[steve468]

Well one of my Tungsram EL84’s (WPFDG) developed noise yesterday (after an only few months of usage). All things considered this is my second bad tube I purchased for the Pendant. Both were a roll of the dice, at least the first seller refunded me in full. I won’t be as lucky with the second seller. Luckily I have a pair of RFT’s (WPFDG) as a backup from @Wes S that came with my Pendant SE. They sound quite nice with the Atrium Closed in fact, but I’ll want to replace the Tungsram EL84’s eventually.

The hunt continues…

Good luck man. Tungsram foil getters seem to have dried right up. They are NOT the tubes you want to go bad!

Anyway, it’s probably a good excuse to roll in some other tubes, maybe rediscover some old favourites, try some new combos.

 

[shwnwllms]

Bummer! If you get a chance, try out a pair of the Valvo elliptical getter EL84's. Not easy to find, but easier than the Tungsram WPFDG. I'd be curious how they compare to your other faves.

Damn. The prices on those are sky high, they better be worth it!

 

[shwnwllms]

Well one of my Tungsram EL84’s (WPFDG) developed noise yesterday (after an only few months of usage). All things considered this is my second bad tube I purchased for the Pendant. Both were a roll of the dice, at least the first seller refunded me in full. I won’t be as lucky with the second seller. Luckily I have a pair of RFT’s (WPFDG) as a backup from @Wes S that came with my Pendant SE. They sound quite nice with the Atrium Closed in fact, but I’ll want to replace the Tungsram EL84’s eventually.

The hunt continues…

Update, these babies may have some life left in them after all. My next purchase may be some deoxIT (cleaning the pins with some isopropyl alcohol seemed to do the trick)

 

[haasaaroni]

Damn. The prices on those are sky high, they better be worth it!

Yeah they’re pretty sought after, by audiophiles and electric guitarists alike, apparently!

 

[Wes S]

Bummer! If you get a chance, try out a pair of the Valvo elliptical getter EL84's. Not easy to find, but easier than the Tungsram WPFDG. I'd be curious how they compare to your other faves.

I compared those two back to back when I had my Pendant SE. The Valvo has more "flavor" with bigger bass and more extended highs with very unique and huge staging, and the Tungsram has better balance and magical mids, with a bit more intimate sound. One could say the Valvo are more W shaped with a very musical sound, and the Tungsram are more natural/neutral. Don't get me wrong the Tungsram are not bass light, but are definitely more mid focused than the Valvo.

In the end I preferred the Tungsram and Funkwerk (RFT) EL84's as my top two, with the Valvo being a close third. That being said, I could see one preferring any of the three, depending on preferences and rest of gear.

 

[shwnwllms]

In light of recent events…

Anyone have any recommendations on cleaning tubes / sockets? (Or do you all just clean your tubes)

Looking at something like this

Hosa SKGXMDBULK Deoxit Gold Vacuum Tube Survival Kit https://a.co/d/il40Qi3

For those who clean their sockets, any best practices? (ie do I need to drain the caps, turn off the mains etc)

 

[nwavesailor]

Use the the Detoxit very sparingly particularly inside tube sockets.
I worked for an audio manufacturing company and replaced more than a few sockets where too much liquid (usually 'enhancer' products) were used.
If a little is good a lot is NOT better!

I doubt Justin would endorse cleaning sockets.

 

[shwnwllms]

Use the the Detoxit very sparingly particularly inside tube sockets.
I worked for an audio manufacturing company and replaced more than a few sockets where too much liquid (usually 'enhancer' products) were used.
If a little is good a lot is NOT better!

I doubt Justin would endorse cleaning sockets.

That’s kind of what I gathered. Do you use deoxIT for cleaning pins or just isopropyl?

 

[BudKine]

@shwnwllms
CRC 05103 QD Electronic Cleaner -11 Wt Oz
You can get it from several sources for under $10 and it works like a champ!
I just spray some on the tube pins and then brush them with a tiny wire brush or tooth brush.

 

[bcowen]

That’s kind of what I gathered. Do you use deoxIT for cleaning pins or just isopropyl?

I would never spray Deoxit (or any other liquid) directly into a socket. There will be a lot of tiny metal particles in each contact that have been scraped off the tube pins as tubes are swapped, and spraying into the socket just washes all those little conductive bits right into the amp (or worse, all over the circuit board if that's how the tube sockets are connected). For octal sockets, I spray Deoxit D5 onto a pipe cleaner, and then insert that into the socket. Let it sit for 5 minutes after application, and then follow with isopropyl alcohol (pipe cleaner dipped in the bottle with excess squeezed off). This removes the crud the Deoxit loosened up, and also removes any residual Deoxit. If you try the pipe cleaner method, the first time you do it the end of that pipe cleaner will come back almost black. Probably some generic dirt there, but mostly comprised of those tiny metal particles.

Fo noval sockets, these work well with the same process:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073ZLNZ7G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The kit you linked has Deoxit D25 which is a 25% solution with a brush-on applicator. When using pipe cleaners, I prefer Deoxit D5 (5% solution) that comes in a spray can as it's fairly easy to get just the right amount on the end of the pipe cleaner. But that's just personal preference...

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-D...ical-instruments&sprefix=deoxit,mi,102&sr=1-2

 

[haasaaroni]

I compared those two back to back when I had my Pendant SE. The Valvo has more "flavor" with bigger bass and more extended highs with very unique and huge staging, and the Tungsram has better balance and magical mids, with a bit more intimate sound. One could say the Valvo are more W shaped with a very musical sound, and the Tungsram are more natural/neutral. Don't get me wrong the Tungsram are not bass light, but are definitely more mid focused than the Valvo.

In the end I preferred the Tungsram and Funkwerk (RFT) EL84's as my top two, with the Valvo being a close third. That being said, I could see one preferring any of the three, depending on preferences and rest of gear.

Thanks for this! I think the slight W response really appeals to me. At least with my gear and headphones. In the end I didn’t really like the Tungsram EZ81, it was too mid-forward and made my setup sound a little harsh after a while. And I think I actually have your very same tube too! So a little recess in the upper midrange is very welcome. The Auteur Classics, which are my daily driver these days, definitely have a bit of elevation there already.

But you’re right, the staging on these Valvo’s is crazy big. Not super wide, but very deep and holographic, and with super clear imaging. Fingers crossed they last me a long time! I’m not going back to the Amperex, which sound too bloated and soft in comparison.

 

[haasaaroni]

Woo! Found a pair of those Tungsram EL84's on eBay (welded plate, foil getter, dual support rods). I'll try them out, and if I prefer the Valvo's or don't like them for some reason will happily pass them along to someone else on this thread if they want to try them out.

 

[shwnwllms]

Woo! Found a pair of those Tungsram EL84's on eBay (welded plate, foil getter, dual support rods). I'll try them out, and if I prefer the Valvo's or don't like them for some reason will happily pass them along to someone else on this thread if they want to try them out.

Hopefully not from lerxstfan12

Those aren’t welded plates (although his ad said they were at one point, before I pointed it out to him and then he removed “welded plate” from his ad, and blocked me lol)

Foil disc getters but stapled plates from the transitionary period where they had moved on to later production methods (stapled plates) before moving on to O getters. Probably using up the last of the foil disc getters they had on hand. These are rare but not as special as the earlier welded plates according to @Wes S

 

[haasaaroni]

Hopefully not from lerxstfan12

Those aren’t welded plates (although his ad said they were at one point, before I pointed it out to him and then he removed “welded plate” from his ad, and blocked me lol)

Foil disc getters but stapled plates from the transitionary period where they had moved on to later production methods (stapled plates) before moving on to O getters. Probably using up the last of the foil disc getters they had on hand. These are rare but not as special as the earlier welded plates according to @Wes S

Crap, they are haha

They look like welded plates to me though (you're right, it's not in the title or description...dang). You can see the weld marks on the glass.

 

[shwnwllms]

Crap, they are haha

They look like welded plates to me though (you're right, it's not in the title or description...dang). You can see the weld marks on the glass.

That’s what I thought at first too. Look at photo 5