gave them a listen. Yuck!!! Not what I expected at all....I'll stay with my JJ's and get rid of these quick on ebay. Here is what I was hearing from the SED's compared to my JJ's that were doing a nice job.
* rolled off top end but still had sibalence I didn't have before
* VERY one dimentional
* veiled mids...like a curtain thrown in front of the speakers
* lack of life and presence
* mid range dynamics lost
* not open and transparent
* dark overall quality
* sound stage very closed in
OK, here's the important findings.....I have found that the JJ E34L's sounded so much better to me over the span of time I've been listening to them at 40 MA per tube and not at the higher 50 MA typical setting.
So the SED's went in and I set them at the same 40 MA...and by the way they were absolutely perfectly matched (TubeDepot). After lots of playing time, the sound I was hearing was what I listed in my description....they SUCK! Well, why not set these babies at 50 MA and see what happens???? WOW!! WOW!! again. These babies respond to bias settings like crazy....I like them now....I really do....everything is the description above went away! Nice tubes....this many people couldn't have been that wrong. BUT, there is still some kine of magic in the JJ mid range that we all love.
That's all folks.
Follow Ups:
I just bought a Classic 16.0, ordered it with Winged C EL34, the seller said: "I adjusted the bias to 30mA, a safety value"It is so different from your 50mA, does it vary that much from amplifier to amplifier ?
Antonio Melo Ribeiro
Hi:
It's been my experience that ALL power tubes sound their best when run hot. I try to run them just below the point where the plates start to show red glow in a darkened room.Have you tried the JJ's at 50mA? You might like them even more than at 40mA!
All the best! Al
Yes, I ran the JJ's at 50 mA for a fairly long time and they sounded good....BUT, when I started running them a little cooler the soundstage opened up considerably more, the mid range got really nice on the vocals, and the bass took on a better damped, better controlled character. SO, the JJ's DO sound much better at 40 mA in my rig. AND the SED's sound much better at 50 mA.
IdlerWheel,
Have you been able to compare the JJ E34L to the JJ KT77?
I have compared the kt77 to the GT E34LS and the JJE34L which is a similar variant and in both cases the kt77 wins hands down.I dont know that this will happen in every amp tho..I did use the JJ kt77 in the driver stage of the Cary/Aes 811 set amps and they did very well and I also ran them in the eico hf50s and the kt77s performed extremely well.
JJ got it right with that tube sonically and Im sure a lot of it is the power curve setup on the tube but you have to give JJ credit for having the guts to make somthing everyone else isnt making.
I have not acquired an KT 77's yet to compare to my beloved E34L's, but can't wait to do that......there seems to be a character I REALLY love about the JJ E34L's and am soooo curious to see if and what the KT 77's can do better.
For what I hear on most tube forums is that KT77 sound better, however, dont quote me on that since I am no tube guru.
For awhile there I thought the dreaded Sovtek EL34G was back! Thank God that's not the case. Whew!
Tube sound is greatly affected by bias as you observed. There is a life penalty but who cares. They are not that expensive.
I think that JJ has a grip on budget EL34 (E34L) performance. They are good for the price and I like the thick glass, etc.
I have the E34LB blue glass version and they are very good sounding in my Quicksilver Minis. I cannot use them in my Atlas, however.
Anyway thanks for telling how much bias does affect a tubes sound. It's not subtle.
This is the real message I want to convey from my post.
JJ E34L Best overall sonic performance for me at 40 MA
SED EL34 Best overall sonic performance for me at 50 MAWith my ST 70 rebuilt by me with original circuitry, but with the "right" parts. Has impressed more people than I can count.
AND, the constant reference I can ALWAYS count on...Vandersteen 2C's.
Got about ten hours on a quad of JJ KT77's in my rebuilt Dynaco MK IV's. WOW, at stock bias they better vintage TESLA, Mullard and Telefunken EL34 tubes.
In my HF 60 I liked the Mullards at 42mA. I was going to swap to KT88 in the Eico but am curious to hear the JJ's in them first.
Its nice that there are inexpensive new tubes on the market now. If only someone could start making an EL84 as good as the old Mullards.
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