[mordy]

Enjoyed reading about the various tube rolling adventures and choices of tubes. Regarding the Mullard tubes the CV4010 and M8100 are supposed to be very similar - the main thing is to get tubes made in the UK in the Mitcham factory, which was supposed to be one of the most advanced of its time.
 
There is another Mullard tube which is very similar and sounds great: EF95/CV850.
 
Lastly, to add some more challenges to the tube rolling, I never paid more than $8/tube (including shipping), and usually less than half of that. The trick is to check Ebay often and to communicate with the seller. You want to deal with the guy that does it as a hobby and is selling off his grandfather's stock or stuff he got at an estate sale; not the people who do it as a business and charge you $89.99 each for the same 6AJ5 tube that I just picked up for less than $6/pair.
 

 

[Oskari]

Quote:

Regarding the Mullard tubes the CV4010 and M8100 are supposed to be very similar

 
They are the same!
 
"The CV4010 is the UK Government code for the commercial M8100 which in turn is Mullard's special quality version of the EF95." (CV4010 @ The National Valve Museum)
 
There are, of course, different vintages of these.
 
P.S. Please use Voskhod, everybody. Voshkod is nonsense.

 

[zedmeco]

Hi, my update so far. Since starting with the little dot mk iii, I have burned in the stock tubes for a month and the sound developed nicely, giving me a fantastic aural experience with my HD650's, which were burning in at the same time. the first new tubes to go in were the novosibirsk 6H6P-I power tubes, I wanted to get these burned in and keep the original as back up, with these went in the  voskhod 6ZH1P-EV, these little babies sounded amazing right away, giving crisp highs with plenty of detail around the midrange and a nice warm bottom. this set got a month and the the sound developed again, smoother and packing much more punch in the lower register. time for the mullard M8100/CV4010, immediately, I found the sound warmer still, plenty of detail, none of the background noise some people have mentioned at higher volumes. I still have some time to spend with these tubes but next up will be the sylvania JHS 6AK5-5654, and I am waiting for the GE 5 star 6AK5W and voskhod 62H1P-EV with gold/platinum grids to arrive. I must say, finding this forum and trolling the threads has proved costly, but I am so happy with the set up, and I am sure I deserve it really. z

 

[Strangelove424]

Quote:
 

"The CV4010 is the UK Government code for the commercial M8100 which in turn is Mullard's special quality version of the EF95." (CV4010 @ The National Valve Museum)

 
 
"The National Valve Museum"....
 
.... this is one of those times in life that I wish I was a master cat burglar.

 

[mordy]

OK folks, time to take a trip to visit the Mullard tube factory. Here is a great movie showing how a vacuum tube is being made in the Mullard Blackburn factory that employed over 8000 people in it's heyday.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvF89Bh27Y
 

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

OK folks, time to take a trip to visit the Mullard tube factory. Here is a great movie showing how a vacuum tube is being made in the Mullard Blackburn factory that employed over 8000 people in it's heyday.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvF89Bh27Y
 

Very interesting thanks mordy.

 

[Strangelove424]

Quote:

Very interesting thanks mordy.

+1   Anyone have any material on Voskhod? On a pure workmanship note the Voskhods are a thing of beauty. The internals and valve reek of quality. All I know is that they were designed for the Voskhod rocket (which I believe hosted the first space walk) and that it was a state-managed but privately owned communist factory.

 

[britt2001b]

Quote:

OK folks, time to take a trip to visit the Mullard tube factory. Here is a great movie showing how a vacuum tube is being made in the Mullard Blackburn factory that employed over 8000 people in it's heyday.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvF89Bh27Y
 

 
Thanks for posting this Mordy. I enjoyed it immensely! It was a nice, nostalgic trip back in time. 

 

[eljustinoid]

I've just gotten a pair of Westinghouse 6AK5 (says that on the box, no idea if they are the same as your 5654 or not) just because I like the classic US "military industrial complex" brands of that era. Nothing recessed about the vocals that I can hear. and if anything I'd say they have a very punchy upfront sound which could maybe use a bit more bass - but I would say these have UPFRONT vocals in a big way.
 
I agree with most of the consensus on Little Dot tubes (love them Russians!), but my Westinghouse experience is very different. Did I say upfront vocals? Nice sound and quite different.

 

[mordy]

Thanks for your kind words about the Mullard movie..
 
The first thing that struck me is the complexity of the manufacturing. The other thing that I find very striking is the almost complete absence of protective gear and clothing for the workers. Only the workers working with very corrosive acids are wearing thick rubber gloves, but otherwise everything seems to be done with the bare hands, be it welding or dealing with chemicals. Indeed, a different era.
On the other hand, there seemed to be a lot of effort put into automatizing the process of making vacuum tubes.
 
Just for fun, take a look at the manufacturing of micro chips; there are many similarities, not to mention salami slicers and train wrecks...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWVywhzuHnQ
 

 

[Acapella11]

Quote:

OK folks, time to take a trip to visit the Mullard tube factory. Here is a great movie showing how a vacuum tube is being made in the Mullard Blackburn factory that employed over 8000 people in it's heyday.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDvF89Bh27Y
 

Thanks for sharing this. The film is quite educative and it is a nice to see the fabrication in the old days.

 

[dxanex]

Quote:

Thanks for sharing this. The film is quite educative and it is a nice to see the fabrication in the old days.

Interesting piece of history. Reminded me of this segment I saw on "How it's Made". They showed a company in Czech Republic that makes modern audiophile tubes. They are gorgeous...really look like works of art. I found the video if anyone is interested...
 

 
edit: won't allow embedding- here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVZ8Pg3poo&feature=player_embedded

 

[MIKELAP]

Quote:

Interesting piece of history. Reminded me of this segment I saw on "How it's Made". They showed a company in Czech Republic that makes modern audiophile tubes. They are gorgeous...really look like works of art. I found the video if anyone is interested...
 

 
edit: won't allow embedding- here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVZ8Pg3poo&feature=player_embedded

Nice vid dxanex those tubes are so nice

 

[Acapella11]

Quote:

Interesting piece of history. Reminded me of this segment I saw on "How it's Made". They showed a company in Czech Republic that makes modern audiophile tubes. They are gorgeous...really look like works of art. I found the video if anyone is interested...
 
edit: won't allow embedding- here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVZ8Pg3poo&feature=player_embedded

 
Beautiful tubes here and nice to see the skillful production. These KR T-1610 are just massive. I would like to hear an amp with those big boys. Just checked , a matched pair is $2499, wow. We are developing this thread into a educative thread for tube manufacturing and I think this is good info for everyone interested in tubes.
 
Just on a side note, I compared the combination Tung-Sol JAN-CTL-6AJ5 (1945) / Sovtek 6H30-EV (11/2011) with CV4015 (49-1980) / 6N6P-IR (Old Novosibirsk08/1974). The Tung-Sols sound sweeter overall, milder and yet resolving. The treble extends nice without being harsh at all. They do sound quite spacious. The bass is satisfying but not overly much. In contrast, the CV4015 sound a harder, more neutral. Guitar strings have a "hard vibration" on it, which I like. Imaging is clearer, bass is fuller. Treble is clean and revealing, which can be great or sometimes not, depending on recording quality. This may give you a better idea and you can fit the the tubes according to your preferences.
 
In my ears the combination of CV4015 and 6N6P-IR is the favourite, since it covers a wide and deep stage, good imaging, authority, great treble and good bass extension, in summary a lot of sound information and dynamics.

 

[dxanex]

Quote:

 
Beautiful tubes here and nice to see the skillful production. These KR T-1610 are just massive. I would like to hear an amp with those big boys. Just checked , a matched pair is $2499, wow. We are developing this thread into a educative thread for tube manufacturing and I think this is good info for everyone interested in tubes.
 
Just on a side note, I compared the combination Tung-Sol JAN-CTL-6AJ5 (1945) / Sovtek 6H30-EV (11/2011) with CV4015 (49-1980) / 6N6P-IR (Old Novosibirsk08/1974). The Tung-Sols sound sweeter overall, milder and yet resolving. The treble extends nice without being harsh at all. They do sound quite spacious. The bass is satisfying but not overly much. In contrast, the CV4015 sound a harder, more neutral. Guitar strings have a "hard vibration" on it, which I like. Imaging is clearer, bass is fuller. Treble is clean and revealing, which can be great or sometimes not, depending on recording quality. This may give you a better idea and you can fit the the tubes according to your preferences.

That's encouraging news! I'm still waiting on my Tung-Sol's to get here and I'm really itching to try them out. The guy sending them forgot to mail them out and finally mailed them over a week after I paid! Nice thing is, he gave me a FULL refund for the error, and I didn't even ask...nice Christmas present for me, free 1950's era Tung-Sol's!