[connieflyer]

That's a configuration I've used, back row of GU50'S driven by EL11 and very good it is. Just wondering how you found the volume when using your 6 pack of GU50'S. I've been trying to get more head room using various combinations as having four tubes in the back row has meant my being at 14:00 to 15:00 when playing classical music.

When using the six pack of GU50's, volume was lower. When I added the two EL 11 mesh plates, volume was up substantially.

Hi CF,
This condition of popping sounds do happen here and there with the old tubes and can be dangerous because you may blow a headphone driver etc. if the popping sounds are very loud.
I have had good luck in curing these tube problems by re-heating the tube pins with a soldering iron. Using a 35-50W soldering iron and heating up each pin individually for 30 seconds or so may help. In extreme cases it may be useful to add a little solder as well but I have not tried this myself .

I may try your heating method, soon. I did not want to take a chance with the popping noise. It got more frequent, so I will have to find sockets for the two new tubes that I have. They are just stock, still have the hats on them. Thanks Mordy

 

[mordy]

When using the six pack of GU50's, volume was lower. When I added the two EL 11 mesh plates, volume was up substantially.

I may try your heating method, soon. I did not want to take a chance with the popping noise. It got more frequent, so I will have to find sockets for the two new tubes that I have. They are just stock, still have the hats on them. Thanks Mordy

Because of unexpected things like these pops and other tube problems, I always turn on my system with a pair of old cheap headphones, especially trying out new tubes. If something untoward happens I can avoid blowing out an expensive driver - the old set so far has not got damaged by loud noises that can happen here and there. Let's face it, 50-80 year old tube have a right to be a little cranky now and then lol.

 

[connieflyer]

I do the same thing Mordy, Don't want the good ones ruined.

 

[Piccolo]

A very reputable company is Langrex in the UK. Don't know how the prices compare, but they have the Mullard 6080 in stock it seems:
https://www.langrex.co.uk/products/6080-cv2984-mullard-pair-england-nos-boxed-valve-tube/

The link sounds more like an advertisement than objective information and seems to be dated from 2011.

I purchased a pair of Mullard 6030s from Langrex which came yesterday, They have the code R6F1 so Mitcham factory. They sound quite nice but do need a few more hours before they come on song. But even now l can hear greater bass extension and a smoother treble, not at all rolled off. Mids were a bit recessed, but I am not that worried as all valves take a while to settle down and as I listen to them they are evening out.
Always liked Mullards, I can remember going to the local radio shop with my father in the 60s being offered a cheaper alternative and my father insisting on mullards. Now if I could only afford the ECC32s that Langrex have for sale. . .

 

[connieflyer]

Price for those are off the charts. Would like to hear them sometime

 

[Piccolo]

Original cost was probably 12/- a pair or 60p

 

[elrey]

What do you mean by Psvane is gone for good? They stop manufacturing? As far as I know Psvane is just a brand of Shuguang, the tubes are produced in the same factory.

Hello, That is the part that I don't fully understand. Here they talk about discontinuation:
https://premiumvacuumtubes.com/post-psvane-discontinuation-updates/
But here, PSVane looks alive: http://www.psvane.com/en

I contacted customer support last night, asking them where to find their tubes in the US.

Later Edit: it seems my info was outdated. It seems they made a new company.
https://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/who-is-psvane.html

I understand that they started with a manufacturing partnership, but then they departed with PSVane having their own production.

Update: The blogpost was just about Grant Fidelity (premiumvacuumtubes.com), no longer selling PSVane. I misunderstood.
https://premiumvacuumtubes.com/for-...ntire-psvane-line-as-of-8pm-mst-feb-7th-2021/

 

[mordy]

Read through some material to try to understand the convoluted present history of Chinese tube manufacturing. It appears that the original factory was the state owned Shuguang factory. In 2019 the land that this factory was situated on was sold for housing development and production shut down. It is unclear if it will resume.
Prior to this there was discord in the management of Shuguang and a number of people left in 2009 and formed their own company called Psvane. Later Psvane acquired another Chinese manufacturer called T J Full Music. A major part of the production are tubes for guitar amplifiers.
Recently there was another upheaval at Psvane, and management people left to form another new company of their own called LINLAI.
Enter the major distributor of Psvane for North America which is located in Calgary, Canada - Grant Fidelity. They started to offer LINLAI tubes for sale whereupon Psvane terminated their business relationship with Grant Fidelity as of February 7, 2021.
What bothers me is the mudslinging on all sides, each side accusing each other of selling low quality tubes etc.
In addition, my personal opinion is that Psvane repackaged the same or similar tubes in many different packages and color and shape schemes, charging all different prices. Looking back in tube manufacturing history, the same tube may had to be screened and selected to pass tougher standards and tolerances for military use, or be engineered for extra long life, but we do not find the same tube production coming in different flavors.

The following is a quote from the Grant website:
FYI, in the past 12 months, Grant Fidelity have returned 161 tubes from the factory deliveries of Psvane tubes, EVEN AFTER the screening at the tube factory with our provided test equipment, and AFTER we paid a price premium for the screening and selection service. That is nearly every other day we have a failed defective tube from the supply of ‘screened’ Psvane tubes. In the past decade, we have returned thousands of defective tubes.)

We are immediately collecting our not-so-inexpensive tube testing equipment from Psvane tube factory, rather than leaving it there to collect dust and serve NO quality control purpose it was meant to.

Who would have thought that an importer needs to buy their own test equipment for the tube manufacturer to insure quality control?

Here are the sources:
https://premiumvacuumtubes.com/

https://linlaiglobal.com/

 

[elrey]

Looking back in tube manufacturing history, the same tube may had to be screened and selected to pass tougher standards and tolerances for military use, or be engineered for extra long life, but we do not find the same tube production coming in different flavors.

My take from this is that in 2021 it is not a problem related to manufacturing technology or lack of knowledge in quality control. Some brands are focusing only on the return over investment and not on the product per se. In that regard, it makes sense to push as many tubes as possible out of the factory door and make them look expensive

Who would have thought that an importer needs to buy their own test equipment for the tube manufacturer to insure quality control?

Agree. That part was surprising.

(edited for clarity)

 

[OctavianH]

Let's see then what stock drivers will F. A. provide if the CV181T2 will not be available anymore. I have a pair of these and I used them around 2000-3000 hours without problem, but mine were manufactured sometimes around 2017. Recently I bought a pair of KT88T2 which I currently listen and quite appreciate. So both types of Psvane I had the chance to listen are somewhere in my short list of tubes I like. Well, after what I've just read it seems these will remain the only Psvanes I will ever own.
The KT88T2s I've bought from somebody selling 3 pieces. Most probably he had a quad and one of them failed, so he decided to get rid of them at half the price. I have no problem in buying them since we are not using them in our headphone amplifiers at the same parameters they are designed and used in the speaker amps. So I guess these will have a long life in my case. At least I hope so.

 

[mordy]

Let's see then what stock drivers will F. A. provide if the CV181T2 will not be available anymore. I have a pair of these and I used them around 2000-3000 hours without problem, but mine were manufactured sometimes around 2017. Recently I bought a pair of KT88T2 which I currently listen and quite appreciate. So both types of Psvane I had the chance to listen are somewhere in my short list of tubes I like. Well, after what I've just read it seems these will remain the only Psvanes I will ever own.
The KT88T2s I've bought from somebody selling 3 pieces. Most probably he had a quad and one of them failed, so he decided to get rid of them at half the price. I have no problem in buying them since we are not using them in our headphone amplifiers at the same parameters they are designed and used in the speaker amps. So I guess these will have a long life in my case. At least I hope so.

From reading through the various websites my impression is that Psvane is continuing to produce tubes. The only factory that closed was the original Shuguang factory, but ten years before that happened, experienced people had left the company and founded Psvane.
The Canadian distributor had a fallout with Psvane but that should not prevent tubes from being available.

 

[Deleeh]

What alternatives would there be to the Ps vane and conversion to Kt88 tubes that are good?
The Power Tube from the Gold Edition that Feliks offered with a 200€ surcharge didn't really blow me away.
I found the Rca much better as Power tube
Surely again a matter of taste at the end of the day.
I have seen the Ps vane for 220€ as a driver tube pair.

 

[LoryWiv]

What alternatives would there be to the Ps vane and conversion to Kt88 tubes that are good?
The Power Tube from the Gold Edition that Feliks offered with a 200€ surcharge didn't really blow me away.
I found the Rca much better as Power tube
Surely again a matter of taste at the end of the day.
I have seen the Ps vane for 220€ as a driver tube pair.

I use several KT88's in Elise with adapters, and the new production one I enjoy iss Genalex Gold Lion KT88. Readily available and worth a try IMHO.

 

[Deleeh]

I'll have a look at that.
I wrote to the person who sells the adapters in Europe.
And let's see what Kt 88 tubes are available in Europe, so far I have found Brimar and Tad.
Let's see what else I find ,thanks.

 

[Yoram Diamand]

Hello, I have been reading the thread, and I have two questions.

Does anyone know if the ‘GF special edition’ 6SN7 globe tubes will fit the Euforia?
Also, is there a dumbed-down list of compatible tubes and where to find them?

Thanks!

Hi I have the Psvane 6sn7SE globes and they do not fit side by side, so you have to lift one up with 2 tube sockets I think they are called. They sound nice though.