The Reference 6SN7 Thread

[Designsfx]

Wondering if anyone has ever tried this Soviet made 6SN7 branded as National Electronics. A current add for these is carrying a so-so price, obviously more than their worth as they’ve been for sale forever in internet time. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!

 

[LobalWarming]

Wondering if anyone has ever tried this Soviet made 6SN7 branded as National Electronics. A current add for these is carrying a so-so price, obviously more than their worth as they’ve been for sale forever in internet time. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated!

Those are rebranded Fotons. And not the good ribbed Fotons from the early 50s. Not reco'd unless you have already a thousand good 6SN7s and you're really bored.

 

[Designsfx]

Those are rebranded Fotons. And not the good ribbed Fotons from the early 50s. Not reco'd unless you have already a thousand good 6SN7s and you're really bored.

Saved! I knew someone would hold the truth on those. Where’s the giveaway- the plates structure or somewhere else. I’d like to know how to spot the losers in the future.

 

[LobalWarming]

Saved! I knew someone would hold the truth on those. Where’s the giveaway- the plates structure or somewhere else. I’d like to know how to spot the losers in the future.

The flying saucer getters. And the smooth plates. Good Fotons have ribbed plates, for her/his listening pleasure.

 

[mordy]

The flying saucer getters. And the smooth plates. Good Fotons have ribbed plates, for her/his listening pleasure.

The good Fotons have these ribs (ladder plates) on the plates and were made between 1950-55.

 

[bcowen]

The good Fotons have these ribs (ladder plates) on the plates and were made between 1950-55.

And part of 1956. Appears that the change from ribbed to smooth plates happened sometime in the middle of 1956, so there are some with ribbed plates and some with smooth:

 

[Designsfx]

What about the flying saucers? I was under the impression that they were the typical Soviet garb- or do they only show up in certain cases (like the el cheapo rebrands I posted earlier?

 

[WildPhydeaux]

I've only ever seen flying saucer getters in Russian tubes and agree that it's a dead giveaway they are Ruskies. However, not all Russian tubes have flying saucer getters. They seem to be most common to 1950-1980, but not on new "vintage name" tubes like Mullard, Golden Lion etc made in Russia by New Sensor as far as I know.

Cheers,
Robert

 

[MacMan31]

I bought adapters to use 6SN7 tubes in a 6922 socket on my Feliks Audio Echo Mk2. Looking for a pair of 6SN7. Any good suggestions that won't break the bank?

 

[Isaacc7]

I bought adapters to use 6SN7 tubes in a 6922 socket on my Feliks Audio Echo Mk2. Looking for a pair of 6SN7. Any good suggestions that won't break the bank?

7n7 are probably the best deal but they would require another adapter lol. I think most of the 6sn7 are quality tubes. Some will sound better than others depending on taste, equipment, and other tubes used. The best deals are probably the various 6sn7gtb tubes from RCA, Raytheon, and Sylvania. You can get 50s made ones and should be reasonably priced. They seem to be readily available in the $50 and less price.

Of course if your budget does go higher you can look into the older gta version and the original gt. A lot of us like the 40s and early 50s tubes from the likes of Sylvania, RCA, Ken Rad, Tung Sol, Raytheon, and various European companies. Those are more expensive, especially the European/UK versions. The tall 7n7 are early Sylvania 6sn7 tubes are great deals and sound IMO.

 

[ceylon103]

rca greyglass are pretty sweet

 

[MacMan31]

7n7 are probably the best deal but they would require another adapter lol. I think most of the 6sn7 are quality tubes. Some will sound better than others depending on taste, equipment, and other tubes used. The best deals are probably the various 6sn7gtb tubes from RCA, Raytheon, and Sylvania. You can get 50s made ones and should be reasonably priced. They seem to be readily available in the $50 and less price.

Of course if your budget does go higher you can look into the older gta version and the original gt. A lot of us like the 40s and early 50s tubes from the likes of Sylvania, RCA, Ken Rad, Tung Sol, Raytheon, and various European companies. Those are more expensive, especially the European/UK versions. The tall 7n7 are early Sylvania 6sn7 tubes are great deals and sound IMO.

rca greyglass are pretty sweet

I was looking at these sites for some 6SN7 tubes.
https://www.langrex.co.uk/?orderby=price&paged=1&s=6sn7&post_type=product
https://www.tubedepot.com/t/tubes/preamp-tubes/6sn7
https://www.thetubestore.com/preamp-tubes/6sn7-tube-types

 

[sennfan83261]

Got them in. Unfortunately, there was no infosheet or indication on the boxes regarding the transconductance of each tube. Supposedly, they should have been a quad matched.

I threw on the first pair and the center image was way off-center and the soundstage was really withdrawn, which may indicate a non-matched pair. I took these out after 20mins. The second pair I threw on appear to be matched, soundwise, as the center image was where it should be and the soundstage was way more normal. Initial impressions on my Susvara, neutral/slightly warmish. Subbass is nicely extended on my one of my sub-bass test tracks (see below). Initial, impressions on the second pair are good so far (1.5 hrs in). Still, I feel I get more punch from a proper speaker-ss amp with my Susvara. Indeed, the bass on Massive Attack's track "Protection" is on the lighter side with the Susvara. Supposedly, the soundstage will fill out as the tubes burn in. I feel these are good value at their sale price (~$50/matched pair), especially after listening to a pair of Tung-Sol 12SN7 bgrp's before these tubes. I still want to take these to someone with a tube tester to get their readings.

EDIT: It seems that three out of the four tubes sound the same, so one tube appears to be faulty. I want to find a tube tester to check on all of them, especially the suspected faulty tube.

Let's say that the shipper did not treat the package gently (see below). Thankfully, the tubes were securely packed and, based on outward appearances, they looked fine. Of course, such rough treatment could've rattled something internally.

Other descriptors for these tubes (Linlaitube 6SN7): black T-plates, gold-plated pins, ST bottle, dual(?) mica, dual UFO getters.

Pics below (attn fellow LG owner, @Ham Sandwich ):

After two to three weeks of use, one tube in the good pair started to distort after 30-60mins into every listening session. This on top of the seller providing no testing data despite selling these as matched quads. Out of the box, one of the tubes was definitely not matched (obvious audible difference in channel volume). When the good pair was working the sound was just okay. Total crap, sticking with NOS.

 

[ceylon103]

I was looking at these sites for some 6SN7 tubes.
https://www.langrex.co.uk/?orderby=price&paged=1&s=6sn7&post_type=product
https://www.tubedepot.com/t/tubes/preamp-tubes/6sn7
https://www.thetubestore.com/preamp-tubes/6sn7-tube-types

for hi-fi/head fi,. tube depot is no good for old stock tubes. they buy their old stock tubes from other retailers and jack up the price way up.

i do not know the best canadian dealers,

but in the US there are 2 of the top 3 us old stock dealers left,
brent jessee and andy's vintage tubes. andy is real expensive.
both sell excellent tubes.

 

[NicRhodes]

The 6SN7GTB Red Boxed National Electronics are also badged as 5692s.