[mordy]

These tubes will fit fine and a lot of people like them in the LD MkIII. If you search E-Bay you will find them better priced (about a third less), and if you have patience you can find them significantly cheaper from time to time.

 

[eljustinoid]

I paid less for a pair of these from a UK seller who goes by the name "Yitry" on Ebay. I am not as impressed with these tubes as other people are. My recommendation for a different sound remains Siemens.
 
Also I don't like the fact that the two tubes on that Ebay listing you saw are clearly non-identical, whatever the seller says.
 
So try this instead - more tube for less money:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M8100-CV4010-6AK5W-MULLARD-NOS-MATCHED-PAIR-/310282214423?pt=UK_Consumer_VintageAudio_RL&hash=item483e42dc17#ht_500wt_1413
 
And from the same seller - who will give multi-item postage discount if you ask:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5654W-EF95-6AK5-SIEMENS-NOS-BOXED-/310337986723?pt=UK_Consumer_VintageAudio_RL&hash=item484195e0a3#ht_500wt_1413
 
 

 

[eljustinoid]

 
Here's some vacuum tube porn for all you tube rollers!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eljustinoid/6318979306/in/photostream
 

 

[mordy]

Reading the post about the Siemens tubes it states at the bottom of the Ebay ad that these are made in the US. There is something called EIA codes; these are three digits that tell which US manufacturer made them.
I can see the number 185, but that is not an EIA code, maybe a date code or production code.
Are you able to find the factory code or manufacturer? (GE is 188, Tung Sol 322, Raytheon 280, Sylvania 312 etc)
 
The main thing is to find what you like, what works for you, and different equipment (and ears) react differently.
 
About price: I am sticking to not more than $8/tube, or better yet, two for that price ($4 each). With patience it is eminently possible.

 

[eljustinoid]

My photo, a couple of entries up in this threads, includes the Siemens. Some of the writing has rubbed off, but it looks like the factory code is either 185 or 85 (I think I see the remains of a "1" in front of the "85"). This whole business just gets more and more arcane!
 
 

 

[mordy]

Things can get a bit strange... Bought a lot of several Mullard M8100 valves from a chap in England. One of them was a rebranded US made Sylvania tube with M8100 printed over the Sylvania markings!

 

[britt2001b]

What is the difference between the Sylvania GB 5654 tubes marked with "ABA" as compared to the same marked with "ABB"?

 

[mordy]

I assume that I got my Sylvania GB 5654 tubes from the same seller - mine are marked ABA. This is probably a date code, but as much as I try I cannot find any information on Sylvania date codes.
 
The pins on the tubes I got are corroded, and I have to scrape them a little with a pen knife, but they are still dull and greyish. I have another Sylvania GB tube which has no corrosion, and the pins have a nice gold color.
 
Does anybody have an inexpensive remedy to get the corrosion off to get back the gold color?

 

[Raser]

Use alcohol or connection spray. And pretty smooth sandpaper. That should do the trick

 

[britt2001b]

 
 
Quote:

I assume that I got my Sylvania GB 5654 tubes from the same seller - mine are marked ABA. This is probably a date code, but as much as I try I cannot find any information on Sylvania date codes.
 
The pins on the tubes I got are corroded, and I have to scrape them a little with a pen knife, but they are still dull and greyish. I have another Sylvania GB tube which has no corrosion, and the pins have a nice gold color.
 
Does anybody have an inexpensive remedy to get the corrosion off to get back the gold color?

Thanks Mordy. The GB 5654 pins were corroded quite a bit. Deoxit helped a bit but not much. I have no complaints with the sound, they still sound great. I don't have much knowledge of the Sylvania Gold Brands, but I wonder some Gold Brands were made with gold plated pins and some were not? I'm not sure if it makes a big difference, only the gold pins should resist corrosion. 

 

[mordy]

Regarding the gold plated pins my educated guess is that all Sylvania Gold Brands have gold plated pins. Here is what the seller had to say about the oxidation:
[size=10pt]"Use an emery board for filing your nails. They are pretty old tubes nos so some oxidation can be expected[/size]."
 
Tried to find some home remedy on Google for cleaning up gold plated objects. The only thing I found was to use warm water with a very small amount of dish washing detergent and to dry thoroughly. (Did not try yet.)
 
I have a number of Sylvania Jan 5654 tubes with the code 5960-045-8639 on the box that were made in the late 60's and early 70's. These tubes are said to be identical to the Gold Brand except for the gold plating. In my system these tubes have the widest sound stage.
 
The main reason I bought the GB tubes was because they met my criteria of around $4/tube, and in the past they went for up to $15 each on Ebay.

 

[azazell86]

Hi guys, I've ordered a Little Dot MKIII with stock tubes on Monday last week from Hong Kong and on Thursday just 3 days later I had it in Romania  Talk about fast service.
I am going two buy two sets of driver tubes from a local vendor: they are 2 x Russian NOS - 6J1P and two Mullards - one EF91 and the other one 6AM6.
I'll get them for less than 20 bucks.
Do you have any experience with these tubes? Are they worth the buy over the default GE 5465 that came with the MKIII?
 
Also I've checked on the back of my amp and saw the two places where the jumpers are located, but on two of the three pins there is already a plastic cover similar to the jumper caps but the tip of the two pins are still visible. So my question is - when I put the jumper caps over the pins so I can roll my EF91 tubes, do I have to remove the already present plastic covering two of the three pins?
 
Thanks

 

[azazell86]

Also something that I did not see discussed:
As a source I am using a X-Fi Titanium HD through the RCA outputs. What kind of interconnect RCA-RCA cables do you use? I was thinking upgrading my normal cables to either: Nordost Blue Heaven or Van den Hul - 'The First' cables.

 

[john57]

No, You just move the jumper to cover the other two pins. The third pin is just a holder for the jumper with no circuit connection. That way you have a jumper available without looking for one.  
 
Quote:

Hi guys, I've ordered a Little Dot MKIII with stock tubes on Monday last week from Hong Kong and on Thursday just 3 days later I had it in Romania  Talk about fast service.
I am going two buy two sets of driver tubes from a local vendor: they are 2 x Russian NOS - 6J1P and two Mullards - one EF91 and the other one 6AM6.
I'll get them for less than 20 bucks.
Do you have any experience with these tubes? Are they worth the buy over the default GE 5465 that came with the MKIII?
 
Also I've checked on the back of my amp and saw the two places where the jumpers are located, but on two of the three pins there is already a plastic cover similar to the jumper caps but the tip of the two pins are still visible. So my question is - when I put the jumper caps over the pins so I can roll my EF91 tubes, do I have to remove the already present plastic covering two of the three pins?
 
Thanks

 

 

[jsvilla93]

I just bought 3 SV GB all said gold brand but only one had gold pins?