[Gexs]

No difference in SQ.  Just make sure you get the ST (shoulder) glass with the domino plates 5998 (not 5998A etc.)  You may find these labeled as Tung Sol or Chatham etc. Also you can look for the 2399 tube with the same characteristics, this is the same tube as the TS 5998 before Tung Sol bought out Chatham.

Welcome to the club, enjoy!

BTW, JAN is the Joint Army Navy (military designation) for the same tube.

Thank you for you reply.

 

[ru4music]

Thank you for you reply.

No problem!  Also, if you only have the stock WA2 rectifier tubes, I would highly recommend getting a set of the Brimar EZ80 tubes:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311548894532
 
The Brimar is what I run exclusively in my WA2.  They sound fantastic, but are getting hard to source, and Langrex in the UK is a very reputable company!
 
Cheers!

 

[Flisker]

 
No problem!  Also, if you only have the stock WA2 rectifier tubes, I would highly recommend getting a set of the Brimar EZ80 tubes:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311548894532
 
The Brimar is what I run exclusively in my WA2.  They sound fantastic, but are getting hard to source, and Langrex in the UK is a very reputable company!
 
Cheers!

 
Hey ru4music,
 
  I got Tesla EZ81's , do you think there are some other worth looking into ? Do the rectifier tubes make a noticeable difference ?

 

[Flisker]

  Cary Audio HH-1 amp I recently acquired has a somewhat warm sound signature like a WA2.  Slightly narrower sound stage but has some more depth about on par imaging but deeper and tighter bass.  However it hasn't quite the transparency as with the gec 6sa7 can bring in the WA2 even with the pinch waist 6922 I've installed in the HH-1 but it is close.  Anyway, I mention this here as the both use 6922 tubes.  Can anyone compare the WA2 to the Lyr2 or Moljnir2 or other 6922 amps like maybe decware CSP3?

 
I've had Lyr & Lyr 2 for a long time and what I can say is that WA2 is different universe, it's so much better than Lyr 2 for HD650 & HD800 S. It's a massive upgrade to my ears.
 


But Lyr 2 is also amazing amp, no doubt about it !

 

[ru4music]

   
Hey ru4music,
 
  I got Tesla EZ81's , do you think there are some other worth looking into ? Do the rectifier tubes make a noticeable difference?

They do make a difference, but if you have the earlier Tesla EZ tubes (year '50 - early '65) then you should be OK.  Tesla, as well as other brands, sold-out in the late '60'sand '70's so the SQ went down.  The Brimar EZ80  (IMHO) that I listed are about as good as it gets, and the exchange rate is the lowest it has been in a long while with BREXIT!
 
Enjoy!

 

[Flisker]

  They do make a difference, but if you have the earlier Tesla EZ tubes (year '50 - early '65) then you should be OK.  Tesla, as well as other brands, sold-out in the late '60'sand '70's so the SQ went down.  The Brimar EZ80  (IMHO) that I listed are about as good as it gets, and the exchange rate is the lowest it has been in a long while with BREXIT!
 
Enjoy!

 
Ok, thanks. I will focus on power tubes than 

 

[billerb1]

Telefunken E188CC's arrived today from Italy.  They look like 1970 Ulm's.
The same delicate beauty I remember from the Tele E88CC's I had a few years ago but more refined in tone and
soundstage.  And the bass !!!  I don't remember that in the E88's.
Very, very happy with the first impressions.
 
 
 
EDIT:  (4 hours later)  Uh oh. These are going to come between me and my pinched waists.  I love these things !!
They deliver the music in a hypnotically pure way.  The music space is intimate and engaging as hell.  They hold together great when you push the volume too.  The louder they got for me the more real the music became.  Detailed but with balls...and a rock solid bottom end.  Cymbal nuance was exquisitely there for the taking and that's a big thing for me.
And the guitar solos S O A R !!!!!  God, these are good.
 
*Also a shout-out to Franatic for his recommendation for the GEC U709 rectifiers.  Just ordered.  Can't wait to hear them with my GEC 6AS7G's and the above-mentioned Telefunken E188CC's !!!

 

[ru4music]

  Telefunken E188CC's arrived today from Italy.  They look like 1970 Ulm's.
The same delicate beauty I remember from the Tele E88CC's I had a few years ago but more refined in tone and
soundstage.  And the bass !!!  I don't remember that in the E88's.
Very, very happy with the first impressions.
 
 
 
EDIT:  (4 hours later)  Uh oh. These are going to come between me and my pinched waists.  I love these things !!
They deliver the music in a hypnotically pure way.  The music space is intimate and engaging as hell.  They hold together great when you push the volume too.  The louder they got for me the more real the music became.  Detailed but with balls...and a rock solid bottom end.  Cymbal nuance was exquisitely there for the taking and that's a big thing for me.
And the guitar solos S O A R !!!!!  God, these are good.
 
*Also a shout-out to Franatic for his recommendation for the GEC U709 rectifiers.  Just ordered.  Can't wait to hear them with my GEC 6AS7G's and the above-mentioned Telefunken E188CC's !!!

Good info, glad you like'em.  If you don't mind what did you pay for the Tele e188cc and GEC U709s?  Also, who was you source?  Feel free to PM me if you prefer to keep it on the down-low.

 

[picklgreen]

Id be interested in knowing what he paid as well. Best price I can find is $620 for a NOS pair. This is Telefunken CCA kind of money. Currently I use Siemens CCA (A-frame, grey plate 1960's) with Western Electric 421A. I have all the rest of the highly rated output tubes (GEC 6080 & 6AS7G, Tung Sol, etc) and the WE are by far my favorite. However I have only ever tried the CCA in the driver tubes (the stock chinese or whatever they were were used for target practise and met my little friend) and would be interested in trying something different!

 

[Thenewguy007]

 
Good info, glad you like'em.  If you don't mind what did you pay for the Tele e188cc and GEC U709s?  Also, who was you source?  Feel free to PM me if you prefer to keep it on the down-low.

 
I'd like to know too, as well as where you got the pinched waist tube? Been searching for a pair for a while now.

 

[billerb1]

Got the Telefunken E188CC's from an Italian seller for $275, which after hearing them, i consider a steal.  I've seen them go for comparable prices on ebay from time to time.  They are often listed on ebay for ridiculous prices but I don't see many 'solds' for those crazy $500-$600 prices for a pair.


Got the GEC U709's from a Valve Tubes in England...very rare.  Price can be up to $200 a piece.


I have 3 pair of pinched waist Holland tubes and have found them all on ebay.  Just have to be patient and vigilant.  And lucky lol.

 

[Krutsch]

  Telefunken E188CC's arrived today from Italy. 
...
 
EDIT:  (4 hours later)  Uh oh. These are going to come between me and my pinched waists.  I love these things !!
 

 
Glad you like 'em. My favorite driver tubes, by far, in the 6DJ8, et al., category.

 

[billerb1]

These Tele E188CC's are killing me.  Each listening session is now a highly anticipated event.  Their synergy with my other tubes (especially a newer pair of GEC 6AS7G's) and my other gear is unlike anything I've heard up to this point.  Very organic and seductively real.  Hell I don't even know what organic means but trust me on that one.  The music truly breathes and pulsates...and is presented so beautifully and effortlessly.  That's the biggest difference between these and the Tele E88CC's I had and sold a couple years ago.  Those E88's had the same signature "pure" Tele sound but they always lacked impact to me.  They never quite got there.  These do.  Drums and all percussion are a special treat...all the subtleties, depth and bottoms can not only be heard but also physically felt.  I  bought these E188's with the hope they'd be my special jazz and acoustic tubes...because that's how I'd pegged the Tele E88's...but these have worked perfectly with anything I've thrown at them.  These are my go-to's for the foreseeable future.  I'm just not sure if it's love or lust.  Just have to see.  You know the way it is with tubes.  But this feels like all new territory to me.

 

[ru4music]

  These Tele E188CC's are killing me. ... Hell I don't even know what organic means but trust me on that one.

Stop it, your killing us because we don't have a pair!

 
Well, I think you know now what organic means (i.e. engaging true to life natural sound which seems to melt the entire system away leaving only the music; not processed or synthetic in origin, where the emotion of the music carries through over the top of the PRAT and timbre etc.)
 
Hmm...  wonder how the U709s are going to contribute!

 

 

[billerb1]

They ship today from England. Can't imagine my modest little system sounding much better but I'll let you know after they arrive.