[gamefreak054]

   
Okay, thanks for info. Will now start looking at different tubes :3

I do have an Holland Bugle Boy 6DJ8 arriving tomorrow. I will see if my opinion changes then.

 

[1llest]

Decided that im gonna try a 6DJ8. But should I go with bugle boy or orange globe? And are there websites I can purchase these tubes other than ebay?

 

[Asr]

The choice is up to you but it seems like the Amperex Orange Globe is a popular option in similar amps like the Schiit Lyr. Not sure about other sites but if you're worried about eBay, make sure to buy from only a 100%-rated seller. They're not too hard to find.

 

[RainHeaven]

I was almost dead set on getting the Schiit Lyr (With Amperex Orange Globes) for the Alpha Dogs as a headphone amp until I found out about Project Ember xD From Garage1217's website, he sells quite a bit of tubes. He has an Orange Globe for $20 but the tubes list hasn't been updated since September so I'm not sure.

 

[1llest]

Looks like Orange Globe it is! -looking at ebay listings, what does it mean when its labeled as "Tested 70/60 - 86/87" and so on..

And it looks like all the ebay listings are only sold in pair.

 

[RainHeaven]

  Generally they will give numbers like 76/78 or 90/93. The numbers represent how good a tube is. On my dads tester 80+ is good 60-70 is questionable and anything under is bad. I personally would not buy a tube under 85. I would try to look for tubes in the 90. You also generally want the numbers to be fairly close. Some tubes will only have 1 number as they only have 1 test you can give. I tested a microphonic tube that had test in the 70/73, and you had to make sure that tube was SECURE otherwise it would make very loud noises.

 

[1llest]

Thanks a lot - Looks like i missed that one.

 

[connieflyer]

  Love this thread. I have a sunrise II, is the ember much diff sound wise. I've read everything on G1217s site but wondered if owners had a take on it. I think I'm gonna get one just for the auto bias  
I love my 6dj8s. Fave is a tfk 6922, followed soo closely by siemens 6922. I read somewhere in an article that the 6dj8/6922 is the best tube for audio YMMV. Based on your recommendations in the sunrise thread rmouser I have bought several 5751s and I have to say you are dead on. The sylvania is hard to beat!
 
Edit: If you do start buying 6dj8s know that there are no american made ones. Except for the amperex white label made in NY. All RCAs are rebrands. I have a siemens and mullard labeled rca. Sylvania might have made one...not sure

This Sylvania one....http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sylvania-JAN-6dj8-ECC88-tube-Very-Strong-/181135663925?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2a2c86e335
Good seller, have bought many tubes from him and always satisfied.  Using this tube now and think it is the best of the tubes I now use.
 
Have these on the way in, so will have another 6dj8 to compare it with.  If I like the sylvania one better, I am going to spring for another one from Tubemaze.

 

[gamefreak054]

Thanks a lot - Looks like i missed that one.

I also added onto that post somewhere that different testers have different scales. You probably want to buy from some one who is giving you ranges of when the tube is bad/questionable/good. High seller ratings like stated before are a must. There is also different ratings. I also found about a little more since then, and found out there are also 2 different types of testers. There is some disagreement on what testers tell a good and bad tube. However a transconductance will tell more about the operation of tube and an emission test will just tell if a tube is good or a bad. Emissions can sometimes tell a good tube it is bad, and a bad tube it is good as it is only telling the emissions of the cathode. Which make a lot of believe that transconductance testers are the way to go.
 
The one my dad uses is an emissions, but it appears to do a pretty good job at picking out tubes.So I really do not have any complaints about an emissions testing. You probably would also want to go with some visual clues to see if the tube is good or bad. Here is a thread on another forum that may help a bit- http://www.el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=6595.0;wap2

 

[connieflyer]

this is the problem with home test setups,  I had lots of experience in the Navy as an electronics tech.  The smaller portable sets just did not cut it.  We had the industrial types in the shops and we had to keep these calibrated to make sure of the numbers.  The following comment on your link confirms....PRR:
The issue is "Emission testers". These were NEVER good tests. Especially for small-signal tubes like 12AX7, and the BIG signal tubes like EL34 in guitar-amp duty. 

The ONLY excuse for Emission Test is that it is cheap and it will quickly find high-high-hour tubes which are actually worn. When you pull 23 tubes out of a TV set that has run 9 hours a night 7 nights a week, there is a good chance of finding a "dead" or "weak" tube, which -might- actually be a problem. 

Hmmmmm..... ya know, those cheap testers are -biased- to read "poor". The main use was to test used tubes and SELL new tubes. Whether an actual radio-repair shop (who does not mind replacing tubes) or the Drugstore Tube Tester with a rack of new FOR SALE tubes underneath. 

I have an emission tester. Might be a Mighty Mite.  It found a hot-short in an old tube, saved an amp's butt. I tap the emission test button and see if the meter moves -anywhere- near the "OK" zone; complete lack of reading means I mis-set the switches, the tube-type, or the tube is totally dead. But I don't give a hoot if the reading is only halfway up to "OK"; I know that most audio systems will never require "full emission". 

And prolonged "emission testing" WILL damage the tube. 

You could plausably decline to accept returns which have been through an Emission Tester. The tube may have been fine before they "tested" it for an hour. 

It can be hard to know what kind of tester the customer used. You might simply refuse returns based -only- on a tube-tester reading. 

I still say: breadboard a Champ so you can probe cathode voltages. If most 12AX7 show 1.5V-1.7V, and you got one which reads 0.9V, it is dubious. AND if it reads 1.6V but hisses like a snake-worship church, sumthin's wrong. You can put 12AT7 and 12AU7 in the same socket; the "normal" voltage will be different and gain will be down, but way-out tubes will be obvious when compared with others. All the Octal Audio Power tubes will "work" in a Champ's 6V6 socket if you wire it right. True, a 6550 may run fine at happy-6V6 11W and turn sick at 41W, but that's rare. 

OTOH; New Sensor "should" understand that most of the market is ignorant idiots. They "should" gimmick the tubes so that they read "OK" on the $19 Sencore Cheapo tester. 

BTW, IIRC: the pair of Sovtek 6550s I got from you had handwritten numbers which appeared to be current and transconductance. That told me that someone had lit them up with specific G1 G2 P voltages, read current, and wiggled to read transconductance. To me, this is first-order PROOF the tube was "good" when tested. I don't know what the "right" numbers should be (I don't know what the the test conditions were), but I am sure that if they tested a run and got 61 63 58 13 60 210 66... that the "13" and "210" tubes would be culled-out.

 

[stupidmop]

  This Sylvania one....http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sylvania-JAN-6dj8-ECC88-tube-Very-Strong-/181135663925?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2a2c86e335
Good seller, have bought many tubes from him and always satisfied.  Using this tube now and think it is the best of the tubes I now use.
 
Have these on the way in, so will have another 6dj8 to compare it with.  If I like the sylvania one better, I am going to spring for another one from Tubemaze.

 That is the 6dj8 I was talking about. I didn't personally like it but I'm pretty sure it and the amperex were the only ones manufactured in the USA. Nikolay at tubemaze knows his stuff. Don't worry buying from him The sylvania I like is a 12ax7 variant, a 5751, very nice!

 

[gamefreak054]

@connieflyer-Ehh, from what I have seen at home the emissions test can detect good and bad tubes quite easily. Are they as accurate? Probably not. If you are looking online to buy a good tube you need to know it at least works properly. A good tube is still going to test good on an emissions test for the most part. There can be some change in that a poorly tested emissions tube might still have good internals and still might work just as well, but there could be a decent chance that tube is getting old as well. It can go vice versa but from what I have seen it is uncommon. That is why I generally look for a high emissions testing tubes (if they are using emissions to test the tube), because if it is pegging the emission test meter there is a good chance you are getting a decent tube. A test is better than no test. You can also do visual inspections on the tube as well just to confirm everything.
 
EDIT: Scratch what I was saying. I was being a misinformed idiot. The tester at my house is a mutual conductance

 

[Johan-71]

If you're going to buy tubes whitout logos you can always check out the codes.
Try this for Telefunken: http://www.audiotubes.com/teledate.htm
If  you're into Amperex/Philips Mullard etc go to: http://www.audiotubes.com/mullcode.htm
Happy hunting 

 

 

[gamefreak054]

Updated my tube impression list with a Philips Miniwatt 12AT7, Mullard Blackburn 12AT7, and Bugle Boy 6DJ8
 
My opinion about the 6DJ8s remains unchanged. The 12 volt tubes still sound more lively. I also find that they gain other advantages.
 
Also check my edited post above about testers. I was misguided, and was wrong. Sorry for my newbie mistake.

 

[RainHeaven]

Got me interested on the Philips Miniwatt 12AT7. Might be a future purchase. Maybe.