[Shrew]

   
If the tubestore can't even tell you if they are short or tall, then no, I would not encourage you to purchase from that vendor....
 
But a question? Why the apparent aversion to foreign sellers?  For many here, the Yugoslavian Ei tubes purchased from Serbian vendors have been excellent buys....

 
Would rather not wait 2 weeks for shipping. Does brand matter much? I think I'll go with http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Olympic-6HA5-6HM5-Electronic-Vacuum-Tubes-in-Box-NOS-Matching-Set-/111572170113
 
Edit: Went ahead and purchased 2 GE 6HM5s, hopefully it'll be as good as I've heard, or at least better than the M8100 for treble smoothness.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

The best one I tried were the EI ones recommended here.

 

[MIKELAP]

  Should I buy the 6HM5 from thetubestore.com (they don't even tell you what brand or style it is short/tall) or just buy two different 6HM5 tubes from ebay? I don't see any matched pairs or sellers selling 2 in the States.

I bought mine from this seller pretty cheap he accepted around $22.00 for 4 tubes       
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251611916081?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[gibosi]

 
Edit: Went ahead and purchased 2 GE 6HM5s, hopefully it'll be as good as I've heard, or at least better than the M8100 for treble smoothness.

 
As long as they both have the same construction, they should be fine. However, I have seen two very different GE 6HM5, one manufactured by Mullard and relabeled as a GE, and the other silk-screened "Made in Britain" from an unknown factory:
 
Mullard (Mitcham) construction. Note the getter flashing covers almost half the tube.
 

 
Unknown factory. Getter flashing covers less area than the Mullards and the plates are different
 

 
Both these sound great, but as you might expect, they do not sound the same.
 
Good luck!

 

[Oskari]

  Unknown factory. Getter flashing covers less area than the Mullards and the plates are different
 

 
Evidence of Philips tooling on the glass...

 

[gibosi]

Yes, these are a bit of a mystery. I can feel and see the four glass seams typical of Philips manufacture on the top, but there are no visible etched factory codes. While I think we can safely rule out one of GE's factories in the US, still the construction is different than the Mullard and Ei 6HM5s we have seen. And so for now, the factory is unknown....

 

[BGRoberts]

Oh manl
Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!
Last night I slept in my own bedroom and bed after 483 nights in hospital beds.
Happy! Happy! Happy!
Today I began to fire up my nightstand system which my wife had unplugged during my absence.
Fired up the Squeezebox streamer and connected it to the network.  Plugged a pair of items in to check it was working.
Perfect!
Plugged in the Little Dot MKIII and flipped it on.
Reached for the nodded Fostex T50's...
Smoke comes pouring from the bottom vents on the LD3!!!
Cr@p! Cr@p! CR@P!!

 

[hypnos1]

  Oh manl
Talk about an emotional rollercoaster!
Last night I slept in my own bedroom and bed after 483 nights in hospital beds.
Happy! Happy! Happy!
Today I began to fire up my nightstand system which my wife had unplugged during my absence.
Fired up the Squeezebox streamer and connected it to the network.  Plugged a pair of items in to check it was working.
Perfect!
Plugged in the Little Dot MKIII and flipped it on.
Reached for the nodded Fostex T50's...
Smoke comes pouring from the bottom vents on the LD3!!!
Cr@p! Cr@p! CR@P!!

 
Hi BG.
 
Glad to hear of your GOOD news, but not your BAD!...commiserations...
 
All I can say is here's your opportunity to look at the Feliks-Audio 'Elise' that has eclipsed my MKIV SE big time... just a thought

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

This may seem crazy but I'd have to ask: can bad cables make the amps buzz? I have the LD I+ which always has a buzzing sound at a certain volume (about 20%), even when plugged into nothing. Later I tried removing the input cable (but still keep the amp and my headphones on), and the buzz is gone. I've noticed bad cables do drastically worsen the sound, but I don't know if I can constantly give out buzz...

 

[Rossliew]

  This may seem crazy but I'd have to ask: can bad cables make the amps buzz? I have the LD I+ which always has a buzzing sound at a certain volume (about 20%), even when plugged into nothing. Later I tried removing the input cable (but still keep the amp and my headphones on), and the buzz is gone. I've noticed bad cables do drastically worsen the sound, but I don't know if I can constantly give out buzz...

The input cable is from a DAC, which is plugged in and powered up, i presume? Could be a ground loop. i experienced that before or maybe its a non-related event..

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

 
The input cable is from a DAC, which is plugged in and powered up, i presume? Could be a ground loop. i experienced that before or maybe its a non-related event..

Even when I unplug the DAC I can still hear the noise. What's weird is sometimes the noise only appears when I touch the volume knob, sometimes it appear right from the start when I turned on the I+. But then I do remember plugging the I+ into a friend's iphone and no hum was audible even at higher volume.
 
I have opend the amp once to switch the jumper.

 

[michaelkeeney]

Just got my MUSES02 op amp installed, and really liking the difference.  The clarity is quite noticeable.  Thanks for the lead, gibosi.
 
edit:  whoops, wrong thread, lol.

 

[buldogge]

Hey Guys...So, I've been playing with my accumulation of EF91/92/95 tubes...feeling out my favorites....really liking the GE 6EW6 and 6DK6 so far.
 
I've also been slowly been making my way thru the thread (currently on page 446) and am probably going to buy or fab C3G and 6SN7 adaptor(s).
 
Coupla questions...
 
What are 6SN7s you guys have had luck with, in general, for power tubes...and...do the LDs need 6SN7...or 6SN7 GT...or GTA...or GTB...or will any of the family will work???
 
TIA
-Mark in St. Louis

 

[Rossliew]

  Hey Guys...So, I've been playing with my accumulation of EF91/92/95 tubes...feeling out my favorites....really liking the GE 6EW6 and 6DK6 so far.
 
I've also been slowly been making my way thru the thread (currently on page 446) and am probably going to buy or fab C3G and 6SN7 adaptor(s).
 
Coupla questions...
 
What are 6SN7s you guys have had luck with, in general, for power tubes...and...do the LDs need 6SN7...or 6SN7 GT...or GTA...or GTB...or will any of the family will work???
 
TIA
-Mark in St. Louis

Mark, any 6SN7 will work with the adapter in place, of course. Having said that, there will be sound differences between manufacturers and age. You need to try them out on your own to know what your personal preferences are. That said, try to source some Tung-Sol Mouse ears - they do sound awesome!

 

[MIKELAP]

  Hey Guys...So, I've been playing with my accumulation of EF91/92/95 tubes...feeling out my favorites....really liking the GE 6EW6 and 6DK6 so far.
 
I've also been slowly been making my way thru the thread (currently on page 446) and am probably going to buy or fab C3G and 6SN7 adaptor(s).
 
Coupla questions...
 
What are 6SN7s you guys have had luck with, in general, for power tubes...and...do the LDs need 6SN7...or 6SN7 GT...or GTA...or GTB...or will any of the family will work???
 
TIA
-Mark in St. Louis

Ive been using the 6SN7 ,Sylvania WGTA, KENRAD dark glass VT-231,GT, RCA GT VT-231 gray glass ,6H8C Russian tubes,Tung-Sol mouse ears, and gtb's also