[UntilThen]

Ah, tube rolling.....

Have been soaking up good sound with the the EF86 tubes as drivers and the EL12N as power tubes. The only drawback (if you can call it that) is that I have to turn up the volume higher to get it loud enough.

I'm glad you think EF86 sounds good too with EL12N. So it's not a figment of my imagination. EF86 somehow has less gain on Euforia. Try EF80. More gain and cheaper. It's a win win.

EL12N is a real gem. For the price, it's a frigging good power tube. Sounds good as a driver too.

I have no such luck with EL12 though. My latest acquisition of a single Telefunken EL12 NOS at EUR83.90 died after barely 4 hours of listening. 4 blissful hours when it sounded very good paired with my other Telefunken EL12 as power tubes and EL12N as drivers.

This tube (along with my other EL12s) were purchased from WEGE-High-Fidelity. It died in the middle of a song and the light went out. No sound and light from that channel. I can't remember the song but it could have been 'Stairway to heaven' by Led Zeppelin. The tube was advertised as NOS and guaranteed. It didn't look that new to me to be honest.

So whilst I can heartily recommend EL12N because it's cheap and good, I can't really say the same about EL11 and EL12.

 

[pctazhp]

I'm glad you think EF86 sounds good too with EL12N. So it's not a figment of my imagination. EF86 somehow has less gain on Euforia. Try EF80. More gain and cheaper. It's a win win.

EL12N is a real gem. For the price, it's a frigging good power tube. Sounds good as a driver too.

I have no such luck with EL12 though. My latest acquisition of a single Telefunken EL12 NOS at EUR83.90 died after barely 4 hours of listening. 4 blissful hours when it sounded very good paired with my other Telefunken EL12 as power tubes and EL12N as drivers.

This tube (along with my other EL12s) were purchased from WEGE-High-Fidelity. It died in the middle of a song and the light went out. No sound and light from that channel. I can't remember the song but it could have been 'Stairway to heaven' by Led Zeppelin. The tube was advertised as NOS and guaranteed. It didn't look that new to me to be honest.

So whilst I can heartily recommend EL12N because it's cheap and good, I can't really say the same about EL11 and EL12.

Maybe it's a "filament" of your imagination

I assume that with all the business you have done with WEGE and your previous recommendations of him, he will gladly take care of you and refund you money without any problem.

 

[mordy]

Hi UT,

Using the EF80 seems to necessitate another adapter for $25/pair shipped. If the EF80 does not sound superior I'll wait until the tube rolling bug bites me again....

Since I have the necessary adapters already for using 6DJ8 type tubes, I tried various iterations as mentioned above. They sound good to very good (especially the Sylvania versions), but I think I prefer the EF86 tubes.

If you have the right adapters for 6DJ8 type tubes to 6SN7, the 6BQ7 is still available from numerous eBay sellers, sometimes as low as $1/tube shipped (!) if you buy five.

Ordered a couple of Philips EF86 so in a week or two I should be able to listen to them and compare with the Svetlanas.

Re your problems with the EL12 tubes I got one that was DOA and one that died after a short time (got credit fro both). I have two pairs that work - one is a Valvo where one tube hums unless I wrap it in aluminum foil; the other is a pair of Tungsram that behaves but have a darkish tone.
Without a doubt, the way to go is to use the EL12N which is easy to find and not expensive. It does not seem to matter when they were made or the name on them; they all seem to be the same. Even though they may sound slightly different than the EL12 tubes, IMHO they are just as good as the EL12 tubes. (Have not heard the EL12 Spezial - ATM I have developed an allergy to the cost of adapters lol. Not to mention the wait to receive them....

Re EL11 I probably have a dozen from various manufacturers that all behave, except for that I had to re-glue the bases on several of them.
It seems that the glue on these 60-70 year old tubes becomes brittle. When you forget to only hold the tube by the base instead by the glass envelope when you remove them from the sockets, the glue bond may give out. Anyhow, an easy fix with a little crazy glue brushed on into the space between the glass envelope and the socket.

 

[connieflyer]

I have not purchased anything from WEGE-High-Fidelity but in the interest of customer service and the fact you had others from them I would certainly expect them to honor their commitment. If they do not please let us know, as I won't deal with sellers that do not honor their guaranty. Hope you have smooth transaction, you certainly have spent enough on return shipping, that in itself is rediculous. I will check back with you in a few days and see what you have heard from them.

 

[Oskari]

ATM I have developed an allergy to the cost of adapters lol. Not to mention the wait to receive them....

Tell me about it. Today I received one (1) replacement EF86 adapter for the two (2) that I had problems with.

 

[UntilThen]

Mordy, I've too many adapters. Could start a museum now. So no more adapters for me.

I have 5 RCA 6BQ7 and I've tried them with 6CG7 to 6SN7 adapters in Elise but the hum is really loud. I think I could not get the tubes to sit in the adapters properly. Have not tried it in Euforia yet. I'm abstaining from too much too rolling in Euforia. Also have the 6N23P using ECC88 to 6SN7 adapters. I'm just not rolling these tubes now. Even the 6N7G and 6A6. Not even using my ECC31 or my C3G.

 

[UntilThen]

I have not purchased anything from WEGE-High-Fidelity but in the interest of customer service and the fact you had others from them I would certainly expect them to honor their commitment. If they do not please let us know, as I won't deal with sellers that do not honor their guaranty. Hope you have smooth transaction, you certainly have spent enough on return shipping, that in itself is rediculous. I will check back with you in a few days and see what you have heard from them.

Thanks CF, I'll share my experience here when it's over. It's now in the hands of eBay admin.

 

[mordy]

Tell me about it. Today I received one (1) replacement EF86 adapter for the two (2) that I had problems with.

Hi Oskari,

I would not settle for one replacement if I had problems with two of them - contact the seller again. I only had problems with one of them that had the inside socket mounted at an angle, making the tube look like the leaning tower of Pisa.
Received another one after some verbal wrangling.....

 

[canthearyou]

I'm pretty confident that I'll be picking one of these up come fall of this year. I really like the looks of it. Plus, all the positive things I've read on it.
I was gonna save a bit of money and pick up an Elise, but I think I'll be better off getting the one I want.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm pretty confident that I'll be picking one of these up come fall of this year. I really like the looks of it. Plus, all the positive things I've read on it.
I was gonna save a bit of money and pick up an Elise, but I think I'll be better off getting the one I want.

Nothing beats listening to the magic of Mark Knopfler's guitar works at the end of a working day. Euforia and HD650 just sounds so good together. Swap to T1 and hear more sparkles. It euphonic and euphoria. Get this tube amp.

 

[Tunkejazz]

I saw him live in 2007 here in Stockholm and the concert was simply amazing. We got first row seats

 

[connieflyer]

Good morning @pctazhp and @UntilThen I see you are online, so wanted to greet you!
That is all I have to say

 

[pctazhp]

Good morning @pctazhp and @UntilThen I see you are online, so wanted to greet you!
That is all I have to say

Good morning young man ))) Drinking my morning coffee and trying to think of something valuable to contribute. So far, no luck ))))

 

[connieflyer]

I guess the blue square in the corner of the icon does tell if someone is on line but it only does helps if you are all posting and on the same page. It was far better when you could scan the right column and see who was online instead of hit or miss or paging back till you can see if anyone is here. This thing looks doomed.

 

[pctazhp]

I guess the blue square in the corner of the icon does tell if someone is on line but it only does helps if you are all posting and on the same page. It was far better when you could scan the right column and see who was online instead of hit or miss or paging back till you can see if anyone is here. This thing looks doomed.

Plus, at least this morning, it seems if I don't post anything or keep switching to different threads after a few minutes I get logged out. I'm afraid "doomed" may be the word.