[L0rdGwyn]

How do the RCA 6AS7G compare to the GEC ones?
MUCH cheaper and easier to find...

The GEC 6AS7G are considered the peak, the "Holy Grail" of 6AS7G's. The RCA's are the most common, so they are priced accordingly.

Going to be used on GOTL. Warm sound is my personal preference, so being warm is a good thing
Will be used with HD800, Verite and Atticus (or any subset of these).

If you can find a pair, I would keep an eye out for the Tung Sol 6AS7G. The TS variant is quite good to my ears (I must clarify, on my non "G" OTL amp, I am an imposter ). Have not compared to the RCA myself, but have read elsewhere they are a step-up from the RCA's (I think it was a very old @Skylab post I had read).

Edit: Okay, I'll leave the rest to the "G" OTL experts, don't want to intrude, thanks for answering my questions!

 

[mordy]

Thanks for the info guys. this is why I always ask before buying tubes.
Seller is only asking 35.00 shipped for the pair,but I will pass.

Hi M0,
Here is an excellent sounding RCA 6SN7GTB IMHO - this tube has red lettering and a horizontal heater wire above the top mica:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/One-Pair-o...993534&hash=item56c284be90:g:UUgAAOSwQ7lcj6Td
You could pick them up for less than the $40 for this pair, but it is hard to find listings that show that heater wire and most RCA 6SN7GTB don't have this construction.

 

[Zachik]

I would imagine they would sound good with the HD800,not so much with Atticus and Verite. I have the RCA 6AS7G and it is warmth overload to my ears on the ZMF headphones.

What do YOU like with ZMF cans? 6080 tubes? 6AS7s that are not RCAs (like the TS mentioned above by @L0rdGwyn ? something else?

 

[Skylab]

The GEC 6AS7G are considered the peak, the "Holy Grail" of 6AS7G's. The RCA's are the most common, so they are priced accordingly.


If you can find a pair, I would keep an eye out for the Tung Sol 6AS7G. The TS variant is quite good to my ears (I must clarify, on my non "G" OTL amp, I am an imposter ). Have not compared to the RCA myself, but have read elsewhere they are a step-up from the RCA's (I think it was a very old @Skylab post I had read).

Edit: Okay, I'll leave the rest to the "G" OTL experts, don't want to intrude, thanks for answering my questions!

Yes I preferred the Tung-Sol 6AS7G over the RCA and by a good margin, although the RCA is still a very nice tube.

 

[mordy]

Yes I preferred the Tung-Sol 6AS7G over the RCA and by a good margin, although the RCA is still a very nice tube.

Hi Skylab,
Does the Chatham 6AS7G sound the same as the Tung Sol 6AS7G?

 

[Monsterzero]

What do YOU like with ZMF cans? 6080 tubes? 6AS7s that are not RCAs (like the TS mentioned above by @L0rdGwyn ? something else?

I think its important to note what pads one prefers on the Verite. I strictly use the Universe pads,so these comments are based upon those.
RCA 6080+TS 6SN7GT RP + GZ32 give the deepest 3D imaging ive yet to hear on the Verite,but that combo is silly warm. Ive noted before that the brighter the tube roll with the Verite,the 3D imaging lessens,so the Verite IMO is a fickle headphone to try and find the right combo of holographic imaging and give it some brightness at the same time.

I really enjoyed the 5998s with the Verite,and is cool enough sounding so that one can roll in warm drivers and rectifiers. It will sound warm,but not as much as the RCAs.

If you dont care about the 3D imaging then the possibilities are limitless. 6336+GZ34+EL8s give the Verite a lot of high end shimmer. Its hard to make the GOTL or Verite sound bad,but if youre after a specific sound,its a bit of trial and error.

 

[Skylab]

Hi Skylab,
Does the Chatham 6AS7G sound the same as the Tung Sol 6AS7G?

Allowing for the normal sample to sample variation, yes I always thought so, and I had multiple pairs of both. The Chatham tubes were excellent and of course Tung-Sol bought Chatham for that reason.

 

[rosgr63]

Yes I preferred the Tung-Sol 6AS7G over the RCA and by a good margin, although the RCA is still a very nice tube.

Nice to hear from you Rob.
Early production RCA black plates are one of my favourite 6AS7G.
They are not as good as the MOV 6AS7G but they are a great tubes.

 

[mordy]

Allowing for the normal sample to sample variation, yes I always thought so, and I had multiple pairs of both. The Chatham tubes were excellent and of course Tung-Sol bought Chatham for that reason.

Thanks- I have a pair of the Chathams but only one Tung Sol. For some reason I could not find a synergistic combination with neither the Chatham 6AS7G nor the Chatham 6080 that I liked.

 

[Skylab]

Nice to hear from you Rob.
Early production RCA black plates are one of my favourite 6AS7G.
They are not as good as the MOV 6AS7G but they are a great tubes.

Hi Stavros! I hope you are well. Yes indeed, the black-plate RCA is a very fine tube.

 

[rosgr63]

All is fine Rob
I hope all is well with you too

Still looking for cure for my addiction but no hope tubes are magical

 

[Phantaminum]

Thanks- I have a pair of the Chathams but only one Tung Sol. For some reason I could not find a synergistic combination with neither the Chatham 6AS7G nor the Chatham 6080 that I liked.

The tube is quite mid-centric, slight roll off at the top and warm but neither to the extent as the RCAs. You need an almost linear tube to pair it with but also something like a CBS Hytron or even a Raytheon if you want more energy. I did enjoy these with the Siemens c3g.

 

[whirlwind]

How do the RCA 6AS7G compare to the GEC ones?
MUCH cheaper and easier to find...

The RCA 6AS7G is a good sounding tube, all of the 6AS7G tubes that I have tried sound good.
To be fair, it does not sound as good as the GEC 6AS7G tube, few if any do.

The first tube on the left is a Chatham 6AS7G, if you can find them with the copper rods, like this one...I believe they are the best of the Chatham 6AS7G tubes. I like it a tad better than the RCA 6AS7G

The middle tube is a RCA 6AS7G tube, as already mentioned it is good, warm sounding with nice bass...any 6AS7G tube with this exact construction is an RCA tube I believe, regardless of the branding.

The last tube is a Tung Sol 5998 6AS7G and the dynamics and impact of this tube trump both the Chatham and the RCA....but the cost is also much more.

 

[Zachik]

The RCA 6AS7G is a good sounding tube, all of the 6AS7G tubes that I have tried sound good.
To be fair, it does not sound as good as the GEC 6AS7G tube, few if any do.



The first tube on the left is a Chatham 6AS7G, if you can find them with the copper rods, like this one...I believe they are the best of the Chatham 6AS7G tubes. I like it a tad better than the RCA 6AS7G

The middle tube is a RCA 6AS7G tube, as already mentioned it is good, warm sounding with nice bass...any 6AS7G tube with this exact construction is an RCA tube I believe, regardless of the branding.

The last tube is a Tung Sol 5998 6AS7G and the dynamics and impact of this tube trump both the Chatham and the RCA....but the cost is also much more.

Great info! How about Raytheon 6AS7G - ever tried those?

 

[Phantaminum]

Great info! How about Raytheon 6AS7G - ever tried those?

When I was looking at power tubes and reading tons of info (from Head-Fi members like Skylab) I ran across people comparing the RCAs to the Raytheons. Most of them mentioned they both sonically sounded the same. Been a while since I combed through the 6AS7g thread on here.