[Paladin79]

My finished headphone stand in quartered oak, no wires show, switch is mounted in the base for right now, batteries and LED's are replaceable, as are the tubes.

 

[Grado Diesel]

Anyone tried out a tung-sol 6sn7gt vt 231 in their vali2? I’m eyeing on online.

 

[Paladin79]

I have and they are very good sounding tubes. Black glass oval plates?

 

[Old Deaf Donkey]

Anyone tried out a tung-sol 6sn7gt vt 231 in their vali2? I’m eyeing on online.

I have two so-called "mouse ears", grey T-plates - if that's what you mean, not marked VT 231. Excellent, euphonic sound, very clear and airy. EDIT: I see. That's different stuff. VT 231 go for $300-400 apiece. Not my league.

 

[Paladin79]

VT 231 is the military version, they generally say VT 231 right on the tube. Some are marked JAN as well.

 

[Old Deaf Donkey]

VT 231 is the military version, they generally say VT 231 right on the tube. Some are marked JAN as well.

An interesting story, Just bought 2 more MELZ 6N8S from a guy in Russia. During exchange of emails, it transpired that he - a retired Soviet high-ranking officer - bought this pair of MELZ many years ago from Canada (!). A week later he bought a pair of Tung-Sol VT-231 black glass from 1942 and ever since only listens to them, changing to a new pair every couple of years. Now, getting old, he decided to get rid of his other tubes. So I got lucky with the MELZ.

 

[Paladin79]

I found a seller in Russia with five Melz he had not listed but unfortunately he wanted nearly $500 for them, about the going price.

I am not sure what was so good about the year 1942 but my favorite grey glass RCA's are from that time period. Maybe just knowing what was going on with the world and the short run of grey and black glass adds to the value, or perhaps the inside coating makes a slight difference.

 

[bcowen]

My finished headphone stand in quartered oak, no wires show, switch is mounted in the base for right now, batteries and LED's are replaceable, as are the tubes.

Sweet! That's just gorgeous, Tom.

 

[bcowen]

I have two so-called "mouse ears", grey T-plates - if that's what you mean, not marked VT 231. Excellent, euphonic sound, very clear and airy. EDIT: I see. That's different stuff. VT 231 go for $300-400 apiece. Not my league.

I have one Mouse Ear, bought from a vendor regularly noted here. Tests at bare minimum good levels although it was advertised as NOS. Doesn't do much for me, but that could be due to the fact it's close to dead as far as GM. I'll look for a Mouse Ear that tests well and my opinion could easily change.

 

[Ripper2860]

I have one Mouse Ear, bought from a vendor regularly noted here.

I'm pretty sure he tube is supposed to have 2 mouse ears. Could be why it measures low.

 

[bcowen]

I'm pretty sure he tube is supposed to have 2 mouse ears. Could be why it measure low.

Oh sure. Right. Like you have 2 ears or something? Gimme a break.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

An interesting story, Just bought 2 more MELZ 6N8S from a guy in Russia. During exchange of emails, it transpired that he - a retired Soviet high-ranking officer - bought this pair of MELZ many years ago from Canada (!). A week later he bought a pair of Tung-Sol VT-231 black glass from 1942 and ever since only listens to them, changing to a new pair every couple of years. Now, getting old, he decided to get rid of his other tubes. So I got lucky with the MELZ.

A soviet officer?! As a sea-cadet-obsessed teenager in the 80s, I had a very screwed up mental image of the Soviets. I'm not a religious man... but it's cool to see how a ColdWar veteran was able to pass on his love of analog to a former enemy. And no, I'm not going to burst into a Sting song, Russians.

 

[bcowen]

And no, I'm not going to burst into a Sting song, Russians.

Thank you for that.

LOL!!!

 

[Paladin79]

Sweet! That's just gorgeous, Tom.

Bill I will make one out of curly cherry and you can see how you like it. I left one unfinished for another friend so he could match it to a bottlehead crack case. Soon I should have access to some aged barn wood if you like that effect more, rustic is much easier to make, a slip of a chisel or router would be less noticeable.

Shown below is an unfinished kit I just made, cat sold separately.

 

[Ripper2860]

Be sure to mention to Bill that is a a DYI kit, like BHC. He'll get the parts and instructions and can then put it together himself.

Oh -- and it costs extra to substitute other tubes in place of GE.