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In Reply to: How good is the sound of 6BM8 based tube amps? posted by Raver on December 11, 2003 at 23:42:52:
The 6BM8 is used in many "low-end" tuner/amplifiers. The sound is not that good. You will be better off looking for an amplifier that uses the 6BQ5/EL84/7189 instead.
Follow Ups:
IMO they sound more lively and three dimensional than EL84's even if it has lower outpur power, especially in a very good circuit... Another one I really like is the ECL86.
The 6BM8 has a triode driver section and a pentode output section in a single tube. The idea behind this construction is that you can build an amplifier with just one tube per channel. It saves costs because the tube doesn't require a complicated multiple-tube circuit design, so many "budget-class" tuner/amplifiers and portable record players used this tube in the 1960's (Many of these sets were made in Japan and exported to the U.S.). Of course, you can use this tube in a more sophisticated modern circult design like the "Ultra-Triode" design that some people have tried in Japan (I see some mention of this in the posts below.). I agree that the 6BM8 is very easy to use because it has good sensitivity, and more importantly, it is highly stable if negative feedback is applied. In that sense, it is a good tube for sure.
I have just received shipment of the Eastern Electric MiniMax Amplifier and believe that the 6BM8 circuit we employ in push-pull configuration with our own transformers would possibly make you retract your statement.It's as musical an amplifier albeit 8 watts as any SET or EL84 amp.
Kindest Regards,
Bill O'Connell
Morningstar Audio Imports
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