[daverich4]

Hard to recommend. Brimar is a favorite of mine however these are highly regarded as well:

Mullard GZ30, 32 and 34.

TAK274B is outstanding but pricey.

Other members should have some favourites as well.

WE422a works for me.

 

[leftside]

Most of my favorite rectifiers have already been mentioned. I also really like the Cossor 53KU.

 

[Bitten by Bug]

So many nice rectifiers, so little time....
 
As I was contemplating how to shuffle the tube deck today, it occurred to me that my vehicle is what is truly amazing in this entire arena.
 
Kudos to Woo for the amp that continues to scale as new and improved sources, tubes and headphones are thrown into the mix.

 

[3083joe]

Yes I have a couple of Brimars coming.  Is there another rectifier that you recommend?  

The ones Badas recommended plus we422 is excellent (300-400)
Brimar 5r4 is wonderful (80-90)
Cossor 53KU (fat bottle gz37) (200-400)
GEC U52 (200-400)
Tak274B is best rectifier I've ever used! Hands down tho.
Enjoy.

 

[3083joe]

I need some help.

Can some please give me info on metal gz34 with codes
" top line +or T followed by V2, bottom line 56L"

Thanks for any help.

 

[ru4music]

I need some help.

Can some please give me info on metal gz34 with codes
" top line +or T followed by V2, bottom line 56L"

Thanks for any help.

 
+    (Philips - Sittard, Holland)
V2  (tube type/ change code data)
56  (year - 1956)
L    (month - December)
 
These types of tube codes are not always easy to decipher

, but I'm very confident that what I listed above is accurate!

 

 

[phase0]

I've spent some more time with the V281 vs WA5 after running the V281 longer to burn in 50+ hours. I got it Tuesday. I also stopped nightly to listen to the John Robbin Health Revolution talks so basically somewhere between now and Tues I'm sure I got more the 50 hrs on it but IDK exactly how many.
 
I've tried to A/B the amps a little bit. I feel like the WA5 has some magic and I would be a fool to part with it. Ken said the WA5 was really lacking in bass but that's not at all my experience. I think either he didn't let it burn in long enough or just had a different preference and wanted something else. IDK. I keep circling that in disbelief. I think my WA5 is kicking out as much as the V281 with as much impact on my LCD-XC.
 
I feel like something in the V281 is maybe a bit more detailed and analytic but still very enjoyable. I feel like the mids are a bit more prominent on the WA5 in a very pleasing way. It has more of some kind of ephemeral liquid silky smoothness or something IDK how to exactly describe it. I definitely prefer it to the V281 on a general listening level. I also feel like the WA5 is very sharp with a lot of detail. I don't feel like it's lacking but seems like the V281 has more and the WA5 is smoother in some way.
 
I'd say V281 is up on the same level of quality as the WA5, and at 1/3 the price it's much more economical to get to what I'd feel comfortable saying is the same level of quality/performance. It's like two flavors of ice cream that are both great. I could see someone prefer one over the other. Sorry if that muddies the waters. I don't know exactly how to explain in audiophile terms. If I started on the V281, I don't think I could justify $6K + tube costs to go the WA5 route. Since I started there and have it, I also recognize some quality to it that I love. I don't regret it, and I feel like I'd be a fool to sell it. I already climbed the learning curve mountain with the help of folks here and have great tubes.
 
The best part of this setup is either amp I listen through sounds great and renders something very enjoyable. It's not about the gear/equip. It's about enjoying the music. I feel a bit decadent two have two amps here, but I'm also thinking I don't want to send the V281 back. It's too good and I should be able to utilize it as a pre-amp for my monitors.
 
IDK if that helps anyone out there but that's my impressions after the last couple of hours switching back and forth.

 

[Badas]

^

Nice review. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[jhljhl]

  I've spent some more time with the V281 vs WA5 after running the V281 longer to burn in 50+ hours. I got it Tuesday. I also stopped nightly to listen to the John Robbin Health Revolution talks so basically somewhere between now and Tues I'm sure I got more the 50 hrs on it but IDK exactly how many.
 
I've tried to A/B the amps a little bit. I feel like the WA5 has some magic and I would be a fool to part with it. Ken said the WA5 was really lacking in bass but that's not at all my experience. I think either he didn't let it burn in long enough or just had a different preference and wanted something else. IDK. I keep circling that in disbelief. I think my WA5 is kicking out as much as the V281 with as much impact on my LCD-XC.
 
I feel like something in the V281 is maybe a bit more detailed and analytic but still very enjoyable. I feel like the mids are a bit more prominent on the WA5 in a very pleasing way. It has more of some kind of ephemeral liquid silky smoothness or something IDK how to exactly describe it. I definitely prefer it to the V281 on a general listening level. I also feel like the WA5 is very sharp with a lot of detail. I don't feel like it's lacking but seems like the V281 has more and the WA5 is smoother in some way.
 
I'd say V281 is up on the same level of quality as the WA5, and at 1/3 the price it's much more economical to get to what I'd feel comfortable saying is the same level of quality/performance. It's like two flavors of ice cream that are both great. I could see someone prefer one over the other. Sorry if that muddies the waters. I don't know exactly how to explain in audiophile terms. If I started on the V281, I don't think I could justify $6K + tube costs to go the WA5 route. Since I started there and have it, I also recognize some quality to it that I love. I don't regret it, and I feel like I'd be a fool to sell it. I already climbed the learning curve mountain with the help of folks here and have great tubes.
 
The best part of this setup is either amp I listen through sounds great and renders something very enjoyable. It's not about the gear/equip. It's about enjoying the music. I feel a bit decadent two have two amps here, but I'm also thinking I don't want to send the V281 back. It's too good and I should be able to utilize it as a pre-amp for my monitors.
 
IDK if that helps anyone out there but that's my impressions after the last couple of hours switching back and forth.

Now if you upgrade your dac and your headphones you will have reached the summit or close to it.

 

[Oskari]

+    (Philips - Sittard, Holland)
V2  (tube type/ change code data)
56  (year - 1956)

L    (month - December)

These types of tube codes are not always easy to decipher :blink: , but I'm very confident that what I listed above is accurate!  

You're almost there! The dating is correct. 5 is the factory code (Eindhoven), though, and tV is the type code.

 

[leftside]

@phase0 my sentiments echo yours whenever I've compared a high-end solid state headphone amp to a high-end tube headphone amp. Also, tubes and tube headphone amps take a lot longer to burn-in. A bit like speakers.... I have a mixture of solid state and tube gear. My personal preference today is a tube headphone amp - even though it's certainly not plug and play, and is a lot more effort. I have the WA22, even though I came close to purchasing a WA5LE, but I'm waiting to see what else might be coming out from Woo...

 

[artemart]

I just got my first tube amplifier a week ago and I have a question about my used rectifier tubes.
 
I am not sure if they where there from the start,  but my Brimar 5z4GY rectifier tubes has white dots on top of the heating element and I wanted to make sure that it is normal or the both tubes need to be replaced? (Picture attached below)
 
 

 

[cloudbp]

dont worry about it, mine has a silver coating on top, after 100 plus hours of use

 

[ru4music]

  I've spent some more time with the V281 vs WA5 after running the V281 longer to burn in 50+ hours. I got it Tuesday. I also stopped nightly to listen to the John Robbin Health Revolution talks so basically somewhere between now and Tues I'm sure I got more the 50 hrs on it but IDK exactly how many.
 
I've tried to A/B the amps a little bit. I feel like the WA5 has some magic and I would be a fool to part with it. Ken said the WA5 was really lacking in bass but that's not at all my experience. I think either he didn't let it burn in long enough or just had a different preference and wanted something else. IDK. I keep circling that in disbelief. I think my WA5 is kicking out as much as the V281 with as much impact on my LCD-XC.
 
I feel like something in the V281 is maybe a bit more detailed and analytic but still very enjoyable. I feel like the mids are a bit more prominent on the WA5 in a very pleasing way. It has more of some kind of ephemeral liquid silky smoothness or something IDK how to exactly describe it. I definitely prefer it to the V281 on a general listening level. I also feel like the WA5 is very sharp with a lot of detail. I don't feel like it's lacking but seems like the V281 has more and the WA5 is smoother in some way.
 
I'd say V281 is up on the same level of quality as the WA5, and at 1/3 the price it's much more economical to get to what I'd feel comfortable saying is the same level of quality/performance. It's like two flavors of ice cream that are both great. I could see someone prefer one over the other. Sorry if that muddies the waters. I don't know exactly how to explain in audiophile terms. If I started on the V281, I don't think I could justify $6K + tube costs to go the WA5 route. Since I started there and have it, I also recognize some quality to it that I love. I don't regret it, and I feel like I'd be a fool to sell it. I already climbed the learning curve mountain with the help of folks here and have great tubes.
 
The best part of this setup is either amp I listen through sounds great and renders something very enjoyable. It's not about the gear/equip. It's about enjoying the music. I feel a bit decadent two have two amps here, but I'm also thinking I don't want to send the V281 back. It's too good and I should be able to utilize it as a pre-amp for my monitors.
 
IDK if that helps anyone out there but that's my impressions after the last couple of hours switching back and forth.

What are you running for your headphone and DAC connections (single ended or balanced?)

 

[ru4music]

   
+    (Philips - Sittard, Holland)
tV 2  (tube type GZ34/ change code data)
5    (??Phillips - Eindhoven, Holland?? or ??Toshiba - Japan??)
6  (year - 1956)
L    (month - December)
 
These types of tube codes are not always easy to decipher

, but I'm very confident that what I listed above is accurate!

 

 
 

You're almost there! The dating is correct. 5 is the factory code (Eindhoven), though, and tV is the type code.

 
(@3083joe update)
Oh crap, you're right, thanks for the correction!  Are you sure Factory Code 5 is Eindhoven, Holland?  Some web source data shows it to be Toshiba/ Japan (e.g. http://frank.pocnet.net/other/Philips/PhilipsCodeListAB.pdf).