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Initial impression is that I am getting more volume and balance out of my Korneff, more ooph, and a balanced soundstage.I have lost some micro detail, image and presence in space are very much present and as beautiful as ever, though not as deliniated. My very early impression is that these NU will be much more forgiving on poorer recordings, not neccesarily a bad thing.
Need more listening time and break in time on these ancient tubes, but first feeling is that this is a step in the right direction. Perhaps my EML 45 solid plates really were on their last legs as I suspected....which is rediculous because they arent old/abused and they didnt age evenly at all!
I suppose that I need to buy TJ tubes now dont I? i need a fresh pair of ultra premium new stock... *sigh*
Follow Ups:
I have EML's,NU's.RCA globes, and TJ's for my Korneff. They all sound fine for different reasons, but I keep going back to the TJ's.
o.k. this may seem like a dumb question around here but i was under the impression that 300b's are / have been known to last a long time 80 years being poss. i did not know that the same is true for 45's till i read your post . i did however read that 2a3's do not last very long . so what's the real deal here ? i'm trying to decide upon a 45 or 300b based amp and tube life as well as availability in the next 10-20 years is an important issue to me . thanks in advance to all who respond .
I hestitate to speak for the other poster, but I believe what he meant by 80 years is that the tubes were manufacturered some 80 years ago, not that they've been in continual use for 80 years. 45s aren't super long-lived tubes IME.I like the sound of the EML 45 a lot, but I, too, have come to the conclusion they aren't the most reliable 45 variant available. Unfortunately, they costs $400+ per pair, twice the price as more reliable vintage 45s. In defense of EML, they do come with a warranty, and I've never had a problem with EML honoring their warranties.
spwal, hi. It would be of interest to know now many hours of service the EML "45" tubes provided before sonic degradation made you want to change them. I have examples of type 45 approaching 80 years old that have strong emission. Who knows now many hundreds or thousands of hours they have run. Lifetime seems to be a major bugaboo in the boutique tube world. If I plunk down several hundreds of dollars for a pair of what are labeled type 45 tubes I would expect thousands of hours of life. It would appear that high cost does not indicate high quality. Premature failure is unacceptable. When you say your tubes didn't age evenly at all I am curious to know specifics. Were the tubes new at the outset or not? How long did they last? Thanks for taking the time. Enjoy your National Union 45's. NU made righteous tubes.
I have a Wavelength Venus. The first set of new version EML solid 45s lasted about 9 months, about 1500 hours. One of the tubes, while softly playing music, just stopped working. No fireworks, no pops, no crackles, just stopped working. It showed zero gm on my tube tester.I got a second set set and after one month the exact same thing happened to one of the tubes.
The third set has been playing perfectly for three months.
Any idea what would cause this type of failure and what is the nature of this type of failure? I have used many globe 45s and none have ever died like this. They just gradually fade away.
Hi,The EML are still very usable, and have a detail level and rightness that I am not sure I will be able to extract from the NU.
Here is the deal. Tubes were bought with my Korneff amp, i paid a bunch extra for these believe me. Though the seller was not entirely sure of the hours on the tubes, he said "around 300".
I think i may have a quality control issue here, and people have definitely had them with EML if you do a search.
Ok, forgot to mention these are VAIC VV45, the predeccesor to EML tubes.
If you turn off the lights and just look at the tubes, the louder one is glowing brighter. I did the uninterested girlfriend test "Honey, which one is brighter?" Got the answer in 1 second.
I may have a bunk tube. I have babied my amps and listened to them sparingly as I protect them for the next lucky owner.
Here is what it started to sound like: More output from the stronger tube was leading to a skewing of the soundstage to one side, and losing detail on the other. Still entirely satisfying to listen to as background music, but not acceptable for critical listening.
In a 1 hour test, the NU seem to have cleared upo the problem.
get the warrantee is the moral of the story i suppose. hope this helps.
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