Little Dot Tube Amps: Vacuum Tube Rolling Guide - Page 38

Thanks for a beautiful video - gives new meaning to hand made.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dxanex 

That's encouraging news! I'm still waiting on my Tung-Sol's to get here and I'm really itching to try them out. The guy sending them forgot to mail them out and finally mailed them over a week after I paid! Nice thing is, he gave me a FULL refund for the error, and I didn't even ask...nice Christmas present for me, free 1950's era Tung-Sol's!

That's pretty cool :) Hopefully you'll have them soon. My 8100's were shipped earlier last week, might arrive this week or the one after :).

Well, I got my Tung-Sol 5654W's in and I have spent some time with them last night and this morning. I have to turn the volume knob on my Darkvoice amp up slightly more, but these things are 60-some years old, so that's not surprising. But for 60-year-old tubes, all I can say is WOW. I think they are my new favorite tube!

Someone mentioned they are quite spacious. That's the very first thing I noticed....these things produce a huge and very 3D presentation, especially on the HD650, which can sometimes sound closed in. I was pretty floored, because I wasn't expecting such a big soundstage. I listened to a few tracks I'm quite familiar with, where the original mastering wasn't really the best. I was clearly picking out snare drums and high-hats that I hardly ever noticed in the past which before were just washed out in a wall of sound.

The mid range is very resolved and just a bit more forward than my GE 5 Stars (my amp's previous reigning champ) but not nearly as forward as the Voskhods. Laid back, but still very engaging and impressively detailed. I still can't believe how nice they sound considering they are the oldest tubes I've ever owned. Now I know why everyone talks about Tung-Sol tubes. Very sweet tubes, indeed.

Edit: At first the soundstage was so surprising that it almost sounded unnatural. But now that I've had time to really get used to it, I'm convinced I've found the perfect tubes for my amp. The HD650 now sounds much closer to the HD800 () in terms of soundstage (not brightness or resolution), where instruments are clearly being heard inches behind my head and above. Very 360 presentation. I highly recommend the Tung-Sol 5654w to lovers of large soundstage.

Glad you are enjoying the Tung-Sols. Quite an impressive writeup too :).

I was trying to looking for them but sadly they seem rather hard to find here in Europe. So if you have any good leads, I'd love it if you let me know.

Got my M8100's today and I'm really happy with them. The first thing I noticed is that they sound less closed in than the stock tubes which I agree can very occasionally sound a little claustrophobic. I never felt anything wrong with the GE5654's and actually kind of feared an unwelcomed change with the new tubes but this is definitely appreciable. Gonna play some music for the rest of the day and enjoy them - with the HD650's ofcourse, as always :).

Quote:

Originally Posted by dxanex 

Well, I got my Tung-Sol 5654W's in and I have spent some time with them last night and this morning. I have to turn the volume knob on my Darkvoice amp up slightly more, but these things are 60-some years old, so that's not surprising. But for 60-year-old tubes, all I can say is WOW. I think they are my new favorite tube!

 

Someone mentioned they are quite spacious. That's the very first thing I noticed....these things produce a huge and very 3D presentation, especially on the HD650, which can sometimes sound closed in. I was pretty floored, because I wasn't expecting such a big soundstage. I listened to a few tracks I'm quite familiar with, where the original mastering wasn't really the best. I was clearly picking out snare drums and high-hats that I hardly ever noticed in the past which before were just washed out in a wall of sound.

 

The mid range is very resolved and just a bit more forward than my GE 5 Stars (my amp's previous reigning champ) but not nearly as forward as the Voskhods. Laid back, but still very engaging and impressively detailed. I still can't believe how nice they sound considering they are the oldest tubes I've ever owned. Now I know why everyone talks about Tung-Sol tubes. Very sweet tubes, indeed.

 

Edit: At first the soundstage was so surprising that it almost sounded unnatural. But now that I've had time to really get used to it, I'm convinced I've found the perfect tubes for my amp. The HD650 now sounds much closer to the HD800 () in terms of soundstage (not brightness or resolution), where instruments are clearly being heard inches behind my head and above. Very 360 presentation. I highly recommend the Tung-Sol 5654w to lovers of large soundstage.

Based on your write up they are probably very similar to the Raytheon 6AK5 tubes I bought from Maverick Audio.

Did you get the Foil getter or D getter model?

I was looking to get this model: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TUNG-SOL-JAN-6AK5-6AK5W-MIL-SPEC-MATCHED-SET-PAIR-5654-W-Amp-Audio-Vintage-Tube-/110986580853?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item19d750d375

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nirvana Woman 

Glad you are enjoying the Tung-Sols. Quite an impressive writeup too :).

 

I was trying to looking for them but sadly they seem rather hard to find here in Europe. So if you have any good leads, I'd love it if you let me know.

 

Got my M8100's today and I'm really happy with them. The first thing I noticed is that they sound less closed in than the stock tubes which I agree can very occasionally sound a little claustrophobic. I never felt anything wrong with the GE5654's and actually kind of feared an unwelcomed change with the new tubes but this is definitely appreciable. Gonna play some music for the rest of the day and enjoy them - with the HD650's ofcourse, as always :).

Thanks! I do what I can to give back, haha. I'm glad you are enjoying your Mullards...that's one I'm also wanting to try because people say it's like a warmer version of the Tung Sol. But the Mullards in the US are like the Tung Sols for you...harder to get here, and usually 2-3 times the price. But I am really happy with my sound, so I will do the right thing and just enjoy the music!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mab1376 

 

Based on your write up they are probably very similar to the Raytheon 6AK5 tubes I bought from Maverick Audio.

 

Did you get the Foil getter or D getter model?

 

I was looking to get this model: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TUNG-SOL-JAN-6AK5-6AK5W-MIL-SPEC-MATCHED-SET-PAIR-5654-W-Amp-Audio-Vintage-Tube-/110986580853?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item19d750d375

The one's in this auction do look very similar to mine, although mine look more worn on the labels. But I'm sorry, I'm actually not really sure if mine are Foil getter or D getter. How do I know for sure? They actually did come packaged in brand new Raytheon 6AK5 boxes, and I thought they messed up my order but they were Tung Sols inside!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dxanex 

The one's in this auction do look very similar to mine, although mine look more worn on the labels. But I'm sorry, I'm actually not really sure if mine are Foil getter or D getter. How do I know for sure? They actually did come packaged in brand new Raytheon 6AK5 boxes, and I thought they messed up my order but they were Tung Sols inside!

if you look under the silver coating on top you should see a Metal D for a D getter, never seen foil first hand so not sure, but the ones in this action are foil according to the info.

Dxanex, It is really good to see you love the tubes you bought :) Enjoy.

Nirvana woman, I did not bother with a matched pair and got my 1945 tubes from this ebay guy to Europe:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TUNG-SOL-JAN-6AJ5-TUBES-/400329930842?ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:GB:3160

Worked like a treat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mab1376 

 

if you look under the silver coating on top you should see a Metal D for a D getter, never seen foil first hand so not sure, but the ones in this action are foil according to the info.

Hm, I looked under the silver coating, and everywhere else for that matter and I didn't see metal D anywhere. So I assume that means they must be the foil getter version?

Probably, not sure if there's any other variants, I only know about those two models since they re the ones i see on eBay.

Here is a photo of a D shaped getter. I am not sure what a foil getter is, but an educated guess is that instead of being made out of wire, the getter is made out of thin folded metal strips.

Some getters are round (O shape), some square or rectangular, and others look like the electric take off on a street car (bent), and yet others look like a little cup on a saucer (Voskhod). I have never seen any write up if one design is better than another or yields better sonic benefits..

The silver coating is called getter flash. To me, one of the most intriguing designs was made by Tung Sol. These tubes have the getter flash on the side of the glass envelope with the getter being a half moon shape attached to the plate and facing the getter flash. Such tubes have a completely clear top, and even though they are the same size as others, it appears to me that they could have been made much more compact since the top third is empty.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordy 

Here is a photo of a D shaped getter. I am not sure what a foil getter is, but an educated guess is that instead of being made out of wire, the getter is made out of thin folded metal strips.

Some getters are round (O shape), some square or rectangular, and others look like the electric take off on a street car (bent), and yet others look like a little cup on a saucer (Voskhod). I have never seen any write up if one design is better than another or yields better sonic benefits..

The silver coating is called getter flash. To me, one of the most intriguing designs was made by Tung Sol. These tubes have the getter flash on the side of the glass envelope with the getter being a half moon shape attached to the plate and facing the getter flash. Such tubes have a completely clear top, and even though they are the same size as others, it appears to me that they could have been made much more compact since the top third is empty.
 

 this a picture of a d foil getter its like you say folded metal strips. this is was seller said in description of these tubes

My mistake, I was looking for an actual "D" stamp not the shape of the getter. I believe mine is a D shape, though one of the wires looks like it is twisted and wrapped around, which I don't see in the other picture. This is the best pic I could get on my iPhone.

I got a similar shape getter, a square bent in the middle, looks kind of like a roof.

I see the cat is also curious about the getter ;)