Interesting, as the Mullards I have don't have a hint of gritty sharpness in the treble and they are actually kind of smooth to a fault from the start. As for the bass, that doesn't mirror my experience either? Perhaps yours do have some issues, or need some serious burn-in? Who knows as we all have different systems, but in my system the midbass can take your head off like no other. The Russian 6C8C has even stronger subbass, and better extension up top, but the mids are not as euphonic as the Mullards.I got them working finally once I had some free time. I don't know what was wrong the first time. The Mullards sound really nice. Very spacious. I'm letting them come back to life today. Who knows in what decade they were last used. Out of the gate they have similar spaciousness as my current go-to the Linlai Elite. I think the Linlai actually has more authoritative bass and extension surprisingly. I was expecting these to blow them out of the water on low end, but I'd still give it to the Elite upon first warm up. The Mullards have a bit of a gritty sharpness in the treble today that I feel like will burn off. Tonally I like them more than most of the 6SN7s I've heard besides the Linlai. Way more spacious than most.
Last edited: