[Velozity]

Those of you with tube testers, can you recommend one that I can use to test GOTL-compatible tubes that won't cost a lot? Not looking for anything extravagant. Just solid and reliable. Thanks!

 

[chrisdrop]

Swapped out the ECC32 for GEC 6J5G a couple of weeks ago. Really good with the Verite

Nice tubes. You always have great tubes ... and headphones ... and other kit!

@GDuss asked earlier about some grey glass GEC 6J5Gs that I was using lately, how they compared vs other grey glass GEC 6J5s. The tubes pictured here have vertical clear lines in the grey glass towards the top of the tube.

I have 2 grey sets. The ones which have vertical lines in the grey glass sound different than the ones that don't have those vertical lines. To be clear, I am not suggesting the lines influence the sound, but that there is something otherwise different between the tubes. Both of the sets that I have are grey glass, so I can't see into the valve to see what is different. I think the ones I have without the vertical clear lines in the grey glass are more clear and crisp, but with less thump and the ones with the vertical lines have a bit more bass kick. I think the vertical lines are older tubes FWIW, but I am not 100% certain.

Another possibility, the vertical clear lines tube may be older and "less-NOS"/testing worse - perhaps more distorted? I am not sure if tubes get noises as they "test worse" or if they can also get more distorted (while still being basically quiet). Anyhow, misc musing for you all...

EDIT: honoured @GDuss picked me up on some longitudinal confusion (horizontal/ vertical mixed as if they were synonyms!)

 

[GDuss]

Nice tubes. You always have great tubes ... and headphones ... and other kit!

@GDuss asked earlier about some grey glass GEC 6J5Gs that I was using lately, how they compared vs other grey glass GEC 6J5s. The tubes pictured here have vertical clear lines in the grey glass towards the top of the tube.

I have 2 grey sets. The ones which have horizontal lines in the grey glass sound different than the ones that don't have those vertical lines. To be clear, I am not suggesting the lines influence the sound, but that there is something otherwise different between the tubes. Both of the sets that I have are grey glass, so I can't see into the valve to see what is different. I think the ones I have without the vertical clear lines in the grey glass are more clear and crisp, but with less thump and the ones with the horizontal lines have a bit more bass kick. I think the vertical lines are older tubes FWIW, but I am not 100% certain.

Another possibility, the horizontal clear lines tube may be older and "less-NOS"/testing worse - perhaps more distorted? I am not sure if tubes get noises as they "test worse" or if they can also get more distorted (while still being basically quiet). Anyhow, misc musing for you all...

Thanks CD. There are also clear glass versions of these GEC 6J5. Not suggesting that you buy those to compare (unless you really want to), it's just another version out there. I have no idea whether the grey glass makes any difference. I've heard with other grey or smoked glass tubes (e.g. KR 6SN7's) where some people say they are different and other people say not. It almost certainly depends more on the structure of the internals and not simply the grey/smoke, but this just makes things more interesting in this case.

I can just picture us trying to request from a seller that we want the grey glass tubes with the horizontal and not vertical lines in the glass .

 

[NickT23]

Swapped out the ECC32 for GEC 6J5G a couple of weeks ago. Really good with the Verite

hello, how much are all of your audio gear from the stacked there including headphones ? You can exclude speakers !

 

[Zachik]

Those of you with tube testers, can you recommend one that I can use to test GOTL-compatible tubes that won't cost a lot? Not looking for anything extravagant. Just solid and reliable. Thanks!

PM me, and I will connect you to the guy I bought my tester from. He is VERY knowledgeable, and refurbishes and calibrates testers.

 

[gibosi]

Just the idea that the first six tubes that you tried are quiet is pretty impressive.
That , and the price could make those tubes pretty popular

Tonight running six 6H12C with a GEC U18/20 rectifier and a WWII-era gray-glass National Union VT-231. I think I'm going to like these 6H12C.

 

[mordy]

It used to be simple for me to access the Head-Fi posts on my iPhone. An email would tell me that there was a new post, I would click on it and read it, and I could respond if I wanted to.

After installing an upgrade to the iOS it became a nightmare to read and respond to posts on my phone.
I notice the new emailed post and click on it. Click on "view message".
"You must be logged in to do that."
Now I have to wait until my screen name pops up - Use "mordy"
Click on that - now I need my touch ID. Touch button below screen on phone.
Now a message about cookies. User name and password pop up.
"You must be logged in to do that"
Pecking like a pigeon on the screen.
Finally the screen comes up. And I already clicked on "stay logged in" many times before.
How can I get rid of this nonsense? (I have an iPhone 6+ - is that the problem?)

 

[Karnicopia]

I can usually stay logged in on my iphone so I don't think it's an IOS issue but it could be a security setting so maybe in safari settings see if you are blocking cookies. I think that would be the main one but you may also have a content blocker installed that is logging you out.

I called myself a boring tube roller and then picked up a pair of the GEC 6080 that popped up on ebay. Hopefully I didn't get ripped off but they did seem really reasonable compared to some of what I was seeing for the 6as7g and it seems like Langrex has a pretty good rep on the thread (they seem to have more out there in case I didn't get ripped off lol). With how much I love the Bendix tubes it seemed like a reasonable investment so we'll see but I'm pretty excited. YOLO I guess

 

[mordy]

Thanks - I was not blocking cookies but by clearing the data on Safari it seems to work much better now without all the annoying clicks and waits.
The GEC 6080 is a great tube and Langrex has a very good reputation. I also appreciate that they don't rip you off on the shipping.
And I don't think you should feel guilty LOL if you like your present tubes so much that you don't want to change.... The main thing is enjoying the music after all.
But there is a special thrill in trying to find the best sounding combinations and listening to new tubes and new sounds.

 

[Karnicopia]

Thanks, I get worried because descriptions can always be shaky but it did seem like people liked Langrex and I have wanted to check out some GEC power tubes but those 6as7g were just way too much for me. These 6080 seemed reasonable for what I was willing to pay so I'm really excited to hear them and see what i think. I do have a few different combos I like so far and some of them really surprise me so I'm really interested to hear these.

I did pick up some Chatham 6336a because I really like the Cetron 6336a but then I did a search here and it sounds like Glenn said those Chatham 6336 can arc pretty bad (not sure if it's the "a" version he specifically said the 6336 version) but I may be a bit worried about that one. So this may be an example that I need to do a better job of searching here first.

 

[mordy]

Are you sure that Glenn referred to the 6336 tubes? I can only remember that some Tung Sol 5998 tubes had problems with arcing.

 

[mordy]

What is strange with these tubes:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Premium-Ma...904370&hash=item4daed6f630:g:QOYAAOSw4lNdg8Hc

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SYLVANIA-E...171659?hash=item1ce90f32cb:g:rpgAAOSwjMteqG4q

 

[Karnicopia]

Are you sure that Glenn referred to the 6336 tubes? I can only remember that some Tung Sol 5998 tubes had problems with arcing.

I had a 2399 arc over and blow a pair of headphones also I had a
Chatham 6336 arc over that I was going to give to Stavros. So I got
some GE 6336s with different construction and graphite plates for
the amp I made fore Stavros.
I would have been quite upset if I gave him a gift that blew his
headphones up. Worse yet I was sitting next to him when we tried
the 6336. Then we were using the GEs.
Anybody that is going to use the 6336 and there is not many amps
that can handle this tube. Do not use the Tung-Sol Chatham 6336
use GE , RCA , or Cetron.

It sounds like it was the Tung Sol/Chatham 6336 he had concerns with but I'm not sure if it applies to the 6336a. I think I'll be careful with it unless I heard anything different from Glenn but kind of sounded like he had some concerns about these. Wish I searched before I picked it up but I saw it after.

 

[gibosi]

Thanks, I get worried because descriptions can always be shaky but it did seem like people liked Langrex and I have wanted to check out some GEC power tubes but those 6as7g were just way too much for me. These 6080 seemed reasonable for what I was willing to pay so I'm really excited to hear them and see what i think. I do have a few different combos I like so far and some of them really surprise me so I'm really interested to hear these.

I did pick up some Chatham 6336a because I really like the Cetron 6336a but then I did a search here and it sounds like Glenn said those Chatham 6336 can arc pretty bad (not sure if it's the "a" version he specifically said the 6336 version) but I may be a bit worried about that one. So this may be an example that I need to do a better job of searching here first.

First, it is important to remember that Chatham, Tung-Sol and Cetron are essentially the same. The only difference is date of manufacture. That is, Chatham was acquired by Tung-Sol, and later, Tung-Sol was acquired by Cetron. In the end, even as the executive management changed, these tubes continued to be manufactured in the same original Chatham factory.

And second. Yes, Glenn advised us not to buy the orginal 6336. Rather he recommended 6336A and 6336B.

 

[Karnicopia]

First, it is important to remember that Chatham, Tung-Sol and Cetron are essentially the same. The only difference is date of manufacture. That is, Chatham was acquired by Tung-Sol, and later, Tung-Sol was acquired by Cetron. In the end, even as the executive management changed, these tubes continued to be manufactured in the same original Chatham factory.

And second. Yes, Glenn advised us not to buy the orginal 6336. Rather he recommended 6336A and 6336B.

Thanks that is great info and I'm glad they will be safe to use and while I was hoping for a new sound to check out I really like those Cetron's so if these are similar I'll still be happy. I was trying to pick up a pair of Chatham 6as7g but I missed the end of the auction (random napping) and figured I would give these a shot.