[Silent One]

Quote:

^ Good to know that it darkens over time. I got mine last summer and I've been swapping it in and out out too.
 
Skylab's suggestion to look for reasonably priced NOS 5U4G paid off. I just ordered a couple NOS RCA 5U4G black plates for under $60. I've never rolled the RCA coke bottle tubes before.

Silent notes ~
 
Sophia Princess 274B Mesh - 10 Days @ hours 75,  entire bottom third already covered.  EML 5U4G Mesh - 27 days @ hours 136, a very small trace of silver covering at the very bottom on one side; hardly noticeable. The EML glass must be enjoying relations with the 6SE... and music.
 
 
 
 

 

[flaming_june]

Quote:

Almost the entire inside of my EML 274B darkened over time.  It was like it gave itself a window tint job.  You can even see streaking around the area where the glass curves into the dome because the burned off getter didn't drift through the tube evenly.  There is no part of the glass that looks completely clear on mine anymore, and I doubt I have more than 300 hours on mine overall since I am always swapping it out for other tubes to make comparisons or just mix things up.

Same here.  But these days I like sophia with the T1 while EML with the grado and others.  So the EML gets less worn.

 

[Clayton SF]

That's good that you're appreciating the Sophia's magic. I've seen a drop in usage. Or a drop in reporting its usage. I hear more about the EML than the Sophia even though the Sophia was the first "mesh" (bullet ridden) plate that I had heard about.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

^ Good to know that it darkens over time. I got mine last summer and I've been swapping it in and out out too.
 
Skylab's suggestion to look for reasonably priced NOS 5U4G paid off. I just ordered a couple NOS RCA 5U4G black plates for under $60. I've never rolled the RCA coke bottle tubes before.

After spending some quality time with my Tung Sol I've decided the 5U4G sound just isn't for me.  It places vocals too far forward in the mix for my tastes.  A nice tube otherwise but I am always thinking the singer needs to take a step back while listening to it.  I am a huge fan of the Brimar 5R4GY I picked up last month though.  I find the 5R4 tubes to be similar sounding to a 274B in many ways, all good ones too.  Folks who aren't willing to spend $250 on the EML 274B have a pretty nice runner-up option in the Brimar IMO.

 

[Clayton SF]

I really like the 5R4. Why is it that a 5R4GY sounds better than a 5R4GYA (subjective of course). In other words, why are the ST tubes (coke bottle) preferred over the tubular ones? I wonder how they came about designing those coke bottle tubes. I'd really like to go back in time to see a tube engineer (is that what they called them?) sit down in front of his drawing board the day the he decided that the glass envelope would work better shaped like this. Okay--I digress. OT. But a fascinating topic to me none the less.

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

I really like the 5R4. Why is it that a 5R4GY sounds better than a 5R4GYA (subjective of course). In other words, why are the ST tubes (coke bottle) preferred over the tubular ones? I wonder how they came about designing those coke bottle tubes. I'd really like to go back in time to see a tube engineer (is that what they called them?) sit down in front of his drawing board the day the he decided that the glass envelope would work better shaped like this. Okay--I digress. OT. But a fascinating topic to me none the less.

I'm starting to grow curious about our counterparts overseas - what might a fine valve from France or Britain sound like in the 6SE? I recall someone in this space mentioning the Mullard ECC32 sounding rather lush... I like lush. But I also like clean, low-end freqs.
 
Hopefully lush & low-end aren't mutually exclusive. Anyone know if I could have it all (my cake and eat it too!) with the Mullard?
 

 

[jc9394]

 
Quote:

I'm starting to grow curious about our counterparts overseas - what might a fine valve from France or Britain sound like in the 6SE? I recall someone in this space mentioning the Mullard ECC32 sounding rather lush... I like lush. But I also like clean, low-end freqs.
 
Hopefully lush & low-end aren't mutually exclusive. Anyone know if I could have it all (my cake and eat it too!) with the Mullard?
 

If you like lush, try Brimar CV1988 with NOS Mullard GZ34.
 

 

[Clayton SF]

My WA22 has an ever so faint hum that is coming out of the left channel. I can only hear it when music isn't playing or during silent passages. It's more prominent with my HD650 and almost nonexistent with the AKG701 and DT990 600 ohm. When I use the 5R4 it is virtually gone on all headphones. Go figure. =/ Right now I am listening to the HD650 and a 5Z4; it lifts the HD650 veil.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Lush and the Brimar CV1988 would seem to be limited only to the grey and black glass variety.  The pair of clear glass ones I picked up have been a disappointment.  They sound dry and closed in, with weak bass and the occasional bite on the top end to seal the deal.  Perhaps more burn in will change the story, but I'm not counting on it.  They were alarmingly harsh when new and have settled a lot, so I think this is about what I'll get from them, which makes them the least desirable 6SN7 in my collection at the moment.  The golden rule appears to be if you want something seductive and lush sounding don't bother looking past the 40's and early 50's for it because it doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Silent One]

edit-

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Lush and the Brimar CV1988 would seem to be limited only to the grey and black glass variety.  The pair of clear glass ones I picked up have been a disappointment.  They sound dry and closed in, with weak bass and the occasional bite on the top end to seal the deal.  Perhaps more burn in will change the story, but I'm not counting on it.  They were alarmingly harsh when new and have settled a lot, so I think this is about what I'll get from them, which makes them the least desirable 6SN7 in my collection at the moment.  The golden rule appears to be if you want something seductive and lush sounding don't bother looking past the 40's and early 50's for it because it doesn't exist anymore.

Were you ever able to hear the grey/black glass varieties after your experience with the clear glass tubes?
 

 

[2359glenn]

 
Quote:

That's good that you're appreciating the Sophia's magic. I've seen a drop in usage. Or a drop in reporting its usage. I hear more about the EML than the Sophia even though the Sophia was the first "mesh" (bullet ridden) plate that I had heard about.

Oh no Sophia wasn't the first mesh rectifier the 80 mesh plate globe tube from the 1930s was the first. The 80 is a 5Y3 in a 4 prong tube. The 80 is predecessor to the 5Y3.
I use one in my preamp.
 
 

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

Were you ever able to hear the grey/black glass varieties after your experience with the clear glass tubes?
 

Not as of yet.  My comment is based on what I've read of the tubes, and I should have been more clear on that.  I tend to do that without realizing it unfortunately. 
 
To be honest, I am done buying 6SN7 now.  I have the TSRP and the Bad Boy Sylvania, both exceptional tubes.  I was hoping to find something a little sweeter than the Bad Boy to suit my K701s in the Brimar, but it didn't turn out that way.  Perhaps the black glass version is exactly what I wanted, but I'm not spending that kind of money to find out. 

 

[Icenine2]

Wow,
 
I thought maybe you guys were breathing too much tube gas or something with the colorizations but............my EML 5U is getting a tad silver on the bottom.  About 125 hours or more.  Here's a thought..........tube timers!
 
Quote:

Silent notes ~
 
Sophia Princess 274B Mesh - 10 Days @ hours 75,  entire bottom third already covered.  EML 5U4G Mesh - 27 days @ hours 136, a very small trace of silver covering at the very bottom on one side; hardly noticeable. The EML glass must be enjoying relations with the 6SE... and music.
 
 
 
 

 

 

[Silent One]

Quote:

Wow,
 
I thought maybe you guys were breathing too much tube gas or something with the colorizations but............my EML 5U is getting a tad silver on the bottom.  About 125 hours or more.  Here's a thought..........tube timers!
 


 

After seeing my comments again, clearly I must have been in a 'Woo - induced' state when making them...