5AS4A vs. 5U4GB...

Tubes Asylum

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A while ago, I bought pairs of Tung Sol 5AS4As and 5U4GBs, expecting them to sound pretty much the same. Data sheets identical, etc. These 5AS4As have gray plates and one getter, the 5U4GBs have black plates and two getters. The 5U4GBs look better. But wow, the sonic difference is huge. The Tung Sol 5U4GB sounds fairly similar any other 5U4GB I've tried. But the 5AS4A is just entirely different. Cleaner, drier, tighter, faster, and without the glassy sound associated with the 5U4GBs in my amp. More like solid state. Not necessarily better, but certainly different.
Can someone explain to me what exactly a 5AS4A is, and why it sounds so fundamentally different from my 5U4GBs, despite leading to nearly-identical voltages? Do they have some curious electrical property? Insight will be appreciated!
-Jon

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Topic - 5AS4A vs. 5U4GB... - jon_s 22:33:06 07/27/06 (8)

Re: 5AS4A vs. 5U4GB... - Jimmy 05:09:45 07/28/06 (7)

Re: 5AS4A vs. 5U4GB... - jon_s 08:02:46 07/28/06 (6)

Did you measure the B+ - DaveInVA 08:56:17 07/28/06 (5)

Re: Did you measure the B+ - jon_s 10:54:25 07/28/06 (4)

Re: Did you measure the B+ - Rob Mercure 11:37:43 07/28/06 (3)

Re: Did you measure the B+ -- identical - jon_s 12:12:48 07/28/06 (2)

Re: Did you measure the B+ -- identical - Rob Mercure 12:23:59 07/28/06 (1)

Re: Did you measure the B+ -- identical - jon_s 13:52:14 07/28/06 (0)

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