[JKDJedi]

People tend to get hung up on "the best tubes". But in reality, every tube can sound great in the right system. In the end, it is all about personal preferences and synergy. And it appears that in your system, the Philips/Sylvania has better synergy and conforms to your personal preferences better than the Mullard. But in a different system, with a pair of different ears connected to a different brain, the Mullards may well be better.

So again, there really are no "best tubes". It is all very subjective. And my advice is to start cheap in order to learn what you like and don't like. And don't be surprised if a cheap one works better in your system than a considerably more expensive one that many other listeners have raved about. Enjoy.

Now I'm worried about the 421a coming in..

 

[gibosi]

Now I'm worried about the 421a coming in..

In the right system, it's a great tube.

 

[billerb1]

People tend to get hung up on "the best tubes". But in reality, every tube can sound great in the right system. In the end, it is all about personal preferences and synergy. And it appears that in your system, the Philips/Sylvania has better synergy and conforms to your personal preferences better than the Mullard. But in a different system, with a pair of different ears connected to a different brain, the Mullards may well be better.

So again, there really are no "best tubes". It is all very subjective. And my advice is to start cheap in order to learn what you like and don't like. And don't be surprised if a cheap one works better in your system than a considerably more expensive one that many other listeners have raved about. Enjoy.

Amen.

 

[Velozity]

Now I'm worried about the 421a coming in..

Yes...you should be. I think you should just send it to me to be on the safe side!

 

[zeroduke]

Been rolling these 2 6080 tubes off and on and think I can form an objective opinion on them now. Why does the more costly Mullard made 6080 tube SUCK compared to the really cheap 6080WC tube? Does the 6080 need more burn in? I'm not getting this Mullard name at all right now..
Top photo is a Mullard 6080 rebranded to Philips.

Bottom photo is a JAN Philips 6080WC

The JAN 6080WC has better tonality and voice seems more natural. I don't get it.

In my WooAudio WA2, these Mullard valves perform better when paired with EZ81 instead of EZ80 rectifiers. The sound is clearer and more natural.

 

[JKDJedi]

Yes...you should be. I think you should just send it to me to be on the safe side!

Lol... She just arrived.

 

[Mizicke5273]

Thanks for the heads up, it took a considerable amount of force but I managed to get the tubes to sit flush with the connectors and it made a huge difference to the sound. I will amend my previous impressions; these are now slightly more musical and less analytical than the 6AS7G, with deeper/punchier bass, and almost as good separation/imaging/soundstage. Very impressive, a great find for sure! Looks very cool populating dual mono as well

Question about when your tubes were not seat correctly; did you get a scratchy and somewhat hollow tinny sound? I checked the tubes and they all seem to be seated correctly in the adapters. I had one tube when one of the pins was between the connector and socket, but I corrected that and still subpar sound quality.

 

[tintinsnowydog]

Question about when your tubes were not seat correctly; did you get a scratchy and somewhat hollow tinny sound? I checked the tubes and they all seem to be seated correctly in the adapters. I had one tube when one of the pins was between the connector and socket, but I corrected that and still subpar sound quality.

I'd describe it as just a more distant, quieter sound, did not actually get any scratch. They did take a few hours of use to settle in (occassionally would sputter a bit at the start) so might be that. Otherwise I think you might have a bad tube :/ if you're on the lf339 try checking with one channel at a time and swap the tubes around in different configurations. good luck!

 

[Mizicke5273]

Well, scratchy or staticky in the background and/or bass. Not able to really tell clearly. Yep, I'm running a La Figaro 339 and it is both channels. I'll swap the tubes around today and see how that goes. I'm also gona try re-seating them again. I don't have a lot of brand new tubes, so the most I have experienced with a new set is slight noise.

Here is the link to the tubes I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/A2293-CV40...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

 

[gibosi]

Well, scratchy or staticky in the background and/or bass. Not able to really tell clearly. Yep, I'm running a La Figaro 339 and it is both channels. I'll swap the tubes around today and see how that goes. I'm also gona try re-seating them again. I don't have a lot of brand new tubes, so the most I have experienced with a new set is slight noise.

Here is the link to the tubes I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/A2293-CV4079-GEC-NOS-BOXED-VALVE-TUBE/271178940257?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Another thing to try... use 220 sandpaper and make those pins shine. This might help...

 

[Mizicke5273]

Another thing to try... use 220 sandpaper and make those pins shine. This might help...

Thanks, just gave this a try and they are still the same. I double checked the pins are in the connectors and seated good. I also tried swapping one tube from each adapter. After all that, they still sounded the same. So, I decided to let them burn in some and I think they are starting to sound better. I'll give them some more time. If it is a case of the tubes just needing some time to burn in, I wasn't aware they could change that much. I knew that new tubes could be noisy, just not expecting such a drastic starting point.

 

[adeadcrab]

Another thing to try... use 220 sandpaper and make those pins shine. This might help...

I use deoxit (D100L) on the pins to help with metal on metal contact, and occasionally wipe the oxidised pins clean with some toilet paper. Is sandpaper better?

 

[gibosi]

In my experience mechanical cleaning has worked the best. If you sand the pins thoroughly there will be excellent metal on metal contact in the socket. So when I get new tubes, the first thing I do is mechanically clean the pins. Deoxit shouldn't hurt anything, especially if used very sparingly. However, I consider it unnecessary and I never use it. But of couse, YMMV.

 

[tintinsnowydog]

Well, scratchy or staticky in the background and/or bass. Not able to really tell clearly. Yep, I'm running a La Figaro 339 and it is both channels. I'll swap the tubes around today and see how that goes. I'm also gona try re-seating them again. I don't have a lot of brand new tubes, so the most I have experienced with a new set is slight noise.

Here is the link to the tubes I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/A2293-CV4079-GEC-NOS-BOXED-VALVE-TUBE/271178940257?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

that is the same seller i bought from. hope burning in is helping, mine definitely did sputter quite a lot (and at random) in the first few hours of use

 

[Mizicke5273]

Got these GEC CV4079 finally signing!

I did a few things over the last few days. I tightened down the nuts and bolts on the adapters and made sure they were snug. I swapped my Driver tubes from my Telefunken EF 86 to my Telefunken EF 800. I was originally testing these GEC tubes with my pair of Beyer DT 880. What appears to have happened, the EF 86 and GEC CV4079 were not a good combo for the Beyers; I think it pushed them too much in the low end. Lowering the volume just slightly and/or disabling my Loki eliminated the issues I had. Switching to my other headphones, while using the EF 86 and GEC CV4079 combo, seemed to have much less noticeable issues. That is when I thought to swap out my driver tubes; the pairs of EF 86 that I have all seem to have good strong bass. So, with the Telefunken EF 800 and GEC CV4079, I've now got a smooth set with very strong bass!

Definitely enjoying these! Just have to remember they do not pair well with at least my Telefunken EF 86 Drivers.