The Reference 6SN7 Thread

[Paladin79]

A current favorite of mine is the 1963 Melz on the left, some call them the 1578 but these rarely have those numbers on them. It has all the right attributes so I consider it the same tube. It is not as mids-forward as some of the other Melz I own, and like many of these Russian tubes, it is a good idea to replace the solder inside the pins Fotons are in the same club. I designed this amp to be fairly revealing of tube sound, and thus far those who have heard it seem to agree.

 

[jambaj0e]

Yeah, I may get those Tung Sols instead.

What do you guys think about getting the 6F8G + adapter variants of either the Tung Sol Black Glass Round Plate or the Sylvania Bad Boys?

 

[JKDJedi]

Yeah, I may get those Tung Sols instead.

What do you guys think about getting the 6F8G + adapter variants of either the Tung Sol Black Glass Round Plate or the Sylvania Bad Boys?

6f8g are really nice and a very good conversation piece.. go for it. They sound very nice, you hear the difference immediately.
Slyvania pictured.

 

[jambaj0e]

I'll look into those 6F8G tubes.

In the meantime, does this seem like a good deal? I mean, he said they're matched Sylvania 3-hole bad boys, but one of the tubes is a Philco. Have you heard of Bad Boys rebranded as Philco? And how does their test look?

Matched Sylvania Bad Boys (Philco rebranded)

"Tubes: Two (2) 6SN7GT Sylvania and Philco by Sylvania BAD BOYS vintage vacuum tubes,

black ribbed 3 hole plates, bottom foil getters,
tubes test:

84, 88 %
82, 84 %

Tubes did not have original boxes, I assume them as used.
Price is for all tubes pictured. "

 

[Paladin79]

There are often codes that tell you who really built the tubes. Sylvania built for lots of folks

 

[JKDJedi]

I'll look into those 6F8G tubes.

In the meantime, does this seem like a good deal? I mean, he said they're matched Sylvania 3-hole bad boys, but one of the tubes is a Philco. Have you heard of Bad Boys rebranded as Philco? And how does their test look?

Matched Sylvania Bad Boys (Philco rebranded)

"Tubes: Two (2) 6SN7GT Sylvania and Philco by Sylvania BAD BOYS vintage vacuum tubes,

black ribbed 3 hole plates, bottom foil getters,
tubes test:

84, 88 %
82, 84 %

Tubes did not have original boxes, I assume them as used.
Price is for all tubes pictured. "

Wrong....no such thing as a philco Bad Boy, there is a bunch of Sylvanias out there that "might" share the Bad Boy sound but there is Only one "Bad Boy" tube out there. I've done my research for a few years before grabbing a pair myself. The Bad Boys are little taller too. 1952 is the year you want, and the top Mica has to have the 3 spikes on each end. Preferably the JAN-CHS version. Those are the real deal Holyfield Bad Boys.

 

[Slade01]

Friends and I have some of those in a 6sn7 equivalent blind test we will be doing in the near future, it will be interesting to see how they come out compared to most any other type made.

I'm sure everyone here would look forward to those results!

 

[Paladin79]

I'm sure everyone here would look forward to those results!

They will happen one day, and we are using most known variables. Single triode tubes in oairs, loktals, etc

 

[attmci]

I'll look into those 6F8G tubes.

In the meantime, does this seem like a good deal? I mean, he said they're matched Sylvania 3-hole bad boys, but one of the tubes is a Philco. Have you heard of Bad Boys rebranded as Philco? And how does their test look?

Matched Sylvania Bad Boys (Philco rebranded)

"Tubes: Two (2) 6SN7GT Sylvania and Philco by Sylvania BAD BOYS vintage vacuum tubes,

black ribbed 3 hole plates, bottom foil getters,
tubes test:

84, 88 %
82, 84 %

Tubes did not have original boxes, I assume them as used.
Price is for all tubes pictured. "

Hard to identify these tubes due to the poor pictures. Can you see three holes on both sides? Brand is not important.

 

[JKDJedi]

Hard to identify these tubes due to the poor pictures. Can you see three holes on both sides? Brand is not important.

Brand is not important!? O.O I beg to differ. Maybe not in sound. But in Identity, there is only one Bad Boy. If your looking for the Sylvania 6SN7GT sound that's one thing, but don't call it a Bad Boy if it's not The Bad Boy.

 

[Paladin79]

Brand is not important!? O.O I beg to differ. Maybe not in sound. But in Identity, there is only one Bad Boy. If your looking for the Sylvania 6SN7GT sound that's one thing, but don't call it a Bad Boy if it's not The Bad Boy.

I have some single triode Sylvania's I termed the Naughty Girls, black plate, three hole, 6J5's. Their successor was the 7A4.

 

[bcowen]

So I ended up buying this matched pair of Tung Sol Black Glass Round Plate for $450. Wow, most I've paid for 6SN7 tubes so far, hope I didn't overpaid for it. My only concern is that it's a TungSol branded as General Electric. Is that common or did I mistake in buying these and should cancel before they ship it out?

"

​

This auction is for one strong old stock matched pair of TungSol round plate 6SN7GT twin triode vacuum tubes branded for General Electric as shown. These both have the same 1946 date (617). Both have clear tops with no cathode marks. These were tested on our Hickok 539C tester, with results of 3000 for all four triode sections, which calculates to 115% of the expected new value.

"

Strong Matched Pair TungSol 6SN7GT Round Plate Vacuum Tubes Same 1946 Date

As far as I know, TungSol is the only US manufacturer that ever made a round plate 6SN7. Most times I see something advertised as a round plate 6SN7 for less than big bucks, upon closer inspection it's always a 6SL7. The round plates were used extensively in the 6SL7, but not the 6SN7. One thing for sure with these tubes is that they were NOT made by GE. The round plate Tung Sols are supposed to be one of the holy grail 6SN7 breed, and with prices to match genuine ones. Sadly, I've never had the opportunity to hear one.

 

[Paladin79]

As far as I know, TungSol is the only US manufacturer that ever made a round plate 6SN7. Most times I see something advertised as a round plate 6SN7 for less than big bucks, upon closer inspection it's always a 6SL7. The round plates were used extensively in the 6SL7, but not the 6SN7. One thing for sure with these tubes is that they were NOT made by GE. The round plate Tung Sols are supposed to be one of the holy grail 6SN7 breed, and with prices to match genuine ones. Sadly, I've never had the opportunity to hear one.

You should have said something when we were doing the GE tube challenge, mine is now with other tubes I own about to be blind tested.

 

[JKDJedi]

I have some single triode Sylvania's I termed the Naughty Girls, black plate, three hole, 6J5's. Their successor was the 7A4.

Love it! I haven't heard every Sylvania made but prefer the Chrome Domes short bottle 6SN7GT ( getter flash three guarters the way down if not completely covering the entire glass) although one could argue here too that there is only ONE CHROME DOME. (1950)?

 

[bcowen]

You should have said something when we were doing the GE tube challenge, mine is now with other tubes I own about to be blind tested.

You have a round plate Tung Sol? YOU should have said something, LOL!!

Although I certainly wouldn't have blamed you for not putting it in a PVC pipe...that would have been almost sacrilegious and angered the tube gods.