[mordy]

Hi ne,
A quick eBay search now reveals the following prices:
I am not familiar with how your amp sounds, but you can replace those Philips/Sylvania 6080WC tubes (pair) for $30 shipped.
A cheaper alternative which sounds good is the the RCA 6080 - several sellers on eBay offer pairs for $20 shipped.
Then there is the similar 6AS7GA - you can get a pair for $27 shipped.
The Svetlana 6H13C goes under several designations such as 6N13S and 6N5S - there is a seller that has a pair for under $19 shipped.
The Svetlana is a solid and quiet tube, but personally I prefer the other three in this budget range.

 

[nocturaline]

Hi ne,
A quick eBay search now reveals the following prices:
I am not familiar with how your amp sounds, but you can replace those Philips/Sylvania 6080WC tubes (pair) for $30 shipped.
A cheaper alternative which sounds good is the the RCA 6080 - several sellers on eBay offer pairs for $20 shipped.
Then there is the similar 6AS7GA - you can get a pair for $27 shipped.
The Svetlana 6H13C goes under several designations such as 6N13S and 6N5S - there is a seller that has a pair for under $19 shipped.
The Svetlana is a solid and quiet tube, but personally I prefer the other three in this budget range.

Thanks! I will take a look.

 

[tintinsnowydog]

Opening impressions of the A2293 compared with GEC 6as7g after a couple hours listening back and forth and having one of each on dual mono. Just dot points for now

-I struggled to get the tubes to sit flush with the adapters; at one point one of the tubes became unpowered but there was no sonic change.

-soundstage slightly smaller
-bass was more(?) plentiful but not as detailed (comparable to mullard 6080)
-treble rolled, overall sound signature is more laid back/warmer than 6as7g. This gave the illusion of a lot less detail at first, but i don't think the difference is as significant as it first seemed

-gain was less than 6as7g, so volume matching was hard. perhaps this skewed my perception of the small but noticeable drop in detail retrieval and layering specifically. Upper upper treble was where this was most apparent.

-i was satisfied by both tubes with the HD800 and LCD-2C, but found the A2293 a bit too warm with the HD650s.

-tubes probably need some more burn in time (very noisy, a bit microphonic and humming, i need to get them to sit in the sockets properly too). will update this if any impressions change

-overall I'd say that the sound is closer to the GEC 6080 than the GEC 6as7g, almost like a combination of the two. Definitely a very good choice as they are plentiful and cheap.

I think you definitely have connexion issues . On my amp gain is considerably higher , absolutely no noise or microphonics . I would rank them just under the GEC 6as7g .
The sockets are a problem as the connectors have a flat top profile . When the tube pins are presented they want to stop on top of the connector and if pushed they will try to go between the connector and the socket . It takes patience and a strong light to make sure each pin is going central in the connector . If all is well the tube will easily seat fully with only a gentle push .
Just received some early production A2293 (square getter) so will compare to the mid 70s cv4079 I have .

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

 

[alvin sawdust]

Glad to hear you sorted the problem out. I have swapped GEC 6as7g and a2293 a few times now and it's hard to tell them apart to be honest.

 

[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

Which version is your 339? Is it the 6SJ7 Driver Tube one?

 

[tintinsnowydog]

Which version is your 339? Is it the 6SJ7 Driver Tube one?

Yes 6SJ7 version, can use EF86 or EF80 with adapters

 

[JKDJedi]

I just got as described, a Sylvania 6AS7G NOS Chrome Top Black Plate Le Figaro NIB Philco tube, I can't tell what year it is, seems like mid 50's, any idea from the pics?

 

[abvolt]

RCA's look the same those sound very nice..enjoy

 

[mordy]

I just got as described, a Sylvania 6AS7G NOS Chrome Top Black Plate Le Figaro NIB Philco tube, I can't tell what year it is, seems like mid 50's, any idea from the pics?

Any date code or manufacturing codes? They do look like RCA tubes.

 

[JKDJedi]

Any date code or manufacturing codes? They do look like RCA tubes.

None probably got rubbed off. EDITED: UPDATE----->
So I slapped on the Elctro HArmonics to mate with the Philco and let them bake for 24 hours, and am digging the sound these two create. I had poo poo on them at first listen without letting them settle, So I've edited this post to update that these sound phenomenal with the Electro HArmonics.
.

 

[mordy]

Just as a curiosity, the winged C tubes (Svetlana) tubes were originally made on RCA equipment sold to Russia in 1937.

 

[JKDJedi]

Just as a curiosity, the winged C tubes (Svetlana) tubes were originally made on RCA equipment sold to Russia in 1937.

Maybe, the one I have is probably more current , the manufacture closed in 2017, so not really sure what I have, could be new stock tube, and I really didn't give the Philco tube any burn in time, so maybe to soon to really judge it.
Edit: I'll post a pic of both of them side by side in a bit.

 

[attmci]

Any one want 5998 here?

I have nothing to do with this seller.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1236022622...d=123617447226&itm=123602262214&ul_noapp=true

 

[JKDJedi]

Just as a curiosity, the winged C tubes (Svetlana) tubes were originally made on RCA equipment sold to Russia in 1937.

So here are the pics, they have some similarity like coke bottle shape but if you look closely they are not the same, base on Philco tube is longer. The C Wing tube has longer inners at the top, and my guess is the C Wing tube was made 1975 (maybe 81)?, just a guess, from the markings. The Philco is a 58 , again just a guess from other sales on the exact same Philco tube, the Philco tube has no markings unfortunately.

 

[mordy]

The give away on the Russian 6AS7 tubes are dual inverted saucer getters. These tubes, although not being produced any more, are in ample supply, and there are many forgeries out there with all kinds of famous names on them and authentic looking boxes - buyer beware!
Here is a pair of Svetlana tubes selling for $340/pair + shipping and branded Haltron which was a British re-brander (and calling them Telefunken !):

On the bottom tube you can see the two getters which are unique to the Svetlana tubes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6AS7G-TUBE...181248?hash=item3b10569940:g:ZTEAAOSwdSRZ-5XN