In my old amp i felt that the 6F8G sounded better than the 6C8G but that was in general - don’t have a TS 6C8G to compare with. However, always trust YOUR ears. My ears are 10% older than yours but I still trust them. The tube prices have climbed through the skies for popular tubes - the trick...

Some people think that the NU 6F8G is the best sounding of that type, but YMMV depending on amp and synergy with other tubes. Many of these tubes were rebranded and if you learn how to tell which manufacturer it is, you could find better prices. I have a NU labeled PHILCO and a TS labeled...

Those tubes were manufactured during the height of communism. If you did not produce a great product there were severe consequences… Did anyone figure out the purpose of the bulging glass?

Yes, you are right - you could use a single 6SN7 dual triode as a driver. As you point out, you would have to make the adapter yourself since nothing is available commercially.

Ask Eric what he thinks of an amp using 6528/6336 tubes with 12AV7?

With all due respect, RaynFox asked about the compatibility of 6SN7 as driver tubes - IMHO it will not work. As power tubes the 6SN7 work fine with adapters. '74 TVR 2500

As I recall you cannot use 6SN7 tubes as drivers in the Little Dot MKIII because they draw 0.6A each and the combined 1.2A exceeds the allowable current draw for drivers in the LD MKIII.

The budget champion of these tubes is the Shuguang 6C8P and surprisingly it is very good sounding and can easily hold its own against the famous names. Around $5 each on AliExpress including shipping.

Do you think it would be appropriate to post price for each version of the amps presented?

With all due respect, I for one would appreciate a single thread - there is room for everything there pertaining to McChanson Ultimate amps.

Remember trying this as well - was not impressed with all EL3N in the Euforia. Maybe it needs specialized circuits to work well?

Tried my Ultimate on my Elac Debut 6 speakers but with poor results. But I get excellent results when I use the Ultimate as a preamp. (If you don’t have preamp out jacks, the headphone jack serves the same function). I use an old Onkyo 85W receiver from the 80s and it sounds great. You can buy...

What is a balanced transformer?

There is another trick you can try with buzzy tubes. Take the 6.3V tube and leave it on for one minute at 12V - might help…

I have a pair Tung Sol 6K6GT that I like.

In this case it is a real great adventure - we chanced upon a builder with decades of experience who builds a superlative product at a very reasonable price. Because of the versatility of this amp we have all embarked on great tube rolling adventures, often with lesser known tubes that are...

Very happy to hear that you are back at building amps! Wishing you a complete recovery and great success!

It’s all about synergy. That’s one reason I don’t sell tubes I don’t use - you never know when it will be the right one in a certain combination.

There is no doubt that there are professional sellers lurking on these pages. When they see a tube getting favorable reviews they jack up the prices and make more tubes available.

I am glad to help but many times it is hard to figure it out or not even possible.

With all due respect a date code of 9-09 and factory code of 188-5 should indicate a later decade than the 30's. 188 is the GE factory code and 05 is the Owensboro, Kentucky factory that GE bought from Ken-Rad (Kentucky Radio) in 1945. The pictured tubes have to be made after 1945, the 9th week...

Tubes last a very long time - what's wrong with a used tube? IMHO you cannot hear the difference between a NOS measuring tube and one that has 60% left of it's life. And I cannot remember wearing out a tube; those that failed shorted out or were dropped and broke...

Just thought of something - I am using an all metal 6C5 tube now that sounds very good and is really cheap: the 6C5. It has the same pinout as the 6J5GT and is very similar electrically. Most of them are made by RCA. (Ken-Rad have good bass). If you buy them right you will get them very cheap...

Can't tell which are the best 6J5GT tubes but I can tell you which ones are very good and reasonable: Early 1950s tall tube metal base Sylvania (many rebranded exists) and Russian 6C2C. To me among the best sounding is a National Union with top getter flash (other versions don't sound as...

Great News!