Tubes Asylum

What is the best NOS EL34 "fat bottle" you have heard?

203.221.144.162

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display Email Next ] [ Tubes Asylum ]

mondie

(A)

Hi all,
l was wondering what peoples opinions are on the best fat bottle EL34 that you have heard? l have recently replaced a 7 yr old pair of Fat bottle NOS Sovteks with a modern fat bottle pair of EH's in my hybrid valve power amp, and while the bass is better and the mids smoother, l still feel like l have lost 'something'. It seems less open in the midrange, voices dont seem to have the same quality they had with the Sovteks, nor does the image seem as big.
Its time to buy some high quality fat bottles, what would you recommend?
Cheers Mondie

Follow Ups:

Anyone? Please! :^) - Mondie 15:11:06 01/26/04 (4)
Any experiences at all?
- I'll Give It A Shot - Luminator 10:26:28 01/27/04 (3)
  I have tried Sylvania, G.E., and EI fat bottle 6CA7s in various amps. The Sylvanias I have have welded plates. The G.E.s have crimped and stapled plates. I forgot to look at the EI 6CA7s, which I stick in amp when I don't use it.
  These tubes don't quite sound like skinny-bottle Russian, GB, and Holland EL-34s. The Sylvania reminds me of a slightly smaller 6550. The G.E. can be slightly smoother in the treble, but not as even in the bass than the Sylvania. The EI is another story. It has a wonderfully accurate midrange, preserving what you feed it.
  Keep in mind that the power tubes come near the end of the chain, and thus, are totally dependent on the upstream stuff. If I screw up the upstream stuff, then I'm just wasting my time, finding the "best" EL-34s.
  -Lummy The Seahorse
  - http://www26.baronvonporn.com/ (Open in New Window)
  - Re: I'll Give It A Shot - Mondie 04:08:31 01/28/04 (2)
    Thanks for the reply.
    l have managed to track down a pair of both GE and Sylvania tubes so l think l will buy both and see what works best for me. l can then keep my eye out for more in the future to build up a little reserve.
    Just one question, what brand are the Ei tubes? Were they made in the US as l have never heard of them. l currently have some fat bottle Sovteks from the 60's which l have never seen for sale either so there must be a few variants kicking around apart from the well known GE and Sylvania variants.
    Cheers Simon
    - EI 6CA7 - Luminator 09:06:30 01/28/04 (1)
      The EI 6CA7s I have were made in the late 90s in the former Yugoslavia. They are branded "Orion," and have a weird Mayan logo. They take a few days to burn-in and sound right. I tend to bias them conservatively. The heat they give off is spread out, so it's not as intense as, say, the Sovtek/EH EL-34.
      In the medium-powered amps I've tried them, the EI 6CA7s are very nice tubes, honestly reproducing the mids, which is where 80% of the music lies. Be sure to get tested and screened examples. The EI 6CA7 is much cheaper than old stock EL-34s, so stock up, before people catch on.
      -Lummy The Seahorse
      http://de04.com/ (Open in New Window)
      - Thanks for the excellent info! nt - Mondie 14:02:18 01/28/04 (0)
        
        In Reply to: EI 6CA7 posted by Luminator on January 28, 2004 at 09:06:30:
        
        .

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

You can not post to an archived thread.