[Fafner]

Based on your experiences, are there any differences btw the D-Getter and the Round Getter variants of this tube soundwise? Is one better compared to the other one?


Thx!

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fafner /img/forum/go_quote.gif Based on your experiences, are there any differences btw the D-Getter and the Round Getter variants of this tube soundwise? Is one better compared to the other one? Thx!

The O getters were the last 5687s TS ever made. I dont think they sounded quite as good as the D getters .... they seem a slight but noticeble amount harsher. I still like this tube better than most of the other 5687s. Surprisingly I have not see very many O getter TS 5687s. Supposedly this tube originated in 1958. But, I have D getter 5687WAs dated as late as 1961. But, I have O getters dated 1959 that sure look like they have the typical TS construction. So, who knows?

 

[Rob N]

What about the earlier ribbed plate version?

 

[Fafner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob N /img/forum/go_quote.gif What about the earlier ribbed plate version?

I really never considered these, as they're reported as being almost impossible to find as of now. I noticed an head-fier wanted to sell some around mid-January, but 300$/pair? That's 600$ for a complete quad-matched set required for my B52, assuming he doesn't charge extra for quad-matching (should he have enough of them to do it), no way tbh.
The same guy is asking for 350$/pair in a very recent post on Audiogon, that's almost the same I paid for my TFK ECC802S pair, which is known to impact the sound much more than the 5687 section...could be that that's the real current price for these, but I rly won't pay that amount for the 5687 quad-set.

 

[Fafner]

What about the horseshoe, U-getter variants some vendors are pushing as the very best ones? Are they that good?

 

[olblueyez]

Any of you guys not tried the RCA 5687's or the Sylvania GB 5687's? The RCA's pair well with just about every gain tube I have and the GB's pair well with brighter tubes like the Siemens. Sorry to interject, I have one pair of Tung-sols and I cant remember what type they are.

Mine is a U getter I believe, looks like a horseshoe with a cross bar. They sound nice but I would put them 3rd on my list behind the other two. I also beleive that so many vendors are pushine the Tung-sols because they are so plentiful.

 

[Fafner]

Haven't tried any of them; in fact, I never considered the RCAs and tried catching the Sylvanias Gold Pins, as I was curious about what is a very highly regarded 5687 tube. However, it looks like these are insanely hard to find nowadays: could only track one single tube and one pair Auction on Ebay but never could manage to find a place which seem to have enough of them to throw a quad set together. I actually managed to find a pair of NIB Genalex B749 Gold Lion 12au7 tubes first, which tell all!

I have to say that I don't really need to smooth out my 12au7 with my current setup, although unbelievably extended, the Genalex are't overly bright at all. Who knows how it's going to be with the HD800.
But I have to add that my player does have a feature that helps in such cases, without the need of swapping tubes: the SA-7S1 filters do make a noticeable difference and offer a great flexibility depending on the setup you have.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fafner /img/forum/go_quote.gif Haven't tried any of them; in fact, I never considered the RCAs and tried catching the Sylvanias Gold Pins, as I was curious about what is a very highly regarded 5687 tube. However, it looks like these are insanely hard to find nowadays: could only track one single tube and one pair Auction on Ebay but never could manage to find a place which seem to have enough of them to throw a quad set together. I actually managed to find a pair of NIB Genalex B749 Gold Lion 12au7 tubes first, which tell all! I have to say that I don't really need to smooth out my 12au7 with my current setup, although unbelievably extended, the Genalex are't overly bright at all. Who knows how it's going to be with the HD800. But I have to add that my player does have a feature that helps in such cases, without the need of swapping tubes: the SA-7S1 filters do make a noticeable difference and offer a great flexibility depending on the setup you have.

The GB's are balanced and extremely smooth with a nice little hump in the bass. The GB's are not rolled off, they just put velvet over everything even if it is loads of detail. Sometimes you dont want too much color from your driver tubes and the tungsol does that. The GB and RCA let the gain tube shine through unaltered more. Only difference is one is mellow and one is very dynamic.

The Tungsol is more dynamic than the GB and they have this PUNCH between the mids and lows, adds weight to the low mids. This is a good set to have around for having one more combo to experiment with.

The RCA (synergizes with more gain tubes than any other) is balanced and smooth and most of all DYNAMIC. The RCA's wont add color to your gain tubes but they will make the music nice and clear and very dynamic. The RCA's should be easy to find. I just picked up 3 sets for about 50 bucks.

Describe the Lions for me, damn I want some of those.

 

[Fafner]

I posted some photos and some thoughts about the Genalex B749 on this thread

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f113/l...57/index5.html

They now have been running for about 10 hours, so maybe some more burn-in is needed, still...
The B52 sounded great with its stock tubes, but it wasn't near to perform its best. But ofc it's obvious that Ray couldn't stock it with ECC802s/Tungsols or something similar, as availability is very limited.
Now, I don't know if you ever tried the Telefunken ECC802S, that's whyt I had on my B52 before switching to these...it's a very neutral tube, with an huge extention which will make you hear every microdetail your setup is capable of. A great tube coupled with the Senns HD650. Now, the Genalex. After listening to the ECC802S, you'd think you can't go further with extention, yet, the Genalex do, unbeliavably as it can be. The difference is very noticeable, there's so much more detail. Then, add some warmth (no too much...I don't like too warm tubes) and fullness to the mid-range, the only thing the ECC802S slighlty lack, a superb, very tight bass and an huge soundstage (here again, better than the TFK). The impression one could get from what I just wrote is that these tubes could be somewhat fatiguing, due to their huge amount of detail, yet they're not at all: music just flows naturally, with an ease I just can't find in the Teles now that I listened to these (maybe this is due to their stunning midrange).
However keep in mind these are maybe the rarest 12au7 on Earth, and the most expensive ones too. I'd call myself lucky at having been able to find them, and at a price which is a bit lower than many seen in the past. Still, 875$ for a pair of these can't be considered cheap, even if for me they're that worth.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fafner /img/forum/go_quote.gif I posted some photos and some thoughts about the Genalex B749 on this thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f113/l...57/index5.html They now have been running for about 10 hours, so maybe some more burn-in is needed, still... The B52 sounded great with its stock tubes, but it wasn't near to perform its best. But ofc it's obvious that Ray couldn't stock it with ECC802s/Tungsols or something similar, as availability is very limited. Now, I don't know if you ever tried the Telefunken ECC802S, that's whyt I had on my B52 before switching to these...it's a very neutral tube, with an huge extention which will make you hear every microdetail your setup is capable of. A great tube coupled with the Senns HD650. Now, the Genalex. After listening to the ECC802S, you'd think you can't go further with extention, yet, the Genalex do, unbeliavably as it can be. The difference is very noticeable, there's so much more detail. Then, add some warmth (no too much...I don't like too warm tubes) and fullness to the mid-range, the only thing the ECC802S slighlty lack, a superb, very tight bass and an huge soundstage (here again, better than the TFK). The impression one could get from what I just wrote is that these tubes could be somewhat fatiguing, due to their huge amount of detail, yet they're not at all: music just flows naturally, with an ease I just can't find in the Teles now that I listened to these (maybe this is due to their stunning midrange). However keep in mind these are maybe the rarest 12au7 on Earth, and the most expensive ones too. I'd call myself lucky at having been able to find them, and at a price which is a bit lower than many seen in the past. Still, 875$ for a pair of these can't be considered cheap, even if for me they're that worth.

Thanks.

Have you tried a set of Siemens yet? Im sure they are not as nice as the lions but your description of the lions matches them. The Siemens E82CC is currently my favorite and I have some Siemens 5814 triple micas coming in the mail any time now. The Siemens may be good for the other 2 12AU7 positions on your B-52.

 

[Gabe Logan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any of you guys not tried the RCA 5687's or the Sylvania GB 5687's? The RCA's pair well with just about every gain tube I have and the GB's pair well with brighter tubes like the Siemens. Sorry to interject, I have one pair of Tung-sols and I cant remember what type they are.

Nope never tried them but thanks for reminding me.I have stuck with the TungSols and did not think about trying anything else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mine is a U getter I believe, looks like a horseshoe with a cross bar. They sound nice but I would put them 3rd on my list behind the other two. I also beleive that so many vendors are pushine the Tung-sols because they are so plentiful.

That actually describes a D-getter unless i am reading it wrong.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe Logan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nope never tried them but thanks for reminding me.I have stuck with the TungSols and did not think about trying anything else. That actually describes a D-getter unless i am reading it wrong.

It may be a D getter, but it sure is a strange one. Its a platinum low noise 1 to 5 matching set from Tubeworld, they are rebranded Raytheon.

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif It may be a D getter, but it sure is a strange one. Its a platinum low noise 1 to 5 matching set from Tubeworld, they are rebranded Raytheon.

These are D getter for some reason Tubeworld describes them as U getter

 

[Fafner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks. Have you tried a set of Siemens yet? Im sure they are not as nice as the lions but your description of the lions matches them. The Siemens E82CC is currently my favorite and I have some Siemens 5814 triple micas coming in the mail any time now. The Siemens may be good for the other 2 12AU7 positions on your B-52.

Haven't tried them, but tbh I think I'm pretty much done with tubes, considering what I have been spending recently.

I should add that I have a pair of Mullard 10m 12au7 on their way too, but just because I won that auction a pair of days before finding the Genalex tubes (luckily the price was decent at 160$ for a pair, shipping included, much lower than usual).
Atm I'm not really using the B52 as preamp, so the stock tubes are still sitting in that section. Should I start using that, I have the choice btw the ECC802S and the Mullard 10m, which aren't that bad.

Anyways, any thoughts about the U-getter "horseshoe" Tung Sols? Pretty sure sacd lover would be able to tell something...

 

[keyid]

I think I may have the Tung sol black glass U or D getter, its definitely not O. Its Raytheon branded but I do not think they made a black glass tube so im thinking its a Tung Sol.

ops nvmd thought it was 5687 but 12au7