TomSix
ALO Audio Studio Six deisgner
Could any one share what are the recommended current production tube combinations for the ALO studio Six?
I have a modest suggestion:
I'd tend to stick with the stock JJ 5AR4 rectifier. It's about as good as any current production 5AR4/GZ34 on the market, and so there is little room for improvement. All gas regulator tubes available today are NOS, and there is no appreciable improvement with any selections other than the stock tubes. And so I would not bother to try and find "better" gas reg tubes --almost nil sonic improvement/difference to be had.
This leaves us with the 6V6 output tubes and the 6SN7 input tube. Different makes/brands/issues of these tubes *will* provide very different, contrasting subjective results.
As a good baseline, as a current-manufacture improvement over the stock tubes in the Studio-Six, I would recommend both the 'Tung Sol' reissue 6V6GT tubes, and 'Tung Sol' reissue 6SN7GTB tube.
There are a few brands of exotic new-production 6SN7 tubes available, but they are extravagantly expensive.
BTW: 1940's-1960's quality manufacture NOS tubes (RCA, GE, SYLVANIA, BRIMAR, PHILIPS, etcetera...) will generally provide a much higher subjective quality of sound than virtually *any* current manufacture 6V6 or (IMO) 6SN7 type tubes. If you shop around, you should be able to find some nice NOS 6SN7 and 6V6 tubes for maybe $20 to $60 apiece. Some NOS tubes are much more expensive, but not always actually superior to moderately priced NOS tubes.
ALSO: A number of experienced Studio-Six owners in this thread have had good results with NOS Philips ECG JAN 6V6GT Tubes. I believe these military-spec tubes were manufactured as late as the 1980's. They have blue lettering. These 6V6GT tubes can be found at quite reasonable prices online.
My two cents...
I hope that helps
Last edited: