The Reference 6SN7 Thread

[Deleeh]

Well if you ever wanna sell any just let me know. I would like to have at laest another 4 pairs of 6sn7. I would also love to try the elrog 300b - ive heard so many good things about them.

Hello,
I tried to find out more information about the cheaper tubes (Ge) offered by Sophia Electric and unfortunately the information I received was rather sparse.
This was also a bit noticeable in the answer.

So the buy button didn't really get me going - even with the limited edition tube, the information was so sparse that it was better to leave it alone.

When the Linlai came out at the beginning of the year I got an answer from them and it was more satisfactory and they also managed to describe their 6SN7 halfway.
And they were also able to name a few attributes in that respect.

That's why I can only join the others.
I think that when you buy tubes, the dealers should know at least a little bit about them.
No one likes to buy a flop, which does happen, but at that price I have to be honest and say that you are advertising a product that you should know about.

Similarly with Billigton in the UK, don't buy the house brand. This is a normal tube bought at a similar or cheaper price.
You are paying for the advertised service which is quite rare.
This is what happened to me when I asked for the 6AS7G Billigton, which is then a Svetlana that you can buy anywhere at the normal price.
Even then, the information was very, very sparse, so I didn't bother.
It may mean free market economy but it is fraud if you talk about it openly.


Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Galapac]

If you are going to buy new tubes stick to resellers like Craig from NessTone.com who will readily admit that he has rebranded tubes from Shuguang and others but has his specs and his name on the tubes. He also pre-tests his stock before it is shipped out and his prices are very good. I have bought from him a few times and he is always quick to respond and has replaced a tube I got that had a loose base.
He sells his tubes and others at reasonable prices.

 

[David222]

Recently came across these on the world wide web...appreciate any thoughts?

If not mistaken, I remember reading older thread(s) indicating Amperex never manufactured 6SN7, correct?

 

[TLO]

Recently came across these on the world wide web...appreciate any thoughts?

If not mistaken, I remember reading older thread(s) indicating Amperex never manufactured 6SN7, correct?

Those are RCA 6SN7GTB relabeled.

 

[Deleeh]

Hello,
any suggestion about this tube?

https://www.ebay.de/itm/165249308380

 

[Ripper2860]

The most sought after are the black plate WH GTBs (these are gray) with the square top getter holder and Reliatron labeled base. I'd keep on the lookout for those. I can say with certainty that they are very nice sounding tubes.

 

[Renexx]

Just got these in today.
I can only tell these are made by Westinghouse in USA 1961/62 and not made in Japan like the later versions.

https://www.ebay.de/itm/2-NEU-Westi...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
These would be the Japan made version. Seems to have grey plates.

For early 6sn7gt versions westinghouse did only relabel RCA tubes.

 

[Deleeh]

The most sought after are the black plate WH GTBs (these are gray) with the square top getter holder and Reliatron labeled base. I'd keep on the lookout for those. I can say with certainty that they are very nice sounding tubes.

Hello,
and thanks for the feedback.
So are the ones I linked to above "good" or "bad" versions of WH?
Because I am thinking about buying them.

 

[Ranger Ron]

Hello,
and thanks for the feedback.
So are the ones I linked to above "good" or "bad" versions of WH?
Because I am thinking about buying them.

After all of the forum reading I have done, Japanese tubes come highly regarded. If you want real Westinghouse tubes don’t buy the tubes you have linked. I’m fairly certain they are Japanese.

 

[Deleeh]

After all of the forum reading I have done, Japanese tubes come highly regarded. If you want real Westinghouse tubes don’t buy the tubes you have linked. I’m fairly certain they are Japanese.

Okay, too bad and thank you very much.
Are there any differences in sound between the US and Japanese versions?
I also did some googling and most people were happy with it.
And they also pointed out the 337 marker that this is supposed to be a US version.
I saw that it was even on it and that it was from 1964.
If it was a Japanese one and they are in demand, it wouldn't necessarily be wrong, would it?

The Hitachi Ultron I have could convince me on the Feliks Euforia with the Mullard pairing.
And it is a Japanese tube.

 

[Renexx]

Hello,
and thanks for the feedback.
So are the ones I linked to above "good" or "bad" versions of WH?
Because I am thinking about buying them.

To me your link seems to be the USA made versions. But the pictures are quite bad! The mica construction seems to be like the ones I have and not round shape like the Japanese ones.

Also notice the print on the top "made in USA"

Westinghouse did make tubes in USA until 1965 then imported from Japan.

 

[TLO]

They are really trying to invoke FOMO with this one (”Limited Edition” in the title and ”Very limited availability!” in the description):

https://sophiaelectric.com/collections/input-driver-tubes/products/pages-se-new-6sn7

Only $240! Almost ten times what some other standard glass tube new production 6SN7’s cost..

Is it their own manufacture or rebranded? If it’s a rebrand, is it possible to see who manufactured them on the interior design?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/2359glenn-studio.600110/post-15097775
It is a NEC 6SN7GTB relabeled...now, you know...

 

[Deleeh]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/2359glenn-studio.600110/post-15097775
It is a NEC 6SN7GTB relabeled...now, you know...

Boaar is a cheek when you see what the Nec costs compared to the Sophia Electric tubes.
So huge price difference in that respect and then it's a Japanese one and not an Us one where they try to make gold out of lead.

Thanks for the info

Edit:
Here's a bit of history that might shed some light on the darkness.
Reads a bit strange with the translator but still okay.
The tubes don't look bad either.
https://www.pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/02_PEARL_Arch/Vol_16/Sec_53/VTV/11_Spring_1999.pdf

 

[Isaacc7]

I haven't gone through this entire master thread so I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before. I'm sure we all know that the 7n7 is the same tube as a sylvania 6sn7. Fine tubes throughout their run. You can find both tall and short bottle versions of the 7n7 that correspond to 6sn7 of the same vintage. The 14n7 is a 12v version of the 7n7 and so you would think that it would be equivalent to the Sylvania 12sn7. Well, the plates do look the same but curiously they have an extra copper support rod in them. Check it out, this is a NU branded short bottle:

And here is an earlier tall bottle 14n7 with Zenith labeling with the same structure:

I no longer have any with me to compare but I'm pretty sure this is similar to the coveted and much (much!) more expensive Sylvania metal base 6sn7w. I have never seen any other sylvania 6sn7 or 12sn7 with the copper support rods in them. Nor have I seen any 7n7 tubes with them. I'm pretty sure it is only the metal base 6sn7w Ann the 14n7 that have these. The 14n7 is still around although they are considerably more difficult to find than the 7n7. I use these in my Supratek preamp and they sound amazing.

 

[Isaacc7]

Here's another 14n7 puzzle. It is my understanding that all 7n7 and 14n7 tubes were made by Sylvania except for a very early version that was actually made by NU. It's also my understanding that the plates of the Sylvania *n7 tubes were identical to the *sn7 tubes of the same vintage. I don't think I've ever seen a grey glass Sylvania 6sn7 but look at this:

Has anyone ever seen a comparable looking Sylvania 6sn7 or 12n7? This does have the copper rod in it like I mentioned in my previous post. I think they sound a little darker than my other 14n7 tubes but I don't know if that's just my imagination lol. This almost looks like a 14n7 shoved in the bottle of a 14c5. Wonder what was going on at the factory...