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Any opinions about The Sylvania 6sn7s gta or gtb made in the '70s
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The pre 1958 Sylvania 6SN7GTB are better sounding vs later 6SN7GTBs. The Sylvania 6SN7GTA with the common 'Y' configuration plates guarantees pre 1954 dates and are the best sounding 6SN7s IMO less the rare Tung Sol 6SN7 round plate tube.
Tubes sound different in different circuits, thus YMMV.
After reading this thread and several others I took the plunge ($)and bought a quad of 1951 Sylvania Bad Boys (three hole)and a quad of Raytheon VT231 date code 1945. Both are excellent, just two different flavors. The new production Tung Sol Russians I found to be a little too hard by comparison. Guess you just don't know what you're missing if you haven't heard these tubes.
Thanks to everyone for their input.
I've got some GTA's that are circa 1972 as I recall, and they are not bad sounding tubes at all. Their sins are ones of omission. They do not do anything badly, but not exactly stars in any particular area of performance either. I used them as drivers in a hybrid amp. I have never used them in a preamp, so cant really comment on them in that application. All in all I'd count them, as I used them, in the livable camp.Edit: Just to add that I much preferred these GTA's in my application to the EH 6SN7, which hit the scene about the same time I got hold of these GTA's. The EH's are a good garden-variety 6SN7, but thought the Syl GTA much easier to live with. To be fair though, my absolute favorite, and the tube that occupied the slot longer than any other is the NU gray glass. Sadly, that tube has gone all but extinct these days.
Edits: 09/25/14
Sondek,
Thanks for the input. Currently running the Tungsol reissue from New Sensor. Decent tube. Was wondering if the Sylvanias were better. They certainly cost a lot more.
If I'm not being too nosey, what are you using them in? I've still got one pair of them I don't need. They are the short bottle, green-print, 6SN7-WGTA's. The date codes are not matching, but they're reasonably close. One is 7413 and the other one is 7426. They were military surplus and have JAN white boxes. Drop me an email if you have interest. Gathering dust otherwise. I cannot recall if this specific pair had any use, but even if they did it wasn't much. When I got these 15+ years ago, I was trying all sorts of 6SN7s searching for THE one, and none of them except the "keepers" ever got more than 50 - 100 hours on them. Just so you know, the keepers were, and no surprise here, the 52 Syls, the TSRPs, and the NU GG's.
I'm using four 6sn7s in a Canary M320 integrated 300b amp. Currently running reissue Tungsol from New Sensor. Looking for an improvement of course.
You can find different sounding tubes, but better?? Those Tung-Sols are quite good - it won't be easy or cheap to do better.
Well, I guess I agree with the cheap part of your statement about doing better.
All I'm saying is this - I get a lot of feedback from customers who say the Tung-Sol is a terrific tube, and that it surprised them with its quality. Many say they think it sounds as good as the old stock they've heard.
And honestly - I find more and more of this occurring. I've come to learn that there is a group of people out there who will never accept/admit that new production tubes can be as good as the old stock. Fine, they have every right to think that. But for many people the new production tubes provide super performance and they find quite often that in many cases it's not easy to improve on them.
If you are suggesting that I am one of those that will never admit it, you would be wrong. I freely admit, and I believe there may be even a thread or two where you and I both agreed about the quality of current production nine-pin tubes. Unfortunately, I do not see the 6SN7 situation the same. All of the EH 6SN7 iterations, are great, but completely average sounding tubes. Even with that qualification, they still represent very good value mainly because of their price, but they don't even come close to the sound of the classics - as you point out, that is my opinion, and I'm sticking to it. I am glad to see that you clarified what you stated about them is your customers' reports on them and not your own personal recommendation.
I'm not talking about the EH, I'm talking about the Tung-Sol. Definitely not the same tube!
My personal recommendation is unless you are willing and able to spend a LOT on a 6SN7 family tube - get the current stuff!
Thanks for taking time to reply - this is a discussion that needs to take place more frequently IMHO. Without your participation it would be a monologue, not a discussion!! Much appreciated...
"unless you are willing and able to spend a LOT on a 6SN7 family tube - get the current stuff!"Long before the new 6SN7s were available, I began stockpiling NOS 12SN7s. I wanted to use NOS-quality tubes without spending a fortune and without worries regarding future availability. These were intended solely for use in my own designs, so filament voltage was unimportant. Ironically, the situation has now come full circle. New production 6SN7s are reputed to sound superb and prices are very reasonable. Meanwhile, sleeves of 12SN7s are almost non-existent, and prices have soared. So, for all the same reasons I had planned to design my equipment around 12SN7s, it now appears the 6SN7 will be the preferred tube. Ya just can't win...
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
Edits: 10/01/14
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Have Fun and Enjoy the Music
"Still Working the Problem"
I don't have any of those. Very, very nice!
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Buy Chinese. Bury freedom.
Thanks Jim. That's actually good news!
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