songmic
1000+ Head-Fier
I wanted to share my experience with some of the tubes I've recently used with LG, in alphabetical order.
Mullard ECC32 (=CV181)
On the LG where the gain is entirely dependent on the tubes used, these rare large-bottled tubes provide a higher gain of 16 (whereas typical 6SN7s have a gain of 10). This helps with harder-to-drive headphones such as HD800 or HE-6, but at the same time, will produce a louder background noise with more sensitive headphones at higher volume levels. Not only are these tubes the loudest/most powerful, they throw the widest, deepest, most holographic soundstage with a warm, laid-back sound. Because of this, these are an excellent match with the aforementioned HD800 and HE-6 both in terms of power and tonality.
Electro-Harmonix 6SN7EH (stock tubes)
While they are not as good as vintage tubes, they are surprisingly good and perhaps one of the best modern production, LG-compatible tubes currently available. Even if you aren't into tube rolling, rest assured you can still enjoy the LG with its stock tubes.
RCA 6GU7
Tonally well-balanced sound, but the somewhat lacks body compared to most vintage octals. Nevertheless, excellent tubes for their price, especially if you prefer polite to aggressive sound.
Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z
IMO, overrated and overpriced tubes considering their performance. I don't know why many LG owners had used these tubes and recommended them in the first place, I followed suit only to be disappointed. Despite what their name implies, note that these are not true CV181 tubes (mu=32) but actually equivalent to 6SN7 (mu=20), so they don't have the higher gain of the original CV181 tubes.
Sylvania 6SN7GTB (chrome dome)
Similar in sound signature to the stock Electro-Harmonix, but warmer and more full-bodied sounding. Overall smooth and non-fatiguing to listen to, but I wouldn't use these for warm/dark sounding headphones. Treble is slightly rolled off and doesn't resolve as well as the best of the vintage tubes.
Tung-Sol CTL 6SN7GT (black glass/round plate)
Also known as TS BGRP, these are my overall favorite tubes with LG. While they doesn't have the massive soundstage of the Mullards nor the full-bodied sound of the Sylvanias, they boast by far the best resolution and tonal balance of all tubes I've tried. The sound is neutral but not fatiguing by any means, and because of this they should work well with nearly every headphone, particularly with my Code-X. If I had to keep only one pair of tubes, these would be it. It's a shame they are nearly unobtainium like Mullard ECC32.
Mullard ECC32 (=CV181)
On the LG where the gain is entirely dependent on the tubes used, these rare large-bottled tubes provide a higher gain of 16 (whereas typical 6SN7s have a gain of 10). This helps with harder-to-drive headphones such as HD800 or HE-6, but at the same time, will produce a louder background noise with more sensitive headphones at higher volume levels. Not only are these tubes the loudest/most powerful, they throw the widest, deepest, most holographic soundstage with a warm, laid-back sound. Because of this, these are an excellent match with the aforementioned HD800 and HE-6 both in terms of power and tonality.
Electro-Harmonix 6SN7EH (stock tubes)
While they are not as good as vintage tubes, they are surprisingly good and perhaps one of the best modern production, LG-compatible tubes currently available. Even if you aren't into tube rolling, rest assured you can still enjoy the LG with its stock tubes.
RCA 6GU7
Tonally well-balanced sound, but the somewhat lacks body compared to most vintage octals. Nevertheless, excellent tubes for their price, especially if you prefer polite to aggressive sound.
Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z
IMO, overrated and overpriced tubes considering their performance. I don't know why many LG owners had used these tubes and recommended them in the first place, I followed suit only to be disappointed. Despite what their name implies, note that these are not true CV181 tubes (mu=32) but actually equivalent to 6SN7 (mu=20), so they don't have the higher gain of the original CV181 tubes.
Sylvania 6SN7GTB (chrome dome)
Similar in sound signature to the stock Electro-Harmonix, but warmer and more full-bodied sounding. Overall smooth and non-fatiguing to listen to, but I wouldn't use these for warm/dark sounding headphones. Treble is slightly rolled off and doesn't resolve as well as the best of the vintage tubes.
Tung-Sol CTL 6SN7GT (black glass/round plate)
Also known as TS BGRP, these are my overall favorite tubes with LG. While they doesn't have the massive soundstage of the Mullards nor the full-bodied sound of the Sylvanias, they boast by far the best resolution and tonal balance of all tubes I've tried. The sound is neutral but not fatiguing by any means, and because of this they should work well with nearly every headphone, particularly with my Code-X. If I had to keep only one pair of tubes, these would be it. It's a shame they are nearly unobtainium like Mullard ECC32.
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