[dobigstuff]

rusnak666:

For the very Deepest bass and Power see below. This is what I have settled on.

The 6SN7 is always a NOS USA Tung-Sol. By the way, that Western Electric 421A was New in the Box. Hard to find.

 

[Scutey]

@rusnak666, I have quite a few bassy tubes in both input and output, and although I never tried this combo in my 336, I think this would give you fantastic sub bass, and good soundstage, Tung Sol 5998 for power and Ken Rad 6C8G (via an adapter), this combo gives me fantastic sub bass in my Feliks Elise.

 

[rusnak666]

Have not found 421A but i found TUNG-SOL JAN 5998, at wooaudio they sell 1 pc for 220 dollars and on nostubestore they have TUNG-SOL JAN 5998 Top and Side O-getter Black Plates for 95 dollars (the picture). Are these any good? Thanks

 

[tintinsnowydog]

If I understand you correctly, the discoloration you are seeing is the getter splash, which is normal in a tube with getters located below the bottom mica.

CV2984 is the British military designation for the 6080. And therefore, any 6080 procured for the British military might bear that designation. Both GEC and Mullard manufactured the 6080 so it is not likely that you will find Mullard 6080s rebranded as GEC, or vice versa. But of course it is possible.

As the Mullard and GEC have different internal construction, a close inspection will reveal the original manufacturer. Further, Mullard etched their production code on all their tubes, and if it is visible, that too will reveal the original manufacturer.

Thanks for that! From what I’ve seen in pictures, the Mullard bottom mica plate is round and the GEC is like a gear? What other clear construction differences are there?

 

[mordy]

Thanks all for the tips, for driver i am using Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z. Mordy waht do you think about this tube, is it any good? Any power tube suggestion with this for good synergy? I am willing to spend about 100EUR for the power tube... Thanks

Thanks all for the tips, for driver i am using Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z. Mordy waht do you think about this tube, is it any good? Any power tube suggestion with this for good synergy? I am willing to spend about 100EUR for the power tube... Thanks

Thanks all for the tips, for driver i am using Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z. Mordy waht do you think about this tube, is it any good? Any power tube suggestion with this for good synergy? I am willing to spend about 100EUR for the power tube... Thanks

Hi r666,
I don't have any experience with the Chinese tubes so cannot offer an opinion. What bothers me is that they have so many different price points and different packaging of the same type of tube.
One of my sons once had a summer job in a vodka distillery. There were eight different labels and eight different price points; all bottles had different and more fancy packaging, but the vodka was the same......

As an example of pricing, the identical Classic Grade Psvane CV181-T Mark II fetches between $75 and $126 shipped for one tube.
Caveat Emptor!

 

[thecrow]

Have not found 421A but i found TUNG-SOL JAN 5998, at wooaudio they sell 1 pc for 220 dollars and on nostubestore they have TUNG-SOL JAN 5998 Top and Side O-getter Black Plates for 95 dollars (the picture). Are these any good? Thanks

What picture are you referring to?

 

[gibosi]

Thanks for that! From what I’ve seen in pictures, the Mullard bottom mica plate is round and the GEC is like a gear? What other clear construction differences are there?

The GEC on the left was manufactured in 1961 and the Mullard on the right, 1966. The Mullard has copper grid posts, whereas, the GEC has steel. And as you note, the bottom mica on the GEC has ten teeth, whereas, the bottom mica on the Mullard is round. And also, the construction above the top two mica is quite different.



The same GEC on the left, but an earlier Mullard, from 1957, on the right. The older Mullard has sheet metal shields between the top two mica, much like the RCA. And again, the Mullard has copper grid posts. However, on the older Mullard, the bottom mica has 12 teeth, equally spaced.



Good luck in your search!

 

[tintinsnowydog]

The GEC on the left was manufactured in 1961 and the Mullard on the right, 1966. The Mullard has copper grid posts, whereas, the GEC has steel. And as you note, the bottom mica on the GEC has ten teeth, whereas, the bottom mica on the Mullard is round. And also, the construction above the top two mica is quite different.



The same GEC on the left, but an earlier Mullard, from 1957, on the right. The older Mullard has sheet metal shields between the top two mica, much like the RCA. And again, the Mullard has copper grid posts. However, on the older Mullard, the bottom mica has 12 teeth, equally spaced.



Good luck in your search!

Thanks so much for the detailed explanation, tube history is so interesting!

Yet another question for all, what is the difference between 6080WA/B/C? For example, I've seen some Raytheon 6080WC that look almost identical to the Bendix 6080WB (that everyone raves about), what are the differences between these 2tubes?

 

[abvolt]

I'd also agree with the others the mullard 6080's are great sounding their a bit hard to find nowadays and some people ask way too much $$ for them a good alternative is the ts 7236 which sound very nice also it has a higher mu or gain and right now they can be had at a good price..enjoy

 

[rusnak666]

What picture are you referring to?

Is this one OK? Thanks

 

[thecrow]

Is this one OK? Thanks

If the readings are good then that tube looks good.

From recent posts from various members here you should be able to find a decent pair for $150-$200 and a really good pair for $200-250 with just little bit of patience

 

[tintinsnowydog]

Managed to grab a single lightly used gec 6as7g straight brown base (seller tested 95%) for 200$ AUD. Should I expect to pay more or less than that for another one that’s NOS to complete the pair?

 

[Scutey]

Managed to grab a single lightly used gec 6as7g straight brown base (seller tested 95%) for 200$ AUD. Should I expect to pay more or less than that for another one that’s NOS to complete the pair?

That seems like a reasonable price, I would imagine a NOS one would cost about 20/25% more, depending on the seller.

 

[thecrow]

Managed to grab a single lightly used gec 6as7g straight brown base (seller tested 95%) for 200$ AUD. Should I expect to pay more or less than that for another one that’s NOS to complete the pair?

If you’re patient (and a little lucky) the same. If you’re not then twice as much ($300 usd)

 

[Scutey]

I know that the GEC is considered a holy grail tube but for me the 5998 is hard to beat, and for less money, just managed to get a pristine NOS pair for less than $130 usd.