[Orpheus]

hi. well, following nick dangerous' advice, i was hunting for some sylvania 5751's... i found a retailer that has some Sylvania 5751 tubes. he says the grey plate he has is labeled JHS, and is identical to the famous Gold Brand 5751's, except without gold pins. is this true?

...if i had the choice between the black plate Sylvania 5751's and the grey plate, which is better?

thanks. i appreciate the recommendations.

 

[Born2bwire]

Joe's Tube Lore says that black is the way to go (why are they black anyway, run out of grey paint or what?). The JHS refers it to being a military contract tube. With blackplates, there isn't a difference between the Goldbrand and the military contracts. Both were made on the same production line and this resulted in even the Goldbrand having steelpins (my own tube is a Goldbrand, the only way to tell that it's a Goldbrand was the box and that there is a smidge left of gold/yellow ink or I've hoodwinked, don't matter, still sounds great). There's been so much obsession over getting blackplate brand XXX that I haven't heard much talk about the regular greyplate versions. But looking around at the internet, that's really the only ones that you can find unless a lucky sale comes up on e-bay or Audiogon.

 

[Orpheus]

but i think that the gold brand witht he gold pins is actually a grey plate... at least according to nick dangerous. i know joe's tube lore refers to that black plate with steel pin version, and i think it also mentions the grey plate version... but i think THE Gold Brand has grey plates. correct?

...well, yeah... i was kinda confused over everything.... but anyway, black plate is the way to go huh?

 

[braillediver]

The Gold Brand has 2 micas and gray plates.

A side note: I got a pair of NOS Sylvania Gold Brand 5751's with gray plates last Friday from a seller on Ebay. They sucked. They had a loud HUMM and it got worse as they warmed up. They both had this problem.

They were expensive and the seller took them back.

Anyone else get any bad Gold Brand 5751's? I'm curious if it is common?

I was disappointed to say the least.

 

[kentamcolin]

Yes, I purchased two Sylvania blackplate triple-mica 5751's from Ebay. They were expensive and one of them has a significant hum. The other is fine and other than the hum, they both sound great. I'm not sure if the hum will get better or worse as the tube warms up because I didn't use it very long. You can't really notice the hum while music is playing, but just knowing it's there is annoying. I probably won't use the tube at all.

 

[Orpheus]

hmm... maybe i should stick with my raytheon 5751 i got from servingecuador?

it seems to work fine... a tiny bit more noisy compared to my other tubes. but hardly noticeable.

 

[Born2bwire]

Joe made the point that the Goldbrand Blackplate version had steel pins. It's probably something one should look more into to confirm. My Sylvania is silent when I use feedback but it really amplifies the hum in my unit when I turn off feedback. Joe Lau thought that this could be some AC leakage and has sent me parts to use a DC current instead of AC. I might give that a try if I can figure out what to do with them and when I have time after finals. But I have to say that out of the Mullard CV4004, Ei, Sovtek, Raytheon/Westinghouse 5751 that I have, the Sylvania blows them away. The R/W comes close but I think it lacks the three-dimensionality that I love about the Sylvania. But I'm using the R/W now since I can't stand the hum that I get with the Sylvania when I don't use feedback.

 

[Nick Dangerous]

I never had a chance to hear the Sylvania GB 5751. It is a two mica greyplate tube with gold pins.

Sad to say it is getting very difficult to find reliable, affordable Raytheons or Sylvanias by now. Perhaps this is partly my fault?

 

[kentamcolin]

Yea, maybe it's your fault, and it's also your fault that I've got a pretty nice sounding ASL! Thanks for the tips

 

[Orpheus]

heh he... you know what Nick... i think it actually is your fault. i mean, in Joe's Tube Lore, he said that the raytheon can be found around $10-20? yeah right. and... the sylvania cheap? hell no.... and the prices probably started climbing after people read your thread.... ALL YOUR FAULT NICK!!!!

one man responsible for the depletion of one of the most precious resources of mother Earth......

welp... when i just turned on the Raytheon... guess what?--loud hum mostly in the right channel. switched to a telefunken, and the hum's gone. didn't notice before cause i had other loud equipment on.... but man... i can't believe it. at least servingecuador offered to refund my money. good guy.

anyone know what causes humming in tubes?

hey... anyone willing to sell me a good Raytheon or Sylvania 5751?--please PM me.

thanks.

 

[braillediver]

Joe’s Tube Lore was written 4 years ago. Prices and availability have changed in that time. These tubes aren’t being restocked, there’s a very limited supply of them and it’s getting lower everyday.

An observation: Last night a pair of Sylvania Gold Brand 5751’s sold for $88 on Ebay and another pair didn’t go above $91 and the reserve wasn’t met. It would appear at this time the interest has subsided a little. I know last week 5 Sylvania Gold Brand 5751’s went for $200 so the price was reasonable.



I’m looking to hit the Ham Radio Swap Meets and browse.

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nick Dangerous I never had a chance to hear the Sylvania GB 5751. It is a two mica greyplate tube with gold pins. Sad to say it is getting very difficult to find reliable, affordable Raytheons or Sylvanias by now. Perhaps this is partly my fault?

Yeah Nick, you and Joe's both! You guy's seem to have cornered the market on all the "sweet" 5751 NOS tubes. I just purchased a new MG Head OTL myself, mainly because of your and other members recommendations, but man it's been a BITCH trying to locate any of those "little guys"

 

[mkmelt]

The R/W 5751 is a very good tube. Maybe not up to the highest level of performance claimed for the Sylvania GB 5751, but still very good.

These are rebranded Raytheon tubes, and have the famous windmill-shaped getter. They have black plates and a double mica
insulator top and bottom, but no support rod. These are perhaps the best sounding 5751s for anything near their price.

I use four of these in a Fisher 400 to get that great definition and soundstage. My source recently informed me that they found another stash of these tubes in their inventory. They are advertising them at $60 for a matched pair, but these may be less expensive if unmatched. Get them while you can. My source:

David deForrest
Vacuum Tube Galaxy
PO Box 415812
Miami Beach, FL 33141-7812
305-866-5401 (direct)

http://www.buybeach.com/tubes/

 

[Born2bwire]

Yep, that's the guy that I got mine from, I think I paid $25 for a single tube. Though a lil while back a cache of the real Raytheon's were gobbled up at $16 a pop over at chimera I think. When I asked about the R/W version I was told that it was not as good as the ones that they were looking for in that the R/W had a support rod or something. Still, to me it's close to the Sylvania and a great buy considering how much a lot of the 5751 are being sold at.