[L0rdGwyn]

The discerning ones will know which are the better sounding power tubes. Nick did a service to the community but unfortunately drove the price of tubes like the GEC 6as7g sky high and has become almost extinct. However he's not the only one to extol the virtues of such tubes. Stavros in his private correspondence with me, told me the GEC 6as7g is the best you can get out of the 6as7 the world. Having heard them and compare with the other power tubes, I agree and not because everyone is saying so.

Japan produced a lot of good audio gear so I'm not surprised that their tubes are good. There's a legend of Sansui, Yamaha, Luxman, Denon, Pioneer vintage amp lovers who regularly import these amps from Japan. Even speakers. I've heard the Diatone DS-3000 which sounded amazing driven by the Sansui au-alpha 907mr, the amp I eventually bought. Almost bought the Diatone too but my present accommodation is best suited for the Axis VoiceBox S monitor on stands.

Yes, almost extinct. Will I ever find a match for my black base cup getter GEC 6AS7G? I have been holding out hope I will come across one rather than seeking out a pair. I am saying goodbye to my Crackatwoa, which means saying goodbye to my GEC as well, until I can find him a partner for the GOTL.



My top 6AS7 types, in no particular order:

GEC 6AS7G
Western Electric 421A
Tung-Sol 7802
Nippon Electric 6520
Bendix 6080WB

 

[UntilThen]

K, I can sell you my recently acquired single GEC 6as7g that is ultra silent and looks new but I wasn’t given any reading...,

after I buy my pair of GEC 6as7g back from Monster.

 

[UntilThen]

Oh mine is brown curve base... paired with your black base, it’s the world’s first Panda.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I do appreciate the offer, but I am hoping to match it for construction. Will be difficult since it is a less common black base. I will likely end up buying a pair, but my focus now is on my GOTL modifications and planning for my still unnamed SET amp. Goldpoint goes in tomorrow.

 

[whirlwind]

As I don't have a GEL3N, I don't know for sure... But in a private message, Whirlwind told me that the EL8 were much too noisy in his GEL3N.

Correct, mine would not quiet down and they were more than a little noisy.

 

[GDuss]

Another discovery found serendipitously - metal tubes take longer to warm up than glass tubes.
How do I know? I am just starting to explore the 6C5/6J5 possibilities and am trying odd single tubes in pairs. In two instances using one glass tube and one metal tube in combination (at least same designation and brand lol) the metal tube did not sound good at all. Then suddenly it came up to speed and sounded (very) similar.
Preliminary findings are that it may be possible to get the sound of much more expensive dual 6SN7 type tubes at a fraction of the cost by combining two predecessor triodes.

I will be watching these developments as well. This is an interesting experiment you are running.

 

[whirlwind]

Here are some of the tubes I purchased last night on my 6J5 shoppping spree - early Fivre black plate 6J5GT. Have been watching this pair for a long time.



1937 Zenith (Sylvania) 6J5G, similar to @mordy 's 6C5G above, inspired me to pull the trigger. Plates are the same smooth black round plates in my Sylvania VT-94D metal base.



My own pair of Ken-Rad 6J5GT, the lead-bellies.



Been meaning to get a pair of these for a long time, they are an essential but dragged my feet since they show up quite often. STC/Brimar 6J5G, early black plate pair. I overpayed for these, passed on the opportunity for a quad for the same price in the past, but they are immaculate and in original boxes, so what the heck.



More to come

I have been watching for a pair of those Ken Rad metal base tubes, but have not found a pair that I like yet....yours look very nice.

Must be tube day in Ohio today as I came home from work to a haul also.

Sylvania 6J5GT Metal Base



Tung Sol 6J5GT Metal Base



National Union 6J5GT Metal Base



GEC KT66




I have a date night tonight with my wife for dinner.
I will be up late tonight listening...had some new music come today also.

 

[GDuss]

I've tried 2 x Mullard EL32 as drivers by itself. I have also tried a single Mullard ECC33 as driver in GOTL. And I've also tried the ECC33 and dual EL32 together as drivers in the OTL amp.

First observation is that together, the amp's gain increase. Not power but gain. Apart from that I see no advantage.

Using the EL32s by themselves and the ECC33 by itself sounded beautiful. I see no reason to combine them. Remember Glenn did not originally intended for them to be combined as drivers. There are some who discovered it and seem to like it tremendously. Not to my ears.

As an aside, imagine the EC Zana Deux has a single 6SL7 and dual EL32 as input drivers.... I don't think Craig the designer of EC amps would ever design a OTL amp like the EC Zana Deux to use triplet drivers. Is it necessary? No. Does it produce better SQ? No.

I am currently in the process of running this experiment for myself. As you point out, there are people who like this driver triplet and those that don't. So the only way to find out which group I'm in is to try it. I'll report back on this when I have enough time with each combination to make a conclusion. For reference, I'm doing this with a Ken Rad 12SN7GT Black Glass, 2x Philips Miniwatt EL32 using adapters from Mrs. Xu, and 2x GEC 6AS7G power tubes. It's possible that the choice of tubes for this experiment will have a big influence on the outcome, but that's what I'm using. The plan is to try the driver triplet compared to the KR alone and the EL32s alone, without changing out the power tube.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I have been watching for a pair of those Ken Rad metal base tubes, but have not found a pair that I like yet....yours look very nice.

Must be tube day in Ohio today as I came home from work to a haul also.

Sylvania 6J5GT Metal Base



Tung Sol 6J5GT Metal Base



National Union 6J5GT Metal Base



GEC KT66




I have a date night tonight with my wife for dinner.
I will be up late tonight listening...had some new music come today also.

Wow, what a haul! Looks great, the plates in those Tung-Sols are the same as the ones I sent you, and those NU tubes look very sharp and brand new.

Very interested to hear your impressions of the smokey KT-66 versus EL34 in your GEL3N.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Tung-Sol 6SN7GT black glass round plate is for sale, it is a 1948 Raytheon rebrand. Tests 107% / 109%, very low hours $150 plus shipping, this is what I paid for the tube. I am selling some other 6SN7s soon too, I was planning to keep my rarest ones, but I sold a few and now the flood gates are opening, saying goodbye.

If I may ask...... Are the grid posts on this one copper or steel?

 

[leftside]

I have been watching for a pair of those Ken Rad metal base tubes, but have not found a pair that I like yet....yours look very nice.

Must be tube day in Ohio today as I came home from work to a haul also.

Sylvania 6J5GT Metal Base



Tung Sol 6J5GT Metal Base



National Union 6J5GT Metal Base



GEC KT66




I have a date night tonight with my wife for dinner.
I will be up late tonight listening...had some new music come today also.

Yes nice haul! Includes the super rare/mispress KT66 with 'SB' on one side and 'SC' on the other

I too had a few tubes arrive today. Pair of Ken Rad 6C5G, pair of Fivre 6C5GT and a bunch of Fivre 6L6G black base - pair with foil getter and pair with double D getters. Glass shapes are different as well. And even though I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more KT66, a local NOS black base/smoked glass with large/intact round 'Osram' sticker appeared locally. I couldn't resist... but not sure if I'll ever be able to find a matching one...

 

[Velozity]

Well, my GOTL arrives tomorrow! I'm celebrating the last day of enjoying my Audiotailor Jade by rolling in my best tubes. Man what a combo. Farewell my friend, a new era begins!

 

[GDuss]

Well, my GOTL arrives tomorrow! I'm celebrating the last day of enjoying my Audiotailor Jade by rolling in my best tubes. Man what a combo. Farewell my friend, a new era begins!

Very exciting. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to more photos of the wood GOTL. Do you have a companion for the GEC tube? That brown base will look nice with the wood frame.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

If I may ask...... Are the grid posts on this one copper or steel?

Steel. My entire 6SN7 collection is going on sale. If there is something specific someone is looking for, let me know. Otherwise they will be sacrificed to the Lyr 3 thread.

 

[attmci]

Steel. My entire 6SN7 collection is going on sale. If there is something specific someone is looking for, let me know. Otherwise they will be sacrificed to the Lyr 3 thread.

Any B65 left?