[Neeley]

Hi fellas,

It's my first post and would lika a bit of help, I've been a lurker for quite some time and appreciate all the knowledge you guys share....

On all the recommendations and glowing reviews I bought a LD MKIV SE a few months back. After reading several threads on 6N30P-DR supertubes I decided to grab a pair from ebay but I'm a bit concerned about their authenticity. They haven't arrived yet.

Purely on physical appearance, mine look different to all the ones I have found on the net. Can someone please put my mind at ease and let me know if there genuine?

Mine are in the top pic, all the rest seem to look like the bottom ones.

Thanks...

 

[928GTS]

Yes,they seem to be genuine. Yours are just made quite a bit later than the ones below. Yours still have the Reflector factory logo on them just like the ones below but yours were made in February of '98 versus the ones below being made in Septemper of '86. I've read one report where they stated how the DR's made from '86 to '89 are considered the "best" but its only one report so take it as you will.

Reading a bit more into it,it seems as if the newer tubes are actually Sovtek made but still have the Saratov(Reflector)factory logo on them as Sovtek's are made in the same factory. Some claim that these newer Sovtek tubes are inferior to the older USSR made types but thats up to your own judgment.

 

[tenminnit]

I have also researched this topic and my findings are the same as 928GTS. Some of the tubes that are listed at big money seem to be specified with 'gold plates'. The tubes we are talking about are grey plates. They are still very high spec.
Until sometime during the 1990s export of many things from Russia, including tubes, was a no no.
There now seems to plenty of these later tubes available now. I think the demand has created a supply.

I am using this tube in my Little Dot MKIV SE. As the power tube is only reckoned to amount to around 15% of the sound difference / improvement ( How you can tell that I don't know! ) it's difficult to make any real statement. It's a while back since I used the 6H30Pi-EH.
In the meantime I have replaced the audio capacitors with Auricaps of the same values, replaced the wires from the pcb to the h'phone socket with Audience 21swg hook up wire and the cabling from the input RCAs witn Van Den Hul cable to the pcb. I must admit I was very disappointed with the quality of the original wires. The signal wire to the output jack socket was 2 different swgs.
Along with the Tung Sol Black Plate driver tubes I get a virtually out of the head listening experience. Also helped by the Stefan Audioart Equinox cable used with my HD650s.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

EDIT: *wrong thread*

 

[xtlee]

I got 4 of these 6N30P-DR tubes from a Russian tube supplier. I'm wondering if these are original ones. Two of them have red tips and the ink is dark. Also the OTK logo is painted on, the ones on the net are either the same ink as the numbering or are a purple color. They came in the cardboard box seen in this photo. Looking closely, these are the only details that I can see that are different. The internals of the tube look the same even very close up.
 

 
Here is the thread that got me thinking:
http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=tubes&n=226645&highlight=6n30p-dr
 
And some original pics from a known supplier:
http://www.conusaudio.com/6h30pdrbox.htm
 
Edit:
I noticed thetubestore.com has these with red tips and similar ink:
http://thetubestore.com/russian6h30pdr.html

 

[Leicachamp]

Parts connection has big stock of 86 vintage tubes(265 in stock). They are a big and reliable company and prices are reasonable. Got mine for around $71 shipped to Australia.
 
http://www.partsconnexion.com/tube_nos_6dj8.html