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In Reply to: Re: Maybe not. posted by Jim McShane on July 20, 2006 at 08:54:24:
I was always under the impression that the 6V6 gets overlooked in modern gear because it was not used as often as EL84/ 7189's in vintage gear. Seems to me much of the retail tube audio market was quite derivative of the vintage market until just 5 or 6 six years ago (with some notable exceptions). In the DIY world, the 6V6 has a reputation for not doing much under 100Hz. I would suggest that this owes much to amp design and less to the tube, but a at least the vintage make tubes that I have heard can be a bit soft. I am told that the new makes actually sound better. All this said, in my view, the 6V6 has the best mid range of all the more common beam tubes and pentodes, even when the screen grid is not tied top the plate.
Follow Ups:
Hmmm, I hadn't heard that. Funny considering it was loved for a guitar amp. Anyhow my experiences are totally opposite. I think the 6V6 kicks serious ass on bass. I never spent much time using NOS tubes so maybe that is why. But still I found your comment interesting considering what my ears tell me.I always assumed it wasn't as popular since it has less power than the el84.
My amp did so good in the bass I was convinced I had a grid choke/coupling cap problem. But when I finally got around to measuring it the sucker was close to ruler flat. Results are posted on diy tube. Search for "Voltage measurements on amp with grid chokes " if you are interested.
the vintage amps and tubes than the tube make itself. I cna I should not repeat the "reputation" of the tube, as it really has less to do with my experience and more the comments of "others" with whom I have spoken regarding output tubes for DIY. That said, my most extensive experience came from some Radio Craftsmen amps (with RCA ouptut tubes) which sounded quite beautiful in the mids, but I must admit were a bit soft on the low end. Yet, I would never build an amp with that circuit or power supply, so it is not surprising that 6V6 amps with more robust power supplies and better circuits sound better. Moreover, given what I heard to this point from that tube...
The hi-fi guys would have liked the 6BQ because it was easier to drive and physically small. By that time, they were seriously cheaping out on their mid-market gear, and you can build a nice compact little amp with pentode EL84s, driven by a single stage from line level, and advertise it as a 35w piece. I started doing this stuff gleaning iron and other parts from old receivers and amps, and so many corners were cut in the design and implementation of those later low-line pieces it's amazing.I first heard 6V6s in a guitar amp, and that's why I decided to use it. I think the guitar guys liked them because they're rugged. That said, the iron for my first example Machine was from a Harmon Kardon hi-fi receiver. Lousy iron, by the way; output transformers about the size of a ST-70 choke.
An interesting point about the bass, I hadn't heard that; I just a few weeks ago measured the first new-iteration commercial Machine, and it's 1dB down at 10Hz, so there's definitely no problem with bass capability in the device, if the other circuit components are up to snuff.
Aloha,
Poinz
and are reported to sound the same. But I have run inot the "bass" remarks from a few, often hedged by "but I have not heard an all out design." Perhaps some of this is due to the vintage tubes and their ample midrange energy... or vintage "cheap skate" iron...I think it was a "Voice of Music" or similiar amp that got me hip to 6V6s. I actually have a pretty large collection of vintage tubes. Perhaps one day I will get around to building something for them.
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