[dadong]

so i had to pitch around 40 bucks to get myself the mullard m8161 ef92's
 
gotta say though these things are different than any other tubes i've used. Pre-burn in it was a mess. Bass over empowers everything and the soundstage is very narrow. After a while on them I found these to the most detailed of all of the tubes I have. The highs are nice but not as bright as the voskods however the detail and decay of highs are extremely realistic. It has a narrow but accurate soundstage.  My only complaint about these tubes is that the  bass might be too boomy. I would have liked to have less sub bass and more tightness. Other than that great little (big) tubes.
 
did i mention these are extremely well built tubes. A++ for mullard on making these things straight and not buldging out like other tubes. 

 

[mordy]

Finally got the gold grid Voskhod tubes. These must be what people call groove tubes because the glass envelope has three vertical grooves in the glass.
Took the trouble to burn them in for 120 hours. These 1977 tubes definitively sound much better than the 1973 Voskhods that I could not get to like. The gold grid ones have excellent bass and treble extension, with a forward and detailed sound, but not as warm as the Mullard M8100/CV4010. Very good sound stage, however,  the Mullards separate out the instruments more. The gold grid tubes have an extra energy in the low bass and in the treble, and I can understand now why they are very highly regarded. These tubes are among the best in the EF95 family.
 
Below is a link to the ones I bought; there are other sellers on Ebay of these gold grid 6J1p-EV tubes, and the prices are reasonable
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-pc-6J1P-EV-EF95-6F32-6AK7-Gold-Platinum-grid-NIB-/130436695928?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item1e5ea20778
 
Be prepared to wait; the tubes took almost one month from Russia to the US.

 

[donluca]

Hey mordy,
 
I tried that tubes as well and couldn't like them as well due its harsh highs.
As of now I'm good with the French 6AM6S tube (EF91). They have tamed the highs a bit and have good bass and warm mids.
 
I'm still waiting for the mullards M8083 to arrive: we had several areas flooded in Italy and the post service has suffered a bit methinks.
 
I hope to get them by the end of this week so I can report back.
 
Meanwhile I'm trying to solve the brightness problem in the sound changing my DAC going for a total vintage equipment with a NOS DAC (probably the Valab one).

 

[mordy]

Have you tried to tame the highs with different driver tubes? I have good luck with the 6N6P standard and (even better) gold grid versions. These are available on Ebay from the East Bloc for modest prices, and compared to the OEM 6N6P-i tubes they tone down the highs.

 

[eclipes]

the mullards m8083 are really good tubes especially paired up with OPA2107 opamp

 
Quote:

Hey mordy,
 
I tried that tubes as well and couldn't like them as well due its harsh highs.
As of now I'm good with the French 6AM6S tube (EF91). They have tamed the highs a bit and have good bass and warm mids.
 
I'm still waiting for the mullards M8083 to arrive: we had several areas flooded in Italy and the post service has suffered a bit methinks.
 
I hope to get them by the end of this week so I can report back.
 
Meanwhile I'm trying to solve the brightness problem in the sound changing my DAC going for a total vintage equipment with a NOS DAC (probably the Valab one).

 

 

[donluca]

I have a little dot mkII, no opamps for me!
 
Yeah mordy, I have the gold grid 6N6P and they gave a little bit of boost on the low end but did nothing really for the highs.
 
But I'm quite sure that the problem is with my DAC.
 
The Mullards M8083 (CV4014 military variant) arrived today and even now they are sounding pretty sweet in my ears, I'm sure they'll get just better and better with some burn-in... maybe I've found the tube for me.

 

[Enthusia]

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Yen Audio. I bought the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV which are recommended in this thread by the OP. I recently had a problem with a little crackling in one of the tubes and they immediately agreed to send me new ones once I send the defectives one back. 
 
I am now listening to the stock Little Dot MK III tubes and only now have I realized how bad they sound. One thing that stands out when compared to the Russian tubes is that in the stock tubes, the voices sound hollow. Female vocals sound like someone is singing to you down from a narrow hallway. I can definitely say the sound is less intimate, it sounds more digital and shrill. Soundstage is also not as wide or as deep, you can definitely feel a more in head experience than an outer head experience.

 

[Tribbs]

FYI, my favorite tube and opamp combination in my LD I+ with my Grado 325i turned out to be
the Russian Восход 6Ж1П-ЕВ / Voskhod 6Zh1P-EV tubes with LME49720HA opamp.
 

 

[donluca]

Guys, I'm writing just to say that I think the EF91 CV4014 Mullards is the best valve for me on my LD MKII.
I just love how they smooth the harshness in sound and the sibilance as well.
They may not be the best ones in details and speed (the Voskhod is the king there) but they are very musical and not fatiguing.
 
Anyway I'll be changing my DAC soon, so I may change idea somewhere in the future.
But for now, long live the CV4014 Mullard!

 

[audiophile noob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordy /img/forum/go_quote.gif

<snip>
 
Below is a link to the ones I bought; there are other sellers on Ebay of these gold grid 6J1p-EV tubes, and the prices are reasonable
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-pc-6J1P-EV-EF95-6F32-6AK7-Gold-Platinum-grid-NIB-/130436695928?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item1e5ea20778
 
Be prepared to wait; the tubes took almost one month from Russia to the US.

 
Hey Mordy: nowhere does it say that these are Voshkods - what am I missing?
 
$12 shipping seems excessive - what should I search for on Ebay perhaps paying more for the tubes and less for shipping for a chance to get them sooner?
 
Thanks!

 

[audiophile noob]

Hi Enthusia: What year were your tubes manufactured? Does anyone know if Is 6zh1p-EV equal to 6j1p-EV?? Thanks!
 
Quote:

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Yen Audio. I bought the Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV which are recommended in this thread by the OP. I recently had a problem with a little crackling in one of the tubes and they immediately agreed to send me new ones once I send the defectives one back. 
 
I am now listening to the stock Little Dot MK III tubes and only now have I realized how bad they sound. One thing that stands out when compared to the Russian tubes is that in the stock tubes, the voices sound hollow. Female vocals sound like someone is singing to you down from a narrow hallway. I can definitely say the sound is less intimate, it sounds more digital and shrill. Soundstage is also not as wide or as deep, you can definitely feel a more in head experience than an outer head experience.

 
 

 

[Tribbs]

Quote:

Hey Mordy: nowhere does it say that these are Voshkods - what am I missing?

 
http://www.ominous-valve.com/russtube.html

 

[Tribbs]

Quote:

Does anyone know if Is 6zh1p-EV equal to 6j1p-EV?? Thanks!

My understanding is that "6Zh1p-EV" is the Russian designation for 6J1P-EV.
In other words, they are the same tube.
 
 

 

[mordy]

Hi A Noob,
 
If you look at your post above #237 you will see a link to a listing of all Russian vacuum tube manufacturers. Each factory has one or two logos that they use, whether on the boxes or on the tubes themselves. (Think Chevrolet Bow-Tie).
The rocket symbol indicates the Voskhod factory. This symbol is very clearly pictured on the box for the tube, and it tells me that it is made by this factory, without being mentioned in the ad.
As far as shopping on Ebay, I always click on the drop down menu that says "lowest price+shipping."  If the tubes cost $6 for two, and the shipping is $12, the total is the same as $18 for the tubes and free shipping. (The only difference is that the guy with the lower price pays less commission to Ebay.)
A few times I emailed the seller that the shipping was very high for such light weight items, and asked if there was a cheaper way of shipping, knowing full well that everything goes air mail.  Some of the sellers knocked off a couple of bucks on shipping; others not. The main point is that you can negotiate.
About faster shipping from Russia/Ukraine I don't have any advice. The items I ordered always took around 3- 3 1/2 weeks. My guess is that the customs inspections hold up the shipments.
Tubes that I ordered from Hungary came in 7-8 days, and about the same time from Bulgaria. If a seller in Sophia, Bulgaria has the Voskhod gold grid tubes I would think that they would arrive much quicker than from Russia.

 

[Oskari]

 
Quote:

My understanding is that "6Zh1p-EV" is the Russian designation for 6J1P-EV.
In other words, they are the same tube.

The Russian designation is 6Ж1П-ЕВ.
 
6Zh1P-EV and 6J1P-EV are merely transliterations of that.