[Pr0crastin8r]

I'm buying an MG HEAD OTL soon. I'm new to the tube scene, but also very picky

Theoretically, if money was not an object, what would be the BEST tubes to get, and where would I get them? So far, the best tube i've found is the sylvania 5751... but i guess thats pretty hard to find... any suggestions on where to look? what are the other "best" tubes? and what will i use OTL for on the mg head? is it worth it to get the OTL instead of the plain old DT? also, is there any better place to get the mg head from besides asl? like maybe a reseller or something?

thanks

 

[eric343]

From what I've heard (both read and listened to):

Bestofthebestofthebestofthebestofthebest: (and also INCREDIBLY expensive and rare)

Telefunken ECC803s.

Next in line:

Rayethon 5751 Red Label Blackplate Windmill Getter.

Then comes the Sylvania Blackplate Triplemica 5751, OR, if you want a REALLY nice lush, tubey sound, the Tung Sol 5751.

Then some Amperex 7025s

After that...

 

[mezzman]

...and for the EL84/6BQ5 output tubes, I recommend the JJ/Tesla EL84 and Ei Elite EL84EG. The JJ's have a lovely high end, while the Ei Elites seem to be very balanced across the board.

For the 5751 tube eric343 is right on the money.

JJ/Tesla tubes at Triode here

I got the Ei Elites at The Tube Shop here

I really like the OTL version, and a newer version is out that has a smooth pot opposed to the older 'stepped' one and a slightly longer chassis to remedy some hum issues found in older units.
Also, the OTL has both transformer and OTL outputs, so you get the best of both worlds.

Divergent has the OTL units
here

 

[Pr0crastin8r]

thanks for the recommendations so far...

interesting fact of the day: Raytheon is actually located in MY CITY. Not sure if its the exact same Raytheon though... mine is the "Raytheon Missle something or other" and its where all our good engineers head off to and a TON of missles are made there (i'm in arizona).

 

[Pr0crastin8r]

alright, so this is what it would cost me for a damn nice setup:

$330 (ASL MG Head DT/OTL)
$50 (Raytheon 5751 Red Label Blackplate)
$15 (6BQ5/EL84 Tesla/JJ Slovakia matched pair)
------------------------------------------------------------
$395

am i talking about the same tubes you're talking about? also, on a side note, will getting an upgraded cable (cardas or clou or what have you) really make a difference with the above setup? I am using HD600s.