[angpsi]

Nah... not me. Didn't even know these things existed.

 

[mordy]

What's this??

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tung-Sol-421A-Vacuum-Tube-Tested-Excellent-/182824020529?hash=item2a91292a31:g:OTsAAOSwnOFZ3rFH&nma=true&si=TZzXlEbMoV3WXMFYIGv%2BklnztWU%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Hi attmci,

The 421A is a 6AS7G/5998 ST type tube made for Western Electric by Chatham/Tung Sol. The tube pictured looks like the 6080 family - possibly a mislabeled TS 7236 or similar.

 

[attmci]

Hi attmci,

The 421A is a 6AS7G/5998 ST type tube made for Western Electric by Chatham/Tung Sol. The tube pictured looks like the 6080 family - possibly a mislabeled TS 7236 or similar.

Thanks Mordy. I know 421A. My clear-top Chatham 2399 sounds very similar to a 421A.
But I don't think that 6080 is mislabeled. I suspicious some smart guy may have done something to that tube.

I am 85% sure it's a 7236.

 

[Scutey]

Has anyone used a Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand ?, I have found one review of this tube but little else, so was wondering if anyone had experiences of it as it seems it might be worth a look.

 

[gibosi]

Have you seen this review? Unfortunately, all the pics have disappeared and there are a few errors, especially the claim that the Mullard. Telefunken, Valvo and GEC 6080 are all the same, but still, there is some useful info here:

http://the-key.enix.org/~krystal/review-tube-bottlehead.html

And I would agree with the reviewer that the Sylvania 6080 is sweet, liquid and musical, that is, it sounds like a Sylvania. If this is a sound signature you like and the price is right, it might well be worth a try.

 

[Scutey]

gibosi,

Thanks for the link, seems like it might be worth a look, especially at $9.99 for NOS.

 

[333jeffery]

I notice that some folks use the 6336 tube in place of the 6as7. Has anyone here tried this? I'm getting an Apex Teton soon and am curious about trying the 6336's in it. I have some Amperex 6as7's to try in it as well.

 

[mordy]

Has anyone used a Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand ?, I have found one review of this tube but little else, so was wondering if anyone had experiences of it as it seems it might be worth a look.

Has anyone used a Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand ?, I have found one review of this tube but little else, so was wondering if anyone had experiences of it as it seems it might be worth a look.

Hi Scutey,

In general, I like the Sylvania 6080 a lot. The Sylvania Gold series should be the same, but with an extended 10,000 hour service life. I do have the Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand but I don't think that they sound better than the regular ones.

The RCA 6080 are very inexpensive and sound very good - an under rated tube.

The best sounding 6080 I have is the GEC, but unfortunately the prices hit the sky lately.

 

[mordy]

I notice that some folks use the 6336 tube in place of the 6as7. Has anyone here tried this? I'm getting an Apex Teton soon and am curious about trying the 6336's in it. I have some Amperex 6as7's to try in it as well.

Hi 333jeffery,

As I understand it the 6336 is a double 6AS7 that draws 4.75A. I haven't tried them because my amp can't handle so much current. From the impressions of what I read there is no sonic improvement of the 6336 over the 6AS7 which draws 2.5A.

Re the Amperex 6AS7G I am curious how they look - some Russian Svetlana 6N13S have been re-branded as Amperex. Do you have a picture? The double inverted saucer getters are a give-away. Here is a current offering of such a forgery (this one says Made In Holland) - you can see one of the saucer getters on top left:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amperex-6A...998655&hash=item21306f7ef6:g:cu8AAOSw7D9Z4mDF

And another one (Made in England) where you can clearly see both saucer getters on the bottom of the picture:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-AMPER...590320&hash=item56848ff900:g:eZwAAOSw9KpXATGJ


Here are the original Svetlana 6N13S for less than $14 each shipped:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-6N13S-A...600030&hash=item4b26e8bf9f:g:hrQAAOSwZQRYb1uw

 

[myphone]

I notice that some folks use the 6336 tube in place of the 6as7. Has anyone here tried this? I'm getting an Apex Teton soon and am curious about trying the 6336's in it. I have some Amperex 6as7's to try in it as well.

I have used 6336B tube in DV336 with external heater 10 A power supply for a short time.

Driving HD650 and T1, 6336B-tubed-DV336 has more control, and more ease, than the regular 6080/7236/5998. Effortless in one word. I suspect the effect is more related to two parallel tungsol 6080 tubes.

Still no match to Feliks Euforia. I recently bought another 10 A external heater transformer. Have not had time to setup 6336B in Feliks Euforia yet, (one 10A heater for each tube).

 

[myphone]

You always got the best deals.

Watch out for those clear-top 2399. Now I know why those "5998" vs "421A" debating came from.

I agree with Jamie except the " or 2" LOL: "If you can find a 1950s 5998 clear top grab it quick its defiantly a level or 2 above both my single and twin getter 5998s and I would go so far as to say I prefer it to the WE421a. With the clear top the 5998 essentially it looks near identical to the WE421a and I would say its a good mix of combining both the detail and musicality of the two separate tubes."

attmci, that is interesting. I have had a pair of 1958 clear-top and 2 pairs 1958 chrome top 5998 for years. Have only used chrome top 5998 pair so far. Their structures are very different. The clear-top structure is similar to 421A.

Need to compare these two tubes.

 

[myphone]

 

[Scutey]

Hi Scutey,

In general, I like the Sylvania 6080 a lot. The Sylvania Gold series should be the same, but with an extended 10,000 hour service life. I do have the Sylvania 6080 Gold Brand but I don't think that they sound better than the regular ones.

The RCA 6080 are very inexpensive and sound very good - an under rated tube.

The best sounding 6080 I have is the GEC, but unfortunately the prices hit the sky lately.

Hi mordy,

Thanks for the info will have to have a look at the RCA's as well, anything that is inexpensive and decent I will look at!, the Thomson 6080 WA also looks worth a look as well, i'd love to have a try at the GEC but at £125 from Langrex that is way too much for me.

 

[333jeffery]

Thanks for the info. My Amperex tubes look just like the ones you have posted. Come in the Amperex boxes, too, with Tektronix test stickers on them. So these were made by Svetlana?

 

[gibosi]

Amperex was a wholly owned subsidiary of Philips. And to the best of my knowledge, Philips did not manufacture the 6AS7 in any of their factories. Thus any 6AS7 out there labeled as a Mullard, Amperex, Valvo, or other Philips brand were sourced from another company. And as Mordy notes above, many of them are Russian.