[mordy]

And inspectors #1 through #39 were sent to a labor camp in Siberia for drinking too much vodka on the job.

In all seriousness, I was told that during the communist era the quality control was a serious business and people could be severely punished if they did not do their job perfectly.
In later years the quality control slackened off, perhaps after the fall of communism.

 

[bcowen]

In all seriousness, I was told that during the communist era the quality control was a serious business and people could be severely punished if they did not do their job perfectly.
In later years the quality control slackened off, perhaps after the fall of communism.

So that's why they were sent to Siberia.

Makes sense though. Whether someone likes the sonics of Soviet tubes from the '40's and '50's is of course dependent on preference, but it's hard to argue the quality. Most are dead silent, rugged, and last a long time. Getting into the '70's and later? Not so much, at least IME. Speaking here of just the NOS tubes, not the tubes that are currently being manufactured there. I have limited experience with them, but what I do have are quite good from the construction quality perspective.

 

[Designsfx]

So tonight I have the Lampizator sporting the new 6C5C’s and I think these are definitely winners! They are going to need a little more break in time but I’m quickly becoming comfortable with the presentation. This is only day one and they have been running about 10hrs now so I’m sure it will only get better! More to come…

 

[shwnwllms]

C3G’s showed up the other day (not quite sure they are my cup of tea though)

 

[K3cT]

12AU7 equivalents seem to do more harm than good in the EC Balancing Act.

 

[Monsterzero]

C3G’s showed up the other day (not quite sure they are my cup of tea though)

I never did like them in my Glenn. I had @L0rdGwyn rewire and swap out the C3G sockets on my GOTL and replace them with 6J5 sockets.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

It's tough to compare tubes in circuits that they were not made for, you can't really drop in different tubes an expect them to sound their best. If that amp is made for a 6SL7 input, that is vastly different than a C3g and may be at a poor bias point.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Right now I've got ZMF Aegis and my HY69 amp on my audio rack, but thinking about pulling out 6J5 / 6528 OTL out of storage, along with some 6J5s! Been a long time since I've listened to it.

 

[shwnwllms]

I never did like them in my Glenn. I had @L0rdGwyn rewire and swap out the C3G sockets on my GOTL and replace them with 6J5 sockets.

I’m coming around. They “woke up” all of a sudden. I don’t know if hey needed some burn in time or what. (They were BNIB never used from an old telecom company in Canada). That said they have some strengths (vocals, strings, mids are forward) and weaknesses (bass doesn’t dig as deep as some of my other favorite drivers. It was anemic at first but started to come around after a couple of hours)

Better match for my AC than my Caldera so far

It's tough to compare tubes in circuits that they were not made for, you can't really drop in different tubes an expect them to sound their best. If that amp is made for a 6SL7 input, that is vastly different than a C3g and may be at a poor bias point.

Definitely. However most 6SN7’s (and single triode equivalents at 20mu) sound incredible on the Agartha, even though it’s biased for a 6SL7 (especially with ZMF dynamics on 300 Ohm tap).

I was hoping the C3G would be a better match with my Caldera as they seem to need the higher gain factor and a C3G is closer in that regard (40mu vs 70mu for 6SL7)

That being said they will probably stay in my rotation, just with my ZMF dynamics and not the Caldera, as they don’t dig deep enough.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I’m coming around. They “woke up” all of a sudden. I don’t know if hey needed some burn in time or what. (They were BNIB never used from an old telecom company in Canada). That said they have some strengths (vocals, strings, mids are forward) and weaknesses (bass doesn’t dig as deep as some of my other favorite drivers. It was anemic at first but started to come around after a couple of hours)

Better match for my AC than my Caldera so far



Definitely. However most 6SN7’s (and single triode equivalents at 20mu) sound incredible on the Agartha, even though it’s biased for a 6SL7 (especially with ZMF dynamics on 300 Ohm tap).

I was hoping the C3G would be a better match with my Caldera as they seem to need the higher gain factor and a C3G is closer in that regard (40mu vs 70mu for 6SL7)

That being said they will probably stay in my rotation, just with my ZMF dynamics and not the Caldera, as they don’t dig deep enough.

6SN7 is closer to a 6SL7 than a C3g. C3g will be biased in a very nonlinear region at 1-2mA. It's a higher current, higher transconductance tube than either 6SN7 or 6SL7. It's actually very well-suited to driving 300B if biased correctly. If you want something with a mu of around 40 or so that will bias better in a 6SL7-designed circuit, maybe try 12AY7 if you haven't already. Or 6C8G, which has a little less gain but better linearity.

 

[shwnwllms]

6SN7 is closer to a 6SL7 than a C3g. C3g will be biased in a very nonlinear region at 1-2mA. It's a higher current, higher transconductance tube than either 6SN7 or 6SL7. It's actually very well-suited to driving 300B if biased correctly. If you want something with a mu of around 40 or so that will bias better in a 6SL7-designed circuit, maybe try 12AY7 if you haven't already. Or 6C8G, which has a little less gain but better linearity.

Thanks, should have spoken to you first. Lesson learned

Also I just picked up a Cen.Grand Silver Fox, which will pair nicely with my Caldera (so I can stop searching for drivers other than 6SL7 that work well with them in the Agartha)

Might be a matched pair of C3G’s & adapter in the classifieds soon

 

[Isaacc7]

6SN7 is closer to a 6SL7 than a C3g. C3g will be biased in a very nonlinear region at 1-2mA. It's a higher current, higher transconductance tube than either 6SN7 or 6SL7. It's actually very well-suited to driving 300B if biased correctly. If you want something with a mu of around 40 or so that will bias better in a 6SL7-designed circuit, maybe try 12AY7 if you haven't already. Or 6C8G, which has a little less gain but better linearity.

I know the c3m has less gain along with the weird heater voltage as compared to the c3g but do they share the other characteristics you mentioned with the c3g? I always get the feeling of absolute transparency when I use them. It’s as if there aren’t any drivers at all, like I’ve taken something out of the circuit but kept the gain.

My amp runs at 400v with a dropping resistor that biases them for 6sn7. Oddly, Tomas said that he had designed my amp with 6sl7 in mind but I’ve never liked them as much as 6sn7 or the c3m.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I know the c3m has less gain along with the weird heater voltage as compared to the c3g but do they share the other characteristics you mentioned with the c3g? I always get the feeling of absolute transparency when I use them. It’s as if there aren’t any drivers at all, like I’ve taken something out of the circuit but kept the gain.

My amp runs at 400v with a dropping resistor that biases them for 6sn7. Oddly, Tomas said that he had designed my amp with 6sl7 in mind but I’ve never liked them as much as 6sn7 or the c3m.

C3m has a little less than half the gain and a little less than half the transconductance of the C3g as a triode, but they're still meant to be biased at higher currents (relative to a 6SL7) to get out of the "knee" of their operating curves. But this is all generalization without knowing specific parts values, bias voltages, topology, etc. C3m is sort of like a 6SN7 with a lower plate resistance and higher transconductance. So if the amp biases a 6SN7 properly, C3m should do fine too.

I also didn't mean to be a party pooper, ultimately if people like what they like in their amp that is totally cool! Just speculating as to why the C3g may not have sounded their best in that amp.

 

[Isaacc7]

C3m has a little less than half the gain and a little less than half the transconductance of the C3g as a triode, but they're still meant to be biased at higher currents (relative to a 6SL7) to get out of the "knee" of their operating curves. But this is all generalization without knowing specific parts values, bias voltages, topology, etc. C3m is sort of like a 6SN7 with a lower plate resistance and higher transconductance. So if the amp biases a 6SN7 properly, C3m should do fine too.

I also didn't mean to be a party pooper, ultimately if people like what they like in their amp that is totally cool! Just speculating as to why the C3g may not have sounded their best in that amp.

No party pooping assumed! We should all be aware that if we drift too far afield from the design than sound quality will suffer. At least these tubes are close-ish in nature. I’ve seen people ask about and even try remote cutoff and variable mu tubes!

 

[robo24]

6SN7 is closer to a 6SL7 than a C3g. C3g will be biased in a very nonlinear region at 1-2mA. It's a higher current, higher transconductance tube than either 6SN7 or 6SL7. It's actually very well-suited to driving 300B if biased correctly. If you want something with a mu of around 40 or so that will bias better in a 6SL7-designed circuit, maybe try 12AY7 if you haven't already. Or 6C8G, which has a little less gain but better linearity.

they’re fantastic in the 300b Envy with Deyan’s adapters, though I find the 5a/152M a bit better and much more quiet.