[bcowen]

I’ve seen some Japanese branded tube (NEC) with copper rods 6AS7s, but without the getters.

I have one (had a pair, but broke one, duh). It's an RCA though.

Side by side with an RCA:

 

[gibosi]

I have a question about these Tung-Sol branded 6AS7G's I have. I got them a while ago and only paid $40 for the pair. They have the '322' Tung-Sol factory code, however their internal construction does not look like other Tung-Sol 6AS7G's I've seen. These appears to be the exact same construction as the 1950's RCA black plates, with the flaps/protectors above and below the plates and a top getter. Think these are just rebranded RCA's?

I have many pairs of RCA 6AS7G's wearing various branding (Sylvania & Raytheon) but always thought Tung-Sol made their own tubes. I just noticed these tonight while going through some older tubes.

Yes, those are RCA's.

A little detail. Tung-Sol never made the 6AS7G. In the mid-1950's TS purchased Chatham, which did make the 6AS7G. So prior to that purchase, TS 6AS7Gs were sourced from both RCA and Chatham. Construction tells the truth.

 

[mordy]

Yes, those are RCA's.

A little detail. Tung-Sol never made the 6AS7G. In the mid-1950's TS purchased Chatham, which did make the 6AS7G. So prior to that purchase, TS 6AS7Gs were sourced from both RCA and Chatham. Construction tells the truth.

Are you saying that all Tung Sol labeled 6AS7G (unless made by RCA) are Chathams? In other words, if I have a pair of 6AS7G tubes Chatham and Tung Sol (not RCA style), they are both Chathams?
I had a pair of Chathams but one died. Was looking for another one, but I do have a TS so based on this I don't really have to get another Chatham to have a pair.

 

[gibosi]

Are you saying that all Tung Sol labeled 6AS7G (unless made by RCA) are Chathams? In other words, if I have a pair of 6AS7G tubes Chatham and Tung Sol (not RCA style), they are both Chathams?
I had a pair of Chathams but one died. Was looking for another one, but I do have a TS so based on this I don't really have to get another Chatham to have a pair.

The only American companies that manufactured the 6AS7G were Chatham and RCA. And after Tung-Sol acquired Chatham, the only thing that changed was executive management. These tubes continued to be manufactured in the same Chatham factory. So yes, unless the construction is different, a Tung-Sol and a Chatham can be considered a pair.

 

[mordy]

The only American companies that manufactured the 6AS7G were Chatham and RCA. And after Tung-Sol acquired Chatham, the only thing that changed was executive management. These tubes continued to be manufactured in the same Chatham factory. So yes, unless the construction is different, a Tung-Sol and a Chatham can be considered a pair.

Thanks.
I also have pairs of Tung Sol and Chatham 6080 tubes but I assume that they were made in different factories- they certainly sound very different.

 

[Flisker]

That's exactly what I thought as well. It was a "Huh!" moment, I didn't realize I had a pair of Tung-Sol branded RCA's. Now, I just checked my Chatham 6AS7G's and they are closer to what I'd expect. The plates extend through the top and bottom mica and they have double bottom getters. I'm not sure if the copper rods are unique to Tung-Sol, I've seen them in silver as well. I think my Tung-Sol 6080's also have the copper rods.

These are some of my favorite tubes, I like them just as much as the top and bottom getter 5998's, and I only paid $40 for the pair before they became popular

This is music to my ears

I was looking for some 6AS7G's since I don't have any, except for GEC's. And because I have Chathams 2399's and those have the copper rod and sound amazing, don't have the 5998 bass bloat, I ended up buying Chatham 6AS7G's too, 162$ for 4x NOS tubes. Excited to give em a try.

 

[bpiotrow13]

This is music to my ears

I was looking for some 6AS7G's since I don't have any, except for GEC's. And because I have Chathams 2399's and those have the copper rod and sound amazing, don't have the 5998 bass bloat, I ended up buying Chatham 6AS7G's too, 162$ for 4x NOS tubes. Excited to give em a try.

So that was You who bought them at ebay? Congrats! I saw this bid, very tempting, but decided not to buy. I have bought already 6 chathams 6as7 from this seller (have 13 in total) so time to stop.

 

[Flisker]

So that was You who bought them at ebay? Congrats! I saw this bid, very tempting, but decided not to buy. I have bought already 6 chathams 6as7 from this seller (have 13 in total) so time to hold on.

Yea, hehe, thank you. I actually only had 165$ as max bid, so I got lucky.

 

[JazzVinyl]

So that was You who bought them at ebay? Congrats! I saw this bid, very tempting, but decided not to buy. I have bought already 6 chathams 6as7 from this seller (have 13 in total) so time to stop.

13 Seems like way more than a lifetime's worth of Chathams

Good call

 

[bpiotrow13]

Yea, hehe, thank you. I actually only had 165$ as max bid, so I got lucky.

Good, luck sometimes happens chatham 6as7 have beautiful midrange.

Nice tubes You have. I think i will never be able to buy GEC 6as7.

Are chatham 2399 different to Tung Sol 5998? They look similar. I have TS 5998 branded Tung Sol and IBM. I would think chatham 2399 this is only a different branding of TS5998? I have seen chatham 5998 as well. But i may be wrong.

 

[Flisker]

Nice tubes You have. I think i will never be able to buy GEC 6as7.

I have one pair, the holy grail cup base GECs and got the straight cap not so long ago because seller was in EU and claimed tubes to be basically NOS. And that's it for me. Won't get more pairs as it's so expensive. Just wanted to hear them.

The cup base GEC's I got 6 or so years ago I probably my favorite, it's just so smooth from top to bottom. But the price these days.... ooof

Chatham 2399 looks very similar to 5998 Tung Sols but, does not sound the same. It's more transparent and feels somewhat "less bloated" compared to 5998's.

And the grid rods are copper (it's kinda hard to see on this picture I guess)

I have 3 other TS 5998 pairs and they all sound somewhat similar, but the 2399 is not the same at all. But... to be fair, I'm thinking it might be because the tube has been used a lot. I got it with WA2 which I bought 11 years ago I think. (at the beginning of this audio journey )

So either it's different or it's so smooth, because it has a lot of milage on it, while other 3 5998 pairs are not much used.

 

[bpiotrow13]

And just to

But... to be fair, I'm thinking it might be because the tube has been used a lot

Thanks, maybe this is the same discussion if Western Electric is the same as Tung Sol 5998. In any case i also have enough stock of 5998, do not want to buy more for these crazy prices. And similar to Your approach with GEC i have just bought Bendix 6080 graphite, just to listen to them. I hope i will like Tung sol 5998/6as7 more as i will not buy more than one pair of bendix

 

[bpiotrow13]

And to follow discussion on Chatham 6as7, here are mines:

First three are chathams and they are branded as: chatham, RCA (this one is tricky and Tung Sol. The last one is Tung Sol branded RCA.

 

[Flisker]

i have just bought Bendix 6080 graphite, just to listen to them

Some special 6080? Never really looked into those. Would love to hear how those compare to well burned-in 5998's.

Btw, about those Chatham 6AS7G, I'm really impressed with what I'm hearing, at least from Euphoria, will try them in WA2 too in few days.

To be honest, I didn't expect much from those, I just thought... let me buy this so I don't have to keep burning 5998's when I'm just listening to music on background while working/playing something.

So now I'm slightly confused. Are all 6AS7G pretty good ? Or is this one type in particular amazing and rest is meh ?

 

[mordy]

And to follow discussion on Chatham 6as7, here are mines:



First three are chatham branded: chatham RCA (this one is tricky and Tung Sol. The last one is Tung Sol branded RCA.

I am a little confused - you state that the first three are Chatham branded, but I only see Chatham, RCA and TS?