[bside123]

In my arsenal of gear is an Eastern Electric Power Amp. It is 8 watts and uses four 6BM8/ECL82 tubes and one 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier. I just started listening to it again lately, and boy, this little tube amp sounds wonderful. I rolled in a vintage Mullard GZ34 (Blackburn) rectifier, but I know little about the 6BM8/ECL82 varieties.

Does anyone have experience with the sonic qualities of the 6BM8/ECL82s? Recommendations? Comments? Thanks in advance! 

[Pez]

My only experience with 6BM8s was in an amp that used them as driver tubes not as power tubes. I will say that They are a tough tube to find a lot of options for. The tube I remember liking most was an Ei Yugo variety, but when I tried to get te same set I was never able to find them.
Basically your choices are NOS ge, electro harmonix, and av thorn Japanese NOS. If you can find others I say go for it as I was not really impressed with any of those. Especially the GEs. Good luck, I hope you find something. 

[bpape]

One of my preamps uses the 6BM8 (ECL82) as a rectifier.   Luckily, I only need 1.  Telefunkens work great in my pre.  No idea in an active amp circuit - sorry.

Bryan

[Pez]

Nice! Wish I could have found those when I had my old amp. Check it out! http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?accstube&1306925359&/Telefunken-Ecl82-6bm8-authenti

[bside123]

Nice! Wish I could have found those when I had my old amp. Check it out! http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?accstube&1306925359&/Telefunken-Ecl82-6bm8-authenti

Hi Pez: Yea, I've already seen that, but thanks for the tip. 4 X $30 = $120! Seems like he has Mullards and some others at the same price. It's not a cheap date for having never heard them... so I thought I'd create a post to find out if any ACers have some experience. Also, unlike more common varieties, if a quad of these tubes don't turn out to be my cup of tea, these tubes will be much harder to unload. Oh the perils of audio! 

[bpape]

You should have no problem selling them. They're used in a lot of things like the Shanling CD player which also takes 4 IIRC.  They used to be reasonably priced until Shanling started using them.

Bryan

[bacobits1]

Very nice little amp and a lot more ballsy than you would think from 8w/ch. Perfect with the Mini Max Pre too.
I also used the nice f3 Mullard GZ4 and I was using Phillips NOS  6BM8, ($30 ea, getting hard to find).
I liked these a lot. I should have never sold it!
Famous last words.

D

[Bill O'Connell]

These would also be very nice. get 2 pair for $80.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ECL82-matched-2-TUNGSRAM-tube-amplifier-NOS-Disc-get-/200541495417?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb1346079

[bside123]

These would also be very nice. get 2 pair for $80.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ECL82-matched-2-TUNGSRAM-tube-amplifier-NOS-Disc-get-/200541495417?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb1346079

Thanks for the tip Bill. I ordered two pair and I'll give them a spin. Also, thanks for your great products and outstanding customer service! Your referral to Tom Tutay has also worked out spectacularly. My EE gear has never sounded better. Regards, Din

[Bill O'Connell]

Din,

 Tom is the man! great guy, wonderful friend , and genius when it comes to analog circuits.

[bside123]

These would also be very nice. get 2 pair for $80.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ECL82-matched-2-TUNGSRAM-tube-amplifier-NOS-Disc-get-/200541495417?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2eb1346079

Bill, you were right! These tubes arrived today. Very nice.... Good speaking with you the other day regarding the phono stage. I still let you know if I hit the "Mother Load." Thanks, Din