Well they sound more coherent than the Black Treasure, which I also have. Better bass and as much detail as the treasures.
Andrew
The Reference 6SN7 Thread
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Andrew
My objective in looking for cosmetic pairs is not actually aesthetics but a desire to have tubes in each channel that have a higher likelihood of being sonically the same rather than tubes that are likely to be different. In my gear, electronic tube tester matching is not needed to achieve that. If two tubes look the same to me I am perfectly happy to mix a brand and a rebrand (EIA codes sometimes help with that) or a yellow label Sylvania with a green one etc. I've got a green Dumont that would look great with the same tube in Dumont red. I have looked at so many examples of some tubes with major brands on them that I sometimes have a strong hunch only one company made most of them and the others rebranded them. Sometimes I sort through used tubes missing some information on them such as date codes and wonder what people who also do that (or buy pairs like that) accept or reject. It's personal preference. No matter what anyone says, I'm not so OCD that I wondered if posing my question was blasphemy. Thank you for sharing. It's good to learn how others approach this.This is my own personal opinion and not intended as criticism on another way of doing things or looking at things...
I personally think you're being too exacting in your matching efforts. Some of the differences you mention are entirely visual and cannot possibly affect the sound character vs another tube with similar construction from the same era. I think the mild OCD tendencies we audiophiles often have can lead into audio nervosa pretty easily and tube "matching", tube "lore" and the greed of others feed that condition immensely. I would concentrate more on putting together pairs/quads that are definitely the same manufacturer with identical construction from the same era. When I say identical construction I don't mean identical twins, right down to the last freckle. If you get the manufacturer and the era right, the variances in how the getter material flashed or how the same shape mica was oriented won't mean a thing in terms of performance (electrical or audible). I think we've all heard tubes that were mind-blowingly good and rushed out to grab another pair of the same, only to find that the new ones - identical though they may be - didn't sound as good. This may be down to break in, or how it was used in its previous life, but it's also clear they can just sound different for no apparent reason. Give them some time and let your ear decide. If we're searching for good sounding pairs, we probably want ones that - shock alert - sound good paired up in our gear. If one has a tester it's also worthwhile to get a general idea of health, but being too pedantic about matching electrical performance isn't going to buy much audible joy either. Or at least its not going to insure it.
So when you say matched pairs are not too important for your gear it tells me you're: 1) Not selling them on to people who care about the electrical matching and 2) you are more concerned about cosmetics. This is an entirely acceptable and a valid activity if, as part of the hobby, you get enjoyment out of the process. But where you draw the line on what defines a match is your own comfort level. I get that you're just asking what others do, and fair enough. Are you asking to gauge where your own level of OCD falls on the spectrum? I say that in a gently kidding manner.
Cheers,
Robert
babyoh
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Just picked up a pair of 7N7 to 6SN7 adapters and need 7N7 tube rolling ideas. Which 7N7 is especially capable of giving this 3D like sound? Thanks.
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LobalWarming
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bcowen
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They are getting hard to find at reasonable prices, but worth the hunt IMO.
Didn't see anything on Ebay right now for un-stupid prices, but saw this one on Etsy. A bit pricey, but not out of line.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/181759...17592575&click_sum=62607124&ref=hp_rv-1&sts=1
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babyoh
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Is there a big difference between "tall bottle" 7N7 and the dime a dozen "short bottle" 7N7? If so, which brand should I look for or they are more or less made by Sylvania? Thanks.
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LobalWarming
Headphoneus Supremus
Suggest you take @bcowen's suggestion.
All my Frankie 7N7s are tall bottles. Haven't seen a short bottle version. Might have been made at some point. Nearly all 7N7s were made by Sylvania (and rebranded by nearly every company). National Union also made some. (Side note: In 1954, National Union sold their remaining tube factories to Sylvania)
bcowen
Headphoneus Supremus
To my ears, yes. As @LobalWarming noted, the great majority were made by Sylvania regardless of the external branding. My favorites are the tall bottles with top flashing that comes down 1/3rd to 1/2 the length of the bottle, T-plates that face each other, and top and bottom micas that are 'racetrack' or a full unbroken oval.
Isaacc7
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Tall bottles are the way to go. Short bottle Sylvania 6sn7/7n7 are quality tubes but the older versions in the tall bottles do seem to be better.
JKDJedi
Headphoneus Supremus
Oh man, your looking for the Frankenstein (Franken Head) 7N7 with the flat tops and lower oval mica (shape of a race track almost)
@bcowen is the expert on this one, he named these 7N7 type. With 1000's of listening hours to pinpoint this type of 7N7.
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I agree the tall bottles are best but are also some of the rarest / oldest / most expensive. Th bog standard 7n7 by Sylvania (and rebadged by others) is still a very able performer siting high up in the 6SN7GT hierarchy for not silly money.
Isaacc7
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Agreed. I think the biggest thing to look for is the paralleled plates as opposed to the angled ones.
On the other hand any sane person should be able to enjoy music played through most of the Sylvania *sn7 and variants. But when you come to the asylum to ask for advice you’re going to hear crazy stuff lol.
alvin sawdust
1000+ Head-Fier
Hi chaps. Have any of you 6sn7 lovers compared Brimar 6sn7 clear glass with the black glass version?
A pal of mine has had both and declared he couldn’t discern any difference. One or two others here have declared they like the clear glass version better.
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