[mordy]

Yes I'm aware that OTK is the quality stamp. Thanks for sharing this link on the symbols for the factories though.

My G-807 is from Ulyanovsk. It has the old symbol Y as shown in your link. The other tube is Reflector because it has the old diamond symbol. At least now I know how to tell this.

The seller just state it as Ulyanovsk and in their picture it's with brown base but I got black base.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/314793313600

Originally it seems to me that most Soviet tubes came from Svetlana in St Petersburg. However, it was too close to western Europe during World War II and the Russians moved vacuum tube production to very far away places.

 

[UntilThen]

Originally it seems to me that most Soviet tubes came from Svetlana in St Petersburg. However, it was too close to western Europe during World War II and the Russians moved vacuum tube production to very far away places.

Good history lesson !

I'm swapping to these russians tubes this morning. 6C15P (6S15P) the predecessor of 6S45P. Sovtek 6H30Pi but it's labelled as 6H6P-N. This is 6H30Pi that Eric call the Supertube.

6C15P - typical russian old boxes but these are rare now. I'm privilege to have sampled it. It is much better than 6S45P. It's so much more clearer.


6H6P-N - I wasn't so impressed with the EH 6H30Pi yesterday because the soundstage is narrower but this soundstage is as wide as the 6C15P and also super clear and vibrant. It's going to be a few more hours before I can decide whether I like this more or the 6C15P. Notice the box symbol and the tube symbol are not the same?

 

[Deleeh]

The Russian EL84‘s are nowhere near as good as what you'll find from EL84’s, even Tungsram's sound great and a lot better.
If you can find EL84 Hitachi at a good price you will compete with the Mullards.
They are slightly better in all areas.
I still have Rca of EL84s, unfortunately I only got one from the auction last week instead of a pair, the seller made a mistake and only had one, one day I'll come across another one.
I find EL84s generally very good in the Ultimate, but they are so strong with a 12AU/AT7.
A little better with 6SN7 but not much.
6sn7s are also very good in the Ultimate and are sometimes better than 12au7s, depending on the design.

 

[UntilThen]

The Russian EL84‘s are nowhere near as good as what you'll find from EL84’s, even Tungsram's sound great and a lot better.
If you can find EL84 Hitachi at a good price you will compete with the Mullards.
They are slightly better in all areas.
I still have Rca of EL84s, unfortunately I only got one from the auction last week instead of a pair, the seller made a mistake and only had one, one day I'll come across another one.
I find EL84s generally very good in the Ultimate, but they are so strong with a 12AU/AT7.
A little better with 6SN7 but not much.
6sn7s are also very good in the Ultimate and are sometimes better than 12au7s, depending on the design.

You're right there Deleeh ! Mullard EL84 is much better than the 6P14P but the latter is still good.

I have from Eric another EL84 equivalent.

It's the 7189, the more powerful version of 6BQ5. The European call it EL84. American call it 6BQ5. This is going in today and I will compare it to the Mullard EL84 and 6P14P.



A Mullard 7189 Made in England?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/296412958707?

 

[triod750]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/386961076028?itmmeta=01HXQ7HEJGQJGKAWBYPAZX3T2Y&hash=item5a18ad6f3c:g:Ju0AAOSwsCJmK7h~&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAAwO/fi9kk/1v/2GNsUs70U9LW2meHARK7yM7w4AX1C0YMGeW1Pp6qk6qISlE4JJZevK8kae8z2+Nu7NQUf8gXK3EiMyYBy9KcH10EFg9sizUP037X5BWu0lCYVCbWna5r7Q10bDmFnZKsgs+MgbWpNaDzX7FhiCIYYeJ7ge9VJfZkhdoQZ53gIu/WuCiMRvBV9UCarYq1GPVDLsEljPIo0HEWE7tBTVV5P4uKww55O8B3rgWsiy6ygu8UerFzVG3ptw==|tkp:Bk9SR6zpxeftYw

This seller also has Telam/Polam EL84 that is gaining more and more popularity. I haven't tried them myself.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3868969563...CYS8N8&hash=item5a14db0bd8:g:PP0AAOSw1BtmCSB1

 

[triod750]

A Mullard 7189 Made in England?
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/296412958707?

The left tube has the Blackburn code while the code on the right one is more difficult to see.

 

[triod750]

Good history lesson !

I'm swapping to these russians tubes this morning. 6C15P (6S15P) the predecessor of 6S45P. Sovtek 6H30Pi but it's labelled as 6H6P-N. This is 6H30Pi that Eric call the Supertube.

6C15P - typical russian old boxes but these are rare now. I'm privilege to have sampled it. It is much better than 6S45P. It's so much more clearer.


6H6P-N - I wasn't so impressed with the EH 6H30Pi yesterday because the soundstage is narrower but this soundstage is as wide as the 6C15P and also super clear and vibrant. It's going to be a few more hours before I can decide whether I like this more or the 6C15P. Notice the box symbol and the tube symbol are not the same?

This is 6N6P-I when you translate to our letters. They are made for impulse mode. I bought ten of them for peanuts some ten years ago and liked them better than Electro Harmonix 6N30-Pi. I also liked it better than the regular version. My tubes have the old logo for NEVZ Novosibirsk and were manufactured in September 1972. You are not supposed to like them. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/6n6p-vs-6n6p-i.138426/

 

[UntilThen]

The left tube has the Blackburn code while the code on the right one is more difficult to see.

So many beautiful sounding tubes to try and so many amps here to choose from. While waiting for the tubes to cool down in Ultimate to swap to 7189, I listen with Odyssey using Telefunken EL11 driving RT EL39. This is one of my favourite pairing.

I have the GE 7189 in Ultimate now using 6C15P as drivers. It's a knockout !

 

[UntilThen]

This is 6N6P-I when you translate to our letters. They are made for impulse mode. I bought ten of them for peanuts some ten years ago and liked them better than Electro Harmonix 6N30-Pi. I also liked it better than the regular version. My tubes have the old logo for NEVZ Novosibirsk and were manufactured in September 1972. You are not supposed to like them. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/6n6p-vs-6n6p-i.138426/

Fortunately I have heard the 6N6P-I or I would believe these guys and think I shouldn't like them. This driver in Ultimate is good with a capital G. Make that great.

 

[UntilThen]

There's a lot of information on Russian tubes in this link you gave. I will file it away for reading later. It talks about 6N23P and 6P3S as well.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/6n6p-vs-6n6p-i.138426/

 

[triod750]

There's a lot of information on Russian tubes in this link you gave. I will file it away for reading later. It talks about 6N23P and 6P3S as well.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/6n6p-vs-6n6p-i.138426/

Yes, plenty. Some of it might be dated, I don't know. It's a long time since I first read it. I have also a pair of regular 6N6P made in the same factory, NEVZ, one month earlier. These regular ones is a taller bottle tube. Same factory, August 1972. So they are absolutely different in more than one way.

 

[triod750]

See also this post: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-valhalla-tube-rolling-thread.619910/post-17572138
And remember that everything written isn't the full truth. We need a critical mind and to trust what we hear.
Someone wrote that 6N6P-I is muddy. You could say that about L63 too if you use it with a tube that is 'bad synergy' with it.

 

[UntilThen]

Someone wrote that 6N6P-I is muddy.

Yeah I know and I smile when I read that because that is not what I hear. After years of using tube amps and tubes, I know where my preferences are and muddy and bloomy is not one of them.

All my 3 tube amps are agile with fast transient attacks, engaging mids and still maintains a tight control on bass.

 

[crakers7]

Regarding the 6H30Pi the real super tube is supposed to be the 6H30-DR bit I haven’t heard it - too expensive for my taste. I have the other 6H30 variants and the Pi sounded the best to me.
I am sure that you know this but just to clarify: There is no such brand as OTK of Russian tubes. It is simply a quality control stamp meaning inspected by and usually followed by a number- inspector 33 as an example.
Most Russian tubes have logos on them and the factory can be identified by these pictures:
http://www.ominous-valve.com/russtube.html

Thanks , I did not know this . The link is super helpful , cheers

 

[g0ldl10n]

This seller also has Telam/Polam EL84 that is gaining more and more popularity. I haven't tried them myself.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/3868969563...CYS8N8&hash=item5a14db0bd8:g:PP0AAOSw1BtmCSB1

The few Polam tubes I have are really great.. also, added bonus is the glass is super thick compared the EU and US counterparts of the same types.