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Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's...

67.205.149.170
Posted on February 23, 2017 at 13:25:15
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017



Thanks to Twistd and Michael and others for their contributions to my understanding the value of the old stock mil spec glass vs. modern Sovtek production!

I've got a Zinky Mofo amp that runs 550v of B+ and it comes with the Sovtek "5881WXT" like Soldano.

I've wanted to try some Foton/60's production 6P3C-E's but they're hard to come by. Anyone here got a duet matched within 10ma they'd part with for the love of all that is holy? eBay folks don't have 'em, seems like late 70's is about as good as it gets and they come from Ukraine and the like. Way different markings on the 60's glassware. See attached.

Thanks guise, in advance. :)

 

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RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 14:36:00
The Bored
Bored Member

Posts: 2996
Joined: July 28, 2000
Contributor
  Since: March 1, 1999
 Thanks for visiting the Asylum and for registering as an inmate!

Items for sale and items wanted are best sought in the Audio Asylum Trader,
as such posts are not allowed on the forums themselves' otherwise they would
be cluttered with such requests.

Below is the link to the Trader.

Thanks!

Fax mentis incendium gloria cultum, et cetera, et cetera...
Memo bis punitor delicatum! It's all there, black and white,
clear as crystal! Blah, blah, and so on and so forth ...

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 14:52:31
Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005
 Detune
I have about 211 left of the 6P3Se tubes and I wish I would have bought more. I used to buy a box of a 100 for 600usd including shipping and I bought three of those boxes plus a box of 50 and two more boxes of 24.I don't sell tubes but I occasionally put them in gear that I rebuild for people but mostly go in my own stuff or stuff that I sell.

Here is what i can tell you. I have compared my tubes made in 1968 to the tubes made in 1978 and 1982 and the build quality and sound is identical.These are military tubes and they built these tubes with the same standards and materials and there is no sonic difference if get ones that test where you want them to.Now the Sovtek 5881wxt,that is a different tube even tho it looks like its Russian Military cousin. The 1970s or 1980s tubes are every bit as good as the 60s tubes.Russia is not hurting for raw materials so their military demands high quality.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 15:43:25
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017



Interesting. Twistd suggested there was a difference in the different vintages, here:

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=tubes&m=236345&VT=T

I observed in the ones I sent back today that the 1966 tube had different stamping and different tabs on the plates (1/3 of the size) as compared with the others which were from 79, 82, and 84, which are the same as modern 5881. It has been seen on the web that earlier models were made at the Foton plant vs the Reflektor plant at Saratov.

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 18:08:50
DannyR
Audiophile

Posts: 611
Joined: January 21, 2001
 i wish that I had gotten a box back when. are they still out there at higher prices or did they all get gobbled up?

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 20:04:37
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017
 So, to be clear, it has been your experience that the old stock Military 6P3S-E's are tonally superior to the Sovteks, and merit swapping for, perhaps with extreme prejudice? :p

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 20:27:20
DannyR
Audiophile

Posts: 611
Joined: January 21, 2001
 I wonder if the original sovtek's were just relabed older 6p3s-e's.

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 23, 2017 at 21:22:45
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017
 Wouldn't doubt it. The ones that came from Bruce in this MOFO sound pretty great, especially biased SUPER HOT and with Mullard f91/f92 long plates in V1, V2, and V3.

It's a question of trying the old 6P3C-E's or perhaps sacrificing real XF2's in this bad boy, as the JJ KT77's sound INSANELY GOOD yet die so quickly...550 B+ and mere 470 ohm screen resistors make for a vicious electrical environment for all but the strongest of valves.

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 24, 2017 at 11:44:58
DannyR
Audiophile

Posts: 611
Joined: January 21, 2001
 I remember tossing the early Sovtek 5881's in stuff like Ampeg V4b's etc and them holding up to the abuse without issue.

The JJ kt77's were dying in a Dynaco ST70 for me. They'd also drift all over the place. I'm surprised that you got any use at all out of em.

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 27, 2017 at 16:11:01
Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005
 So, to be clear, it has been your experience that the old stock Military 6P3S-E's are tonally superior to the Sovteks, and merit swapping for, perhaps with extreme prejudice? :

ABSOLUTELY! The SOVTEK is not the same tube.

"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

 

The SOVTEK 6L6WXT is not the same tube as the 6P3Se even tho they share the same physical looks and bottle., posted on February 27, 2017 at 16:14:16
Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005
 They sound nothing alike. The 6P3Se is one of the finest sounding 6L6 tubes ever made BAR NONE.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on February 28, 2017 at 12:11:01
twystd
Audiophile

Posts: 2723
Location: Austin,Texas
Joined: December 9, 2000
 I think you will be fine with 70s production tubes. AFAIK the quality of the Russian tubes really started to go downhill during the mid 80s during the Gorbachev era. See my link below (about the 10th post down). BTW, I have done business many many times with eastern block sellers, I have not been disappointed yet.

The batch of 70s vintage tubes I bought sounded great. The Mullard EL34s that were in my brother's ST-70 were replaced by the Russian tubes because in our opinion they sounded better. We sold the used tested Mullards on ebay for far more than we paid for the Russian tubes. I'm now a made member of the triode mafia so don't use them anymore.

twystd

 

RE: The SOVTEK 6L6WXT is not the same tube as the 6P3Se even tho they share the same physical looks and bottle., posted on February 28, 2017 at 15:06:16
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017
 Would you be willing to part with a pair to fit in my Zinky Mofo amp? I see all these European vendors but I'd feel much more comfortable getting them from someone like you who is an enthusiast and tests personally.

 

typo in my old link, posted on February 28, 2017 at 21:50:25
twystd
Audiophile

Posts: 2723
Location: Austin,Texas
Joined: December 9, 2000
 Now that I have reread my post from 2000, I see that I referred to CC, should have read QC (quality control).

twystd

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on March 1, 2017 at 16:35:38
Detune
Audiophile

Posts: 7
Location: Southeastern US
Joined: February 23, 2017
 Have any early 70's matched pairs you'd part with?

 

RE: Looking for 60's 6P3S-E's..., posted on March 1, 2017 at 20:17:42
twystd
Audiophile

Posts: 2723
Location: Austin,Texas
Joined: December 9, 2000
 Sorry parted with those a long time ago. I'm currently playing with Russian GU50s, 6E5Ps, 6E6P-EVs, 6P36S, and 4P1L tubes all in triode mode...super linear. Also playing with the 6S3P-E, as the first stage in a phonostage. Love those Russian NOS milspec tubes from the cold war era, very high quality, cheap, and abundant.

twystd

 

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