Made in Great Britain GE 6HM5/6HA5 followup:
GE Made in Great Britain by GE. Date unknown.
GE Made in Great Britain by Mullard/Blackburn, 1970 (B0F1)
First, both of these are excellent tubes on par with my recent favorites, GE 6AV6, Raytheon 6BE6W and Tung Sol 6DT6, with punchy bass with good articulation and detail, crystal clear and clean highs, and a wide and deep stage. The primary difference between the two GEs is warmth. As one might predict, the Blackburn-made GEs add just a bit of warmth to the upper bass and mid range. Interestingly, the difference in warmth between these two GEs is quite subtle and not as noticeable as between the Mullard/Blackburn and GE 6AV6.
Those of you who have been thinking about trying some triodes, but feeling a bit squeamish about the need to
amputate and
mutilate perfectly good tubes lol, I encourage you to get a pair of these GE 6HM5/6HA5. They require no strapping or mutilation of any kind. Simply set up the LD for EF95 tubes, plug them in and play.
Also, I have seen Sylvania 6HM5/6HA5 on eBay that appear to have the same internal construction as the GE-made tubes. And further, I recommend you avoid the short, squat 6HM5/6HA5 tubes.
Recommended.