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Hello,I ordered a pair of Western Electric 417a tube and received WE 5842. Are they the same or is one better than the other? Does anyone have recommendations for NOS 417a or 6GK5 tubes? I am using them in phono stage of a preamp.
Thanks,
Ethan.
Follow Ups:
...and the 417a's are rare and expensive. I think Morgan Jones's preamp uses those as voltage amp along with a low-mu triode driver stage.
I don't know that they are EXACTLY equivalent electrically, but they look the same and I have seen them described interchangably.In my Syrah (I'll bet you have a Syrah also), I tried only the stock Raytheon 5842 and a pair of Western Electric NOS 417a that I purchased over Ebay. I cannot say that the WE tubes are necessarily better...I put them in when the Syrah was still breaking in and I have not changed them since. By reputation NOS 417a are supposed to be the best sounding. The 417a/5842 has a reputation of being difficult to manufacture, with noise and microphonics being the big issues - which is logical considering the gain that this bottle provides.
With regard to the 6GK5 tubes (in the Syrah they are biased with battery power)....I was given some advice from a tube maven that the 6GK6 tube is also very difficult to manufacture and that there are "only" two manufactures that made good audio quality tubes - Mullard and RCA. I ordered a NOS pair of both. I tried the Mullard 6GK5 tube first - replacing the factory supplied (Sylvania? or Westinghouse? can't remember for sure) and the Mullard sounded great. Had that characteristic Mullard midrange I like a lot. Lived with that tube a week. Then replaced them with a pair of the RCA 6GK5s. Just flipped out. Super extended, airy, linear, dynamic, ultra transparent...fabulous tube in the Syrah.
Summary: WE 417a plus RCA 6GK5 makes for best sounding, most musical phono stage I've heard. Couldn't be happier.
WTS
Thanks WTS, that's exactly what I needed to know. You're right, I do have the Syrah. I recently got into got into analog and now I'm hooked. If you have anymore tips for the Supratek, please let me know.
Well said, but I've good results with RCA 5842 with gold pins (though not in that amp). Not far off WE417, which can be pricey.
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