 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
101.114.65.120
Hi all,I have recently bought a Schiit Freya preamp utilizing 4 x 6SN7 tubes. One consideration was that I had a few 6SN7 in stock, another was that it's balanced, and crucially it uses attenuators for the volume control: I hate the wandery balance that pots give.
Anyhow, it came with some JJ current production tubes which are underwhelming. I installed some current prod. Tung-Sol, which are much better. Then the tube rolling fever came over me and I now have some NOS RCAs in it, they are pretty groovy and not expensive. I'm not even thinking about top end tubes, e.g. Tung-Sol "mouse ears" - I saw a quad for US$2000...There seem to be a few interesting new production tubes available from the Chinese. Shuguang Treasures and Psvanes look interesting.
However, both factories are offline so where is the stock coming from? There seem to be a lot of different Psvanes available - are they bogus? Which are the preferable ones?Thanks for your advice!
P.S. I'm in Australia.
Edits: 06/19/22Follow Ups:
...is the best for me, as it sounds slightly warm in tonal balance, as does the black-glass BRIMAR CV-1988, the latter also being labeled 6SN7GTY.. The old blacked-glass Ken-Rad 'N7s are also very good but not quite as warm.. Most of my testing used the first gain stage of Antique Sound Labs Hurricanes, the 'monster' amps that uses 4 pairs of KT-88s, and I've also compared my 2 faves in the first positions of my several Atma-Spere OTL poweramps.. I have never been able to hear differences in tubes used as cathode followers.
WARNING--I am NOT a golden-eared audiofool, able to quickly hear tiny differences.. I'm more of a medium-term listener who requires days to discern small differences.
BTW a good explanation of the Chinese tube companies is at Grant Fidelity; link below.
There are so many high quality NOS 6SN7s still floating around and widely available, why would you even bother with new production?
After trying literally dozens of pairs of 6SN7s as drivers in my Rogue amps, I still think the Sylvania 6SN7W (picture posted by Tre') are the best I have heard. Unfortunately, those are not quite as widely available, but can still be found for about the same prices as the fancy black bottle "premium" Chinese versions.
Enjoy the roll!
Some state the Electro Harmonic 6SN7 is great.
"Some state the Electro Harmonic 6SN7 is great"
Maybe so, but I doubt they ever heard a good NOS 6SN7 in their amp. My Rogue came with that tube for the drivers and it is definitely not great in my opinion.
They were comparing many NOS 6SN7s including my favorite Sylvania Y plate. Steve Hoffman has many experienced audiophiles as any site including this site.
Well everyone is entitled to their opinion (even if they are wrong :)
Enjoy the roll......
Edits: 07/17/22
Mendel, you are taking this personal as if it is my opinion. It is the opinion of others. I am done here.
Well I was joking as per the :) in my post. I believe you are the one taking it personally. If you think that the EH tube is better than good NOS than enjoy! It is not an opinion shared by many tube aficionados despite what you may have read on that other forum. Anybody on this forum who has compared the EH 6SN7 to good NOS please chime in with your opinions.
I am not done here.
HELLO. Anybody home? Again, it is not my opinion the EH 6SN7 is better than NOS as you keep stating. As I stated in original post and directly to you others think the EH 6SN7 is better than NOS as stated on Hoffman forum. Numb skull.
HELLO! You are a very rude prick Mr. Sony!
And your "reference" Sylvania 6SN7 GTA is a very mediocre tube not even close to the best NOS 6SN7s. So you know shit. And if I cared what people on the Hoffman forum thought about 6SN7s I would be there not here. So stick a sock in your dumb and rude comments you looser...-...-...-
Other poster disagrees with you as well as I over the Sylvania. I owned about 10,000 NOS tubes and tried most 6SN7 except the Tung Sol round plate 6SN7, so you the hell are you?
BTW- I never heard a EH 6SN7!
the EH 6SN7 is nothing to put money aside for! my lyric Ti 140 was delivered with those, but every other brand - vintage or not - was better.
actually i got very special sovjet (Foton plant) 6H8C built in the 60-ties with horizontal getter plate and invisble getter film (it is located in the glass bottom).
they sound gorgeous! i am afraid, even better than my linlai E 6SN7 but had cost only 30 bucks for 5 pieces including shipping from ukraine!
concerning that strange stamp on the bulbs ("B82n") the seller gave me this additional information:
"This designation means (Military industry, BOEH 82 IIPOM). This stamp was placed on early lamps. It says that the lamps are prepared for the maintenance of military equipment where high-quality parts are needed... ...These lamps are valued more than the later ones, where the content of precious metals was lower."
I've not heard better than the Sylvanias, but that's just me with my system
+1
Without music what is there?
My favorite is Sylvania 6SN7 Y plate from 1953 or 1954. The 6SN7GTA guarantees these years.
very clean on the tippy top, won't get microphonic over time too. Clean as a whistle
"Some state the Electro Harmonic 6SN7 is great"
Maybe so, but I doubt they ever heard a good NOS 6SN7 in their amp. My Rogue came with that tube for the drivers and it is definitely not great in my opinion.
Many at Steve Hoffman forum compared the EH 6SN7 to NOS and state the EH sounds better. So much for your post.
I've long been happy with Sylvania "chrome dome" black plate 6SN7's and the current prices aren't that bad for them.
Edits: 06/28/22
The only true "Chrome Dome" 6sn7s that I can find are very expensive. Like $100 each or more. Only produced in the 1940s. Then they came out with the bad boys and the gta and gtb. All good tubes but not true chrome domes.Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
Edits: 07/05/22
got a brandnew pair LinLai E 6SN7 and i am very surprised. seems to perform right out of the box better than my Psvane CV181 T Mk II and black treasure CV181 Z too.
Have you ever heard a 1940's mil spec 6sn7w?
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
hello Tre,
not yet but vintage sylvania chrome domes and russian 6H8C made in the 60ties. the 6H8C performed superior over the sylvanias to my ears. (as the LinLais do over the 6H8C...)
i am not keen on seeking that special type you mentioned here in europe or on ebay but if you would offer me a good pair of those for a reasonable price i would surely buy them!
cheers
Nunki
Psvane bought the small signal tube tooling from TJ Full Music when the owner passed. They also bought the Guaguang tube factory.
Just FYI, the "mouse ear" tubes you mentioned are the 2C22 / 7193. They are single triodes that are equivalent to 1/2 of a 6SN7 so you would need to add sockets in order to use them.
Most all of the ones I've seen are JAN military tubes made by Tung Sol and Ken Rad. I use four of them, instead of a pair of 6SN7s, in a PP 6B4G amp I built years ago and recently updated. They are certainly wonderful tubes.
People ask all sorts of crazy prices for things. The big dealer near me lists them for $7. Another large dealer in Orlando lists them for $6.50.
You're probably aware of this already, but there are also Tung-Sol 6SN7 "mouse ears". I have several for my two Schiit Sagas, paid around $70 each for them, probably too much but I like my vendor.
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
Looked them up . . . yeah, different kind of "ears".
The "mouse ears" designation for the 2C22 / 7193 refers to dual top caps, one for the plate and the other for the grid. I'm no expert but I seem to recall that there are some technical advantages to top caps in certain situations. Not sure if they apply in a typical audio application. This may explain why all the ones I have were in JAN boxes and produced for the military in WWII.
In the 6SN7 version the term refers to a pair of mica discs which is just a different method of supporting the internal structure. I found one listing by a boutique seller, although their stock seems to have been depleted.
Of course, the seller claims advantages such as lower microphonics, which I've never heard mentioned as a problem with 6SN7s in general. They also claim better sonics . . . of course, but better than what? Presumably lower priced 6SN7s. It's unclear if there are any other differences between them and other Tung Sol 6SN7s which use more common mica support, other than cost.
Funny how the best sounding tubes are always whatever the boutique $ellers have in stock at the moment.
Another site had reviews of 6SN7s and comments. The reviewer says, "like it's rodent counterpart this tube seems somewhat meek" and describes it as average. Another user strongly disagreed and offered a glowing description of its virtues.
They're probably both right.
In my experience, tubes sound different in different circuits and systems, it's not a "one size fits all" situation. There are simply too many variables.
Comments on a forum dedicated to old radios veer toward the other end of the spectrum. One poster described the interest in these Tung Sols as an "audio fetish" and another found "no difference in sound".
So, as always YMMV.
I can't say that the "mouse ears" T-S tubes sound any better or worse to me than the other 6SN7 varieties I've used.
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
Supposedly new WE 6SN7's are being tested with some people - a member posted some time ago.
I am also using some old RCA's on my amps, but would love to try some new WE's.
I don't go by the maker with 6SN7 tubes, I go by the shape of the anode.
The ones I like best are the ones with angled plates. Any make, and same with 7N7s with the angled plates.
Second to the angled plates would be the older T plates.
I'm not a fan of the box "ladder" plates in general. I find them bright. Some exceptions.
My experience with angled plates and T plates is that the plates are the same. The angled one are just turned while in the T plate tubes the plates are facing each other.
Why would that make them sound different?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284776778199
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284739452027?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=284739452027&targetid=1262749490102&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9031623&poi=&campaignid=15428034462&mkgroupid=133947154481&rlsatarget=pla-1262749490102&abcId=9300763&merchantid=101828984&gclid=CjwKCAjwtcCVBhA0EiwAT1fY7_5nbaui2fMTAlsafOeuY-dqjsqNplErxz_uPdS_8fT3GAB51T8NnxoC-uAQAvD_BwE
Tre'
Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
If you haven't seen it already, you may want to check out the thread on AudioGon about the Linlai E-6SN7 (use the link below). Many current production 6SN7s are mentioned. Warning: it's long!Gerry
Edits: 06/19/22 06/19/22
Thanks for the Audiogon Link!
Short of cutting large holes so the top of the tube can stick out?
Yes, I've already ordered some "socket savers" so I can fit the bulbous Psvanes to the Freya, that is if I buy any.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
