The Reference 6SN7 Thread

[Isaacc7]

No other writing on the tube anywhere. Was hoping that between the mica and the black glass someone might recognize it.

 

[oldson]

recently bought an Icon HP8, which has a pair of psvane "hifi" series tubes.
sound good to me but i am after an up/ side grade up to £200 for pair.
any suggestions?
briefly looked through this thread but its looooooooooong and most are too pricey for me

 

[AnyDave]

I see we've reached page 666 of this devilishly tempting thread.

 

[Melting735]

I just hunt down a pair of Ken Rad from eBay. Looking forward for a listen!

 

[Isaacc7]

recently bought an Icon HP8, which has a pair of psvane "hifi" series tubes.
sound good to me but i am after an up/ side grade up to £200 for pair.
any suggestions?
briefly looked through this thread but its looooooooooong and most are too pricey for me

I’ll condense the thread for you. Every NOS 6sn7 is great (except GE) and is the best thing they have ever heard until the next NOS 6sn7 is put in… No shade, I’ve repeated that pattern many times lol. Sylvania, RCA, Tung Sol, Ken Rad, GEC, Brimar, Fivre, etc. all made amazing tubes. Different people like different tubes in different amps with different headphones. I think this thread is more useful as an identification source than a sound one. If you have an amp that has a dedicated thread there will probably be a better chance of getting sound impressions.

Many of the old 6sn7 have skyrocketed in value. I think that older RCA and Sylvania (especially 7n7) offer some of the better deals available right now. I wouldn’t sweat not having “grail” tubes, the prices of things like the Black Glass Round Plate Tung Sol and GEC b65 have appreciated to outrageous prices. I can get great sound from any quality old tube provided I can roll the output tube as well. Tube combos are the key. Paying upwards of $1000 for a tube doesn’t make any sense IMO.

I haven’t seen too many comparisons between new production and NOS. New tubes are expensive enough that NOS still makes some sense to look for. That will change at some point. Once again, the synergy is key. Be prepared to try different input and output tubes and you should be able to find a great sounding combo.

 

[Renexx]

Why you guys like GE tubes so much ?

This 1955 6SN7GTB is pretty okay, better than new production for sure. I didn't like the later versions.

Better is the Canadian GE 6SN7GT industrial yellow base with 1950s Sylvania badboy construction: very warm and not the most resolving but sounds great.

As 1950s early 5814 GE with pewter plates sounds like a Kenrad vt-231 tonality wise. They didn't seem to change the production for this one. Even the later black plate variant sounds great.

 

[g0ldl10n]

Why you guys like GE tubes so much ?

This 1955 6SN7GTB is pretty okay, better than new production for sure. I didn't like the later versions.

Better is the Canadian GE 6SN7GT industrial yellow base with 1950s Sylvania badboy construction: very warm and not the most resolving but sounds great.

As 1950s early 5814 GE with pewter plates sounds like a Kenrad vt-231 tonality wise. They didn't seem to change the production for this one. Even the later black plate variant sounds great.

I also think the GE 5814 is a great tube. I came across it a little while ago and ended up buying quite a few of them.

 

[Isaacc7]

Why you guys like GE tubes so much ?

This 1955 6SN7GTB is pretty okay, better than new production for sure. I didn't like the later versions.

Better is the Canadian GE 6SN7GT industrial yellow base with 1950s Sylvania badboy construction: very warm and not the most resolving but sounds great.

As 1950s early 5814 GE with pewter plates sounds like a Kenrad vt-231 tonality wise. They didn't seem to change the production for this one. Even the later black plate variant sounds great.

Saying that GE didn’t make good sounding tubes is a bit of a meme at this point. They do have some standout output tubes like the oval plate 6bq5 and many like the 6l6gc. Their input tubes Have a pretty bad rep though. Other than their 5 star 2c51 I can’t think of a small signal tube that has a big following. Personally I have always preferred the sound I get using other brands tubes. It would be great if one of their twin triodes turned out to be consistently great since they are so cheap!

 

[Wes S]

I also think the GE 5814 is a great tube. I came across it a little while ago and ended up buying quite a few of them.

I have a good stash of those pewter plates, and love that tube. A real sleeper.

 

[JackarlTwo]

I got this Ken-Rad VT-231 with a code R4. I'm pretty sure 4 means 1944, but what's R? Very punchy sounding tube. I had to double and triple check so I didn't have a bass shelf on somewhere in my system haha

 

[Odin412]

New acquisition: Shuguang WE6SN7Plus. No idea about the background of this tube, but it certainly looks interesting. Sounds good too.

 

[Edward Ng]

New acquisition: Shuguang WE6SN7Plus. No idea about the background of this tube, but it certainly looks interesting. Sounds good too.

Have you listened to either Psvane CV181-T MkII and/or Linlai E-6SN7? If so, can you compare/contrast them against this one?

Prices are pretty insane on these.

-Ed

 

[Isaacc7]

New acquisition: Shuguang WE6SN7Plus. No idea about the background of this tube, but it certainly looks interesting. Sounds good too.

That looks ridiculous. I’m not an engineer but I can’t think of any reason for the getter to be put up so far in the tube. It’s clear they had a tube shape in mind and so did what they had to to fill the bottle. Doesn’t look like a serious product made by a serious company.

 

[Designsfx]

New acquisition: Shuguang WE6SN7Plus. No idea about the background of this tube, but it certainly looks interesting. Sounds good too.

I’d like to know what comparisons you’ve made with this as well. I’ve been sticking with NOS tubes- haven’t seen or heard any of the newer stuff out there.

 

[Designsfx]

That looks ridiculous. I’m not an engineer but I can’t think of any reason for the getter to be put up so far in the tube. It’s clear they had a tube shape in mind and so did what they had to to fill the bottle. Doesn’t look like a serious product made by a serious company.

Maybe leftover repurposed glass from another run? Who know what these guys have in mind