[David222]

Curious, are those a plug and play replacement for 6sn7s?

No. If not mistaken, @Wes S has them on adapters.

 

[Monsterzero]

No. If not mistaken, @Wes S has them on adapters.

I understand that adapters are required, but having owned amps in the past that were built around the 6sn7 family, I've not heard of these tubes before.
For example, the Glenn OTL used 6SN7s , but eventually we figured out 6J5s could be used instead of the 6SN7. They were much cheaper and sounded much better, to the point that Keenan designed the Airmid around the 6J5.
One 6SN7=2 6J5s

Curious of what limitations, if any, one has when using them.

 

[WillieB]

Curious, are those a plug and play replacement for 6sn7s?

Max plate voltage on the CV1135 is 500V! Heater current is .21, so even with 2 of them to replace a 6SN7, heater current would be less at .42A vs. the .6A of a 6SN7. Interesting tube and I don't see anything that would create a hazard in the place of any 6SN7.

 

[Wes S]

I understand that adapters are required, but having owned amps in the past that were built around the 6sn7 family, I've not heard of these tubes before.
For example, the Glenn OTL used 6SN7s , but eventually we figured out 6J5s could be used instead of the 6SN7. They were much cheaper and sounded much better, to the point that Keenan designed the Airmid around the 6J5.
One 6SN7=2 6J5s

Curious of what limitations, if any, one has when using them.

@WillieB beat me to it. The CV1135, CV6, 7913, VR135, 6C8C and DET20 (it has a lot of names), came out around the same time as the 6J5 and is very similar albeit with the grid and anode pins moved to the top caps to help deal better with interference. They are very very good tubes, and I know of several 6J5 guys that ended up preferring the CV1135 and VR135. I have not compared the two myself and missed the boat on the 6J5's before they got so expensive and rare, but I sure am glad I found out about the CV1135 while they are still going for about $30 - $50 a tube.

I have some Mullard, GEC and Russian made versions and they are all incredible, and with those three I am covered with each have totally different but equally amazing sound signatures. I have had all the super rare and expensive 6SN7's (RFT, Melz 1578, TS BGRP etc...), and they can't hold a candle to what the CV1135 etc. . . can do. It's quite stunning how much better they are, and I can literally feel the music now and hear detail like never before without any harshness whatsoever.

I don't know if they are worth messing with if you already have an amp designed for 6J5's and have a good collection of them like yourself, but as mentioned earlier there are a few that have heard both and prefer the CV1135, so they may be worth trying out.

 

[Monsterzero]

I don't think they can be used in lieu of 6j5 in the Airmid, but I will let @L0rdGwyn clarify.
They sound very interesting indeed

 

[suno23]

Got to love a little GEC house sound in the mix...



The 50's CV1135 from the GEC Hammersmith factory is a killer tube, and smokes any 6SN7 out there. Speed, texture, layering, dynamics, holographic staging to die for and harmonic richness is all here in spades.

I have never heard my VC's sound so right, and it's adapter tubes for the win!

The Cayin HA300mk2 continues to blow my mind everytime I listen, and it's almost been a year of ownership now. It's such an amazing amp, and fits my preferences just perfect.

Just got in the GEC KT8C for HA-6A and right of the bat no burn in they already sound amazing. Hopefully they don't change too much from this but still have some burn in to do.

 

[suno23]

Curious, are those a plug and play replacement for 6sn7s?

yup those look exactly like the adapters I used for GEC KT8C for EL34 sockets. If its the same its just plug and play.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I don't think they can be used in lieu of 6j5 in the Airmid, but I will let @L0rdGwyn clarify.
They sound very interesting indeed

They are equivalent to 6J5 electrically, so they can be used in Airmid with an adapter. Just be sure you make the correct connection to the two top caps with the adapter, one is the grid and one is the plate, so swapping them would be bad. Also, don't touch the plate top cap / lead as there is high voltage there.

 

[Monsterzero]

Just be sure you make the correct connection to the two top caps with the adapter

Ughhh, getting senile in my old age sucks. Yes, once you mentioned making sure of getting the caps correct I realized I've already tried these tubes in the Airmid, courtesy of @pravous

The issue I have (besides being old) is my vision is the worst and even with glasses I cant see the wiring inside to ensure the caps get the correct wire, so Pravous did it for me prior to shipping.

Now that I think about it, the ones I tried seemed to have more gain than 6J5s, also had a wider stage too.

 

[oldmankensey]

So, I just got my AC in and am looking to upgrade my amp. I was going to do this while I waited for the AC to come in but did not realize some were already made and in stock

I've narrowed it down to the following below. I'm looking to spend around 1k-1.5k.

I'm leaning towards an OTL
Echo mk2 or WA2

Non OTL I could Strech for the Cayin HA-3A


I was looking at solid states and the V222 seemed pretty great along with the Cayin IHA-6 I just feel like I need to go OTL to experience that with ZMF's first and then get a second solid state to see what that is all about.

I've done some digging and there isn't much in the way of tube amps in that price area. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free. I'm also into buying used if it could get me a better tier amp for around the same price.

I know this post was a while ago but I have an Echo 2 and love it with Auteur OG, although I’m finding the chain a bit too bright at the moment.

I’m also in the Philly area.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Spent some time yesterday trying to figure out what tubes to bring with Aegis to this Pittsburgh meet next weekend. Going with the Philips GZ34, RCA 5691, and Mullard EL37. One of my EL37 can be a little noisy at times, but it seems to settle once it warms up, so we're doing it, they're too good to leave behind. Will have some Mullard EL34 on standby. Just going to bring the Caldera along for the event.

 

[whirlwind]

Spent some time yesterday trying to figure out what tubes to bring with Aegis to this Pittsburgh meet next weekend. Going with the Philips GZ34, RCA 5691, and Mullard EL37. One of my EL37 can be a little noisy at times, but it seems to settle once it warms up, so we're doing it, they're too good to leave behind. Will have some Mullard EL34 on standby. Just going to bring the Caldera along for the event.

The Mullard EL37 are sweet tubes, I prefer them to the GEC KT66 in my GEL3N amp.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

The Mullard EL37 are sweet tubes, I prefer them to the GEC KT66 in my GEL3N amp.

Yeah they are excellent. I never got around to trying KT66 in this amp, the next one to try on my list was a NOS Tung-Sol 6550, I bought a pair but one was DOA and I never grabbed another, the EL37 are keeping me satisfied.

I re-flowed the solder on the pins of the noisy EL37 yesterday and fixed the noise, nice.

Edit: never mind, I spoke too soon lol.

 

[BRH0]

Just bought my first ZMF Atrium, now looking for a good OTL amp to pair with it, ideally under $2k. I’ve been looking at a couple of the Feliks amps but idk as much about tubes because I’ve always used solid state amps. Can anyone help me?

 

[Deleeh]

Just bought my first ZMF Atrium, now looking for a good OTL amp to pair with it, ideally under $2k. I’ve been looking at a couple of the Feliks amps but idk as much about tubes because I’ve always used solid state amps. Can anyone help me?

Hello,

What do you want to know about tubes?
The Euforia would be good if you are willing to pay the price of the tubes where you currently stand.
Otherwise there is the Cayhin ha 3a which is not an Otl but a set amp.

I would also look at the Icon Audio Hp8 Signature which is also a small secret amp that works with Zmf headphones.

Otherwise, there is something cheap from Eufonika on Ebay as an Otl amplifier but I don't know how good it is with the Zmf headphones.