The Reference 6SN7 Thread

[g0ldl10n]

I have these same tubes. The only difference I see if my tubes have Rogers printed in green.

I bought them pre pandemic from a guy in Vancouver. I want to say they were very fairly priced. It was a bigger buy for me because I remember he sold them as a lot of 7-8 6SN7s. I don't remember having listened to them at all. I'll have to look for them and give them a listen soon. How do you like them?

The interesting thing with some of the Canadian made tubes, is that there was some made in the 70's that say they were made in Canada that I think were actually made in Japan. As far as I know by the early 1970's most of the few Canadian tube factories were shutting down. I think Japan was taking over most of the tube production.

They sound quite good, but want to spend more time with them - fairly confident they will enter my rotation - they definitely have an some very unique sonic characteristics to them.. very fast/detailed and what some might refer to as "sparkly" top end, but also some really punchy and dynamic low end in the bass and sub bass.. I don't know that I have heard any other 6SN7 sound quite like this - will have to do some comparisons.

From the base of the tubes showing "37-54", I believe these were made 37th week of 1954 .. least that is my first thought.

 

[JTbbb]

Anyone bought from this seller in Ukraine?

 

[Odin412]

Anyone bought from this seller in Ukraine?

I don't think so, but I've bought from other sellers in Ukraine. No issues.

 

[mordy]

I don't think so, but I've bought from other sellers in Ukraine. No issues.

Bought several times from Ukrainian sellers- usually takes 3-4 weeks to get the shipment in the US.
One seller was a fraud who advertised cheap prices but would ship something else or nothing. After numerous complaints he was shut down. Luckily I received a refund.
In general I order tubes from eBay using PayPal with a credit card. In this way I have three layers of protection. If something goes wrong you have where to turn.
Once the seller did nothing wrong but the tubes disappeared in the US customs-maybe they thought that the getter flash was mercury?
In any case, PayPal refunded the money.
Re the above ad the shipping is way too high - should be $8-10 for a couple of tubes. You could ask the seller to send via regular mail.
I have also found several Ukrainian sellers receptive to lowering the price when asked.

 

[leftside]

Anyone used 12XS7 tubes?

"The 12SX7 tube is a 6SN7 with a 12 volt heater , as opposed to the 6SN7's 6.3 volt.

Its been tested to have the lowest distortion of any 6SN7 , and sounds very good, with attributes beyond current production 6SN7 tubes, and amongst the very best NOS tubes."
https://supratekaudio.blogspot.com/2023/12/dual-grange-with-12sx7-tubes.html

 

[LobalWarming]

Anyone used 12XS7 tubes?

"The 12SX7 tube is a 6SN7 with a 12 volt heater , as opposed to the 6SN7's 6.3 volt.

Its been tested to have the lowest distortion of any 6SN7 , and sounds very good, with attributes beyond current production 6SN7 tubes, and amongst the very best NOS tubes."
https://supratekaudio.blogspot.com/2023/12/dual-grange-with-12sx7-tubes.html

Have used many 12SX7s... probably too many. Unfortunately, to my jaded ears, they were good, but not great. Lowest distortion does not equal highest happiness.

Have Tungsol Round Plate and Fivre 12SN7s that I've enjoyed more over the years.

 

[Isaacc7]

Anyone used 12XS7 tubes?

"The 12SX7 tube is a 6SN7 with a 12 volt heater , as opposed to the 6SN7's 6.3 volt.

Its been tested to have the lowest distortion of any 6SN7 , and sounds very good, with attributes beyond current production 6SN7 tubes, and amongst the very best NOS tubes."
https://supratekaudio.blogspot.com/2023/12/dual-grange-with-12sx7-tubes.html

Yeah, Mick sent some GE branded ones along with my Cabernet. They are quite good though I haven’t been able to find them recently lol. I also have some RCA that are quite good. Think I read that all of them were made by one company (RCA?) regardless of branding. Of course we all know about the veracity of things on the internet

I think it’s fair to say that they are amongst the best NOS but that doesn’t mean much to me. Some of the tubes with the best reputation like the round plate Tung Sol haven’t done much for me. Andy at Vintage Tube Services thinks the 12sx7 is overrated. I say try them out and see what you think.

 

[mordy]

Yeah, Mick sent some GE branded ones along with my Cabernet. They are quite good though I haven’t been able to find them recently lol. I also have some RCA that are quite good. Think I read that all of them were made by one company (RCA?) regardless of branding. Of course we all know about the veracity of things on the internet

I think it’s fair to say that they are amongst the best NOS but that doesn’t mean much to me. Some of the tubes with the best reputation like the round plate Tung Sol haven’t done much for me. Andy at Vintage Tube Services thinks the 12sx7 is overrated. I say try them out and see what you think.

In the past I tried 12SX7 tubes; all were made by RCA. Some were clear glass and some gray glass. From my notes I liked the clear glass. But as stated above, not super special.
The same goes for my impression of the TS BGRP and Sylvania 6SN7W tubes. I have a theory that certain tubes that are easily identifiable from others such as the partial black glass TS tubes and half way down getter flash on the Sylvania tubes were pushed by certain dealers as very desirable. The same goes for tubes with a red base, brown base and curved base etc.
Anybody can identify these tubes.

 

[leftside]

I'll give them a try. I have a 12 volt setting so I can use 6SN7 or the 12 volt versions.

Some of my favorite 6SN7 tubes are the TSRP 6SN7 and Sylvania 6SN7 (the version that came immediately after the metal base), but usually I prefer the "non-6SN7" such as ECC32, ECC33, etc and cheaper 6J5.

In the Grange that Mick from Supratek built me, we used 6J5 instead of 6SN7 or 12XS7.

 

[Isaacc7]

In the past I tried 12SX7 tubes; all were made by RCA. Some were clear glass and some gray glass. From my notes I liked the clear glass. But as stated above, not super special.
The same goes for my impression of the TS BGRP and Sylvania 6SN7W tubes. I have a theory that certain tubes that are easily identifiable from others such as the partial black glass TS tubes and half way down getter flash on the Sylvania tubes were pushed by certain dealers as very desirable. The same goes for tubes with a red base, brown base and curved base etc.
Anybody can identify these tubes.

The early metal based Sylvania 6sn7w are different than subsequent versions. I have both tall bottle (in the form of a 7n7) and newer 6sn7w with a brown base both with the aluminum support rod. I find the 14n7 with the copper support rod to be a better sounding tube. I have convinced myself that those are the same as the metal based 6sn7w. Mind you, it’s been a while since I’ve done a direct comparison but I thought it was a definitive difference back then

I have mostly settled on 14n7 as my go to tube in my Cabernet. Occasionally I will pop in some b36 or Raytheon 12j5wgt. I mostly rotate single triodes through my amp’s driver stage.

 

[mordy]

Are you saying that these three are the same? 6SN7A/W, 7N7 tall bottle, 14N7 - don't know if it is the right one)

 

[g0ldl10n]

Are you saying that these three are the same? 6SN7A/W, 7N7 tall bottle, 14N7 - don't know if it is the right one)

Think he is referring to the 14N7 with what appears to be identical construction as those 6SN7W tubes like the one on the left in this picture.

 

[Isaacc7]

Think he is referring to the 14N7 with what appears to be identical construction as those 6SN7W tubes like the one on the left in this picture.

Yes, this is what I meant. The tall bottles usually make the copper support rod obvious but sometimes the getter flash comes down enough to obscure it. I’m pretty sure the NU branded short bottle 14n7 have it as well but there is some debate over that. I have one that flares when I power it up. It works fine but if I find out that’s a problem I could sacrifice it to have a better look at the inside. In any case, the short bottle sounds the same in my system.

 

[g0ldl10n]

Yes, this is what I meant. The tall bottles usually make the copper support rod obvious but sometimes the getter flash comes down enough to obscure it. I’m pretty sure the NU branded short bottle 14n7 have it as well but there is some debate over that. I have one that flares when I power it up. It works fine but if I find out that’s a problem I could sacrifice it to have a better look at the inside. In any case, the short bottle sounds the same in my system.

My short 14N7 in that picture has the support rod and the same looking parallel T plates as the tall bottle on the left. Actually, even the 14N7 tubes I have with the chrome top and blacked put glass on about 80% of the glass below the flash has support rods as well, which my 7N7 with the same blacked out glass do not.

 

[Isaacc7]

My short 14N7 in that picture has the support rod and the same looking parallel T plates as the tall bottle on the left. Actually, even the 14N7 tubes I have with the chrome top and blacked put glass on about 80% of the glass below the flash has support rods as well, which my 7N7 with the same blacked out glass do not.

I have… more than a few 14n7 and all of them have the support rod. I think they are all copper as well.