[Rawrbington]

how do i figure out if they are half decent?
the only option i have is to plug em into the amp really

 

[hodgjy]

This is why I am no longer in the market to buy additional 5998s.  I spent a long time buying, trying, and sending back less than optimal tubes.  It seems like most of them were extremely microphonic or had way too much static even after cleaning the heck out of the pins.  It was a reputable dealer, so I eventually got good tubes, but I'm getting too old and impatient to play the 5998 lottery these days, especially as prices keep going up and up.  The market is leading some people to sell tubes that maybe shouldn't be sold, or at least under "NOS" pretenses.
 
Quote:

Just be careful. I purchased a couple of pairs of 5998 from a reputable online supplier and had to send them back. He was selling them for $45 each. Good thing I have a tester to make sure they were half descent.
 

 

 

[Golfnutz]

Quote:

 
I almost did myself.
 
 

I had to laugh when you PM'd me. I'm thinking, the LAST thing he needs is another pair of tubes

 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

how do i figure out if they are half decent?
the only option i have is to plug em into the amp really

PM incoming.
 

 

[Rawrbington]

Quote:

This is why I am no longer in the market to buy additional 5998s.  I spent a long time buying, trying, and sending back less than optimal tubes.  It seems like most of them were extremely microphonic or had way too much static even after cleaning the heck out of the pins.  It was a reputable dealer, so I eventually got good tubes, but I'm getting too old and impatient to play the 5998 lottery these days, especially as prices keep going up and up.  The market is leading some people to sell tubes that maybe shouldn't be sold, or at least under "NOS" pretenses.
 


 

great...
i actually just went ahead and ordered a pair for 90$.
i guess i just cross my fingers.  the site claims they "test" them and guarantee them for 30 days.  so i guess i'll just put em in the amp and give it a listen...
 
theres an old tv/music shop thats almost like a pawn shop by my work.  i wonder if he'd let me use his tube tester.

 

[Ahzari]

So I've been playing around a bit with the 6SN7 and 6DE7 on the WA6... They are obviously not burned in (arrived today) but the stock 6DE7 tubes are sounding better than the 6SN7 (came with some RCAs).
The 6DE7 have smoother, richer, deeper sound.. The 6SN7 almost gives me the feeling that I'm listening to a SS amp.
Considering taking the 15% hit and returning them to Woo. Would the sound signature drastically change with burn in?
From this thread I got the impression that the 6SN7 tubes are supposed to be superior to the 6DE7...

 

[hodgjy]

This is all I did, and I knew right away.  You will, too.  No need to worry too much.  It'll all work out.  They'll either sound great or the vendor will get you tubes that do.
 
Quote:

 so i guess i'll just put em in the amp and give it a listen...  
 

 

 

[jc9394]

Quote:

I had to laugh when you PM'd me. I'm thinking, the LAST thing he needs is another pair of tubes

 

Still need that BL63... 

 

[shipsupt]

I happened across another picture of the inside of the heat sinks/housings on the WA6SE... recalling some chatter about this in the recent past I thought I'd post it.  They are not "potted" from the looks of this picture.
 

 
And a few others of interest...
 

 

 

 
http://ravenda.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/woo-audio-6-se/
 
 
 
 

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

The WE is simply a rebadged TS5998.  People claiming to hear differences between the tubes most likely are hearing manufacturing variation rather than one tube being "superior" to the other.
 


 

I did some digging into this, and am surprised nobody else has really done so.  Especially in the 6AS7 thread where it got discussed in more length. 
 
IMO the claim that the WE 421A is identical to the TS5998 just because it is made by Tung-Sol can be debunked by looking at the data sheets.  There are several key differences, most notably an even higher mu factor of 6.1 as opposed to the 5.5 of the 5998, and even higher transconductance than a 5998.  There were also a couple of minor physical design differences that are really hard to spot by eye.  So the 421A may in fact sound different than the 5998 by design, and may operate a bit differently electrically in a circuit than a 5998 would.
 
I think it's entirely possible that when people say they sound different they are actually hearing that difference.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

Just be careful. I purchased a couple of pairs of 5998 from a reputable online supplier and had to send them back. He was selling them for $45 each. Good thing I have a tester to make sure they were half descent.
 

Pretty sure I know who this is referring to.  I bought some tubes there too and I'm suspicious they test poorly, but don't have the tester to confirm.  If they are testing the tube as a 6AS7 by mistake it would be a big problem for the buyers, since a new reading for a 6AS7 would represent a very used up 5998. 

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

So I've been playing around a bit with the 6SN7 and 6DE7 on the WA6... They are obviously not burned in (arrived today) but the stock 6DE7 tubes are sounding better than the 6SN7 (came with some RCAs).
The 6DE7 have smoother, richer, deeper sound.. The 6SN7 almost gives me the feeling that I'm listening to a SS amp.
Considering taking the 15% hit and returning them to Woo. Would the sound signature drastically change with burn in?
From this thread I got the impression that the 6SN7 tubes are supposed to be superior to the 6DE7...

 
Most tubes sound edgy when new.  Give them 50 hours and they'll settle down.  The 6SN7 in particular doesn't gain any depth or ease of expression until it has been run for a little while.  Then you start getting the magic.  The signature will always be different than the 6DE7 though, whether you prefer it or not will take time to judge.

 

[hodgjy]

Well, whatya know?  I learned something new today. 

  Although, I'll still never pay the asking price for the WE. 
 
Quote:

I did some digging into this, and am surprised nobody else has really done so.  Especially in the 6AS7 thread where it got discussed in more length. 
 
IMO the claim that the WE 421A is identical to the TS5998 just because it is made by Tung-Sol can be debunked by looking at the data sheets.  There are several key differences, most notably an even higher mu factor of 6.1 as opposed to the 5.5 of the 5998, and even higher transconductance than a 5998.  There were also a couple of minor physical design differences that are really hard to spot by eye.  So the 421A may in fact sound different than the 5998 by design, and may operate a bit differently electrically in a circuit than a 5998 would.
 
I think it's entirely possible that when people say they sound different they are actually hearing that difference.

 

 

[hodgjy]

Would the mailing address be in Florida, by chance?
 
Quote:

Pretty sure I know who this is referring to.  I bought some tubes there too and I'm suspicious they test poorly, but don't have the tester to confirm.  If they are testing the tube as a 6AS7 by mistake it would be a big problem for the buyers, since a new reading for a 6AS7 would represent a very used up 5998. 

 

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

 
Most tubes sound edgy when new.  Give them 50 hours and they'll settle down.  The 6SN7 in particular doesn't gain any depth or ease of expression until it has been run for a little while.  Then you start getting the magic.  The signature will always be different than the 6DE7 though, whether you prefer it or not will take time to judge.

thanks appreciate the input, ill give them some more time.