Tube rolling !

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Guy 13

Tube rolling !
« on: 29 Jun 2010, 10:51 am »
Hi all.
Once I get my Niteshade Audio SE-15 amplifier from Brian, I want to do some tube rolling, not that I don't have confidence in Brian's choice of brand but just for fun.
Can any one suggest any brands with which they had good results ?
My amplifier should have the following tubes :
5U4 - 6L6 - 6SN7.
What other model can I use ? For example : 6L6 = EL34 ?
Thanks.
Guy 13.

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #1 on: 29 Jun 2010, 10:55 am »
I would try vintage tubes for the fun of it.

Early metal and ST shaped 6L6's sound good. There are several good vintage early American tubes out there for reasonable prices. The amp will go easy on tubes, so try anything out. Your amp is going to be designed around the 6L6GC & Russian 5881 tubes.

bunnyma357

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #2 on: 29 Jun 2010, 11:47 am »
For 6L6 tubes in my Onix SP3 I've tried a few reasonably priced New Production and Russian NOS 6L6 variants. Vintage NOS power tubes are a little too pricey for me. Here's what I've tried and what they sounded like in my system.

Coin Base NOS Russian 6P3S-E  (This is my current favorite, nice authority and detail through out the entire musical range - not quite as open and airy sounding as the 350B's - very reasonably priced on eBay)

Valve Art 350B's  (These are very airy and atmospheric, but are somewhat light in presentation, probably better with small scale acoustic music)

NOS Philips 6BG6GA with Adapters (These sound nice and competent, but maybe a little too clinical. Missing some of the warmth and air of the other 2)

Jim C

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #3 on: 29 Jun 2010, 12:16 pm »
For 6L6 tubes in my Onix SP3 I've tried a few reasonably priced New Production and Russian NOS 6L6 variants. Vintage NOS power tubes are a little too pricey for me. Here's what I've tried and what they sounded like in my system.

Coin Base NOS Russian 6P3S-E  (This is my current favorite, nice authority and detail through out the entire musical range - not quite as open and airy sounding as the 350B's - very reasonably priced on eBay)

Valve Art 350B's  (These are very airy and atmospheric, but are somewhat light in presentation, probably better with small scale acoustic music)

NOS Philips 6BG6GA with Adapters (These sound nice and competent, but maybe a little too clinical. Missing some of the warmth and air of the other 2)

Jim C
Hi Jim.
Nice pussy cats you got there.
My wife has five dogs from small to medium size and they can chase mice like cats,
Especially her medium size one called : STAN, he can catch the mouse, kill them and leave them on the front of the door to show us what good job he did.
Thanks for the tips on the tubes, it will not be easy to choose with dozens of brands available, but I guess this is supposed to be the fun part of tube rolling.
Have a nice day.
Guy 13.
By the way, in Vietnam where I have been temporarily living permanently for the past 15 years, there is mousses, rats and all sort of crawling things, therefore, plenty of work for the cats and dogs…
. . . . . . . . .

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #4 on: 29 Jun 2010, 12:31 pm »
I would try vintage tubes for the fun of it.

Early metal and ST shaped 6L6's sound good. There are several good vintage early American tubes out there for reasonable prices. The amp will go easy on tubes, so try anything out. Your amp is going to be designed around the 6L6GC & Russian 5881 tubes.
Hi (Again) Blair.
The power tubes will be 6L6GC or 5881, right ?
What other tube can I use ? (EL-34, KT66-77…)
I am trying to widen my choice…
What about the rectifier tube, a 5U4GB ?
What about the drive or voltage amplifier tube.
6SN7, is there any other model number that can do the same ?
Tube Depot and Common Sense Audio are the two places I did business with and that I trust.
Any comments and/or suggestions are welcome.
Guy 13.
. . . . . . . . . . . 


Niteshade

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #5 on: 30 Jun 2010, 10:08 am »
Yes, 5881's will work fine. I would stick with a 6SN7 for the driver tube. As for EL34's and others- I will let you know once design/construction begins. The same goes for using either a 5U4 or 5AR4. It all depends on the filament current available.

Note: Groove Tubes has some interesting 6L6 models.

Niteshade

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #6 on: 5 Jul 2010, 11:33 pm »
Tube rollers, what has been your experience with various tube brands? You can include 5881's and other similar tubes, like the WE350B. I never tried the Chinese reissue WE350B.

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #7 on: 6 Jul 2010, 11:00 am »
Tube rollers, what has been your experience with various tube brands? You can include 5881's and other similar tubes, like the WE350B. I never tried the Chinese reissue WE350B.
Hi Blair.
I think what you wanted to write is : WE300B
Unless I am wrong, I never heard of the 350B triode vacuum tube.
WE stands for Western Electric, but there are other manufacturer that offer the same 300B model.
I think the Western Electric run close to 1,000 USD/pair
You can get some for arounf 200 USD/pair.
Guy 13.

Niteshade

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #8 on: 6 Jul 2010, 11:16 am »
The 350B is a pentode, believe it or not. There is only one reissue made by Valve Art. They were originally made by Western Electric.

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #9 on: 6 Jul 2010, 12:04 pm »
The 350B is a pentode, believe it or not. There is only one reissue made by Valve Art. They were originally made by Western Electric.
Hi Blair.
First time I hear about the 350B, it must be quite rare !
WOW ! 895 USD/each at Tube Depot.
Guy 13.

Niteshade

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #10 on: 6 Jul 2010, 12:31 pm »
Valve Art 350B's are around $16.00 each.

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #11 on: 6 Jul 2010, 12:41 pm »
Valve Art 350B's are around $16.00 each.
Hi Blair.
Are we talking about the same thing ?
16 USD vs 895 USD.
At 895 USD the tube must come with the amplifier...
Guy 13

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #12 on: 6 Jul 2010, 01:10 pm »
No- You're not looking at Valve Art 350B's. Valve Art makes an economical spinoff. You have to look up Valve Art 350B.

bunnyma357

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #13 on: 6 Jul 2010, 02:32 pm »
The Valve Art 350B's are very nice, they give a kind of airy ethereal presentation in my Onix SP3 with a lot of presence and ambiance, but were a little lacking in oomph. I got mine from BOI Audioworks. When I was looking they seemed to be priced around $22.50 each, but I'd be interested in finding a cheaper source, if you know of a reliable one.

http://www.boiaudioworks.com/VA350BMatchedQuad

That's why I ended up preferring the NOS Russian 5881/6L6 equivalent - the coin base 6P3S-E, I  believe they are from the Reflektor factory. I bought these from eBay.

Jim C

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #14 on: 8 Jul 2010, 10:25 am »
I will have to give the 350B's a try! Sounds like an interesting tube.

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #15 on: 23 Jul 2010, 12:59 am »
I will have to give the 350B's a try! Sounds like an interesting tube.
Hi all.
Just purchased from Tube Depot the following tubes for the SE-15 amplifier Brian is now building for me, well, I hope he is working on it full time?
Sovtek - 6L6WXT+
NOS 6SN7GT-B (RCA-GE-Sylvania ?)
Any of you have any comments or objection to my choice ?
Have a nice day.
Guy 13.

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Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #16 on: 23 Jul 2010, 10:06 am »
The 6L6WXT+ is an interesting tube. It reminds me of a El34 in some respects due to the plate's structure. It's a nice, big tube internally and good for single ended applications, like the NS-15.

You can never go wrong with NOS RCA 6SN7's. The GTA & GTB have a higher plate dissipation than standard 6SN7GT's.

Guy 13

Re: Tube rolling !
« Reply #17 on: 23 Jul 2010, 11:19 am »
The 6L6WXT+ is an interesting tube. It reminds me of a El34 in some respects due to the plate's structure. It's a nice, big tube internally and good for single ended applications, like the NS-15.

You can never go wrong with NOS RCA 6SN7's. The GTA & GTB have a higher plate dissipation than standard 6SN7GT's.
Hi Brian.
Thanks for your comments, I know feel better knowing that my Tube Depot purchase is a good one.
I am anxious to hear to sonic difference between what you will supply with my SE-15 and what I have purchased from Tube Depot.
Have a nice week end working on the construction of my Niteshade Audio SE-15 amplifier.(Ha, ha...)
Guy 13.