18Watt.com

what EL84s (or equivelent) do you prefer? there doesn't seem to be nearly as many to choose from as there are 12AX7s. really all i've used are JJ's, GT's, and Sovteks.

Hi,

<IMHO>

For toughness, old stock Russian 6P14P or US made 7189's.

For incredible tone, Edicron or Valvo EL84.

</IMHO>

Cheers!

Mullard!!

BTW Valvo, from Germany, are very similar to Mullard - and sometimes even the same. But let's keep that a secret between us, OK? Or else all the eBay prices for Valvo will go through the roof.

The old Telefunken are my fave's......not cheap though!

hmm.. valvo you say

i may have to give those a try. to the bay batman!

any opinions on sylvania, rca (i noticed there are some made in mexico, any good?), Röhren, old teslas (not jj's)?

just a few i noticed browsing the web. i really am just wanting to get a more clear articulate sound than the standard jjs are giving me. i have a NOS Sylvania 12AX7WA on its way to try out in the preamp too.

If you can find some, Phillips '84's from the Heerlen plant are well worth trying- very similar to the 'Holy Grail' Blackburn Mullards, but (IMO) with a slightly clearer, more chimey top end (they tend to cost less too ).

RCA's are also well worth checking out, but iirc rca produced 6BQ5's rather than true EL84's. Whatever, they are mighty fine valves, good clear treble & bass, with a slightly recessed midrange (when compared to Mullard's). Don't know about the mexican produced ones, I've never tried them.

In general, it's well worth trying any of the NOS valves out there, as the materials used in current production have changed over the years due to environmental and health & safety concerns, affecting the sound quality in negative ways. Used valves are worth a look (if the price is right), as a cheaper way to try out old production tubes.

Hope this helps...G

I run Polams in my 18 Watt lite. Much better than the stock JJ tubes i was running. Keeping the JJ ecc83s in the pre-amp i got a vast improvement in the clarity of the bottom end. The tubes are a little dark but they really sound nice coupled with the Brimar in V1 and the Mullard CV4024 i run in the PI.

Many rate the Siemens E84L as the finest tube though the Mullards i heard in a guys original 18 watt combo sounded awesome!

I'd say Mullard or Siemens are the best (IMHO of course ). Worth stumping up the cash for.

Is the difference between 6bq5 and el84 the same as the difference between 6ca7 and el34: beam-power tetrodish vs. true pentode?
Thanks,
D

Is the difference between 6bq5 and el84 the same as the difference between 6ca7 and el34: beam-power tetrodish vs. true pentode?

Yup. From what my ears tell me, a true pentode produces a thicker midrange than a beam tetrode, with slightly less bass/treble, which accounts for some of the difference between the 'British', mid heavy sound and the 'American' mid recessed sound.

Cheers...G

Tesla hexplates, great tubes.


Ken

drgonzo2 wrote:

Is the difference between 6bq5 and el84 the same as the difference between 6ca7 and el34: beam-power tetrodish vs. true pentode?

Yup. From what my ears tell me, a true pentode produces a thicker midrange than a beam tetrode, with slightly less bass/treble, which accounts for some of the difference between the 'British', mid heavy sound and the 'American' mid recessed sound.

Cheers...G

i assumed 6BQ5s and EL84s were the same, just named different for the region they're from. so are the 6BQ5s the true pentode? EL84s beam tetrode?

so are the 6BQ5s the true pentode? EL84s beam tetrode?

Other way round, actually. The pentode was developed by Mullard in the late 20's/early 30's. The beam tetrode was developed (by RCA, iirc) shortly afterwards.

Cheers...G

i scored some valvos on ebay for pretty cheap, so we'll see how they do.

another question though, are the miniwatt tubes made by siemens?

All the miniwatt valves I have seen have been branded 'Phillips Miniwatt' and made at the Phillips Heerlen plant. Very good valves, imo, possibly better than Mullard.

That said, with the way valve manufacturers tended to trade batches & rebrand stuff it's entirely possible that phillips bought in siemens tubes and rebadged them as miniwatt's. The only way to really tell is to check the production codes.

Cheers...G

I've got a matched pair of NOS blackplate Sylvania 6GK6 in my 18W. These are available and reasonably priced. Clearly, a fully acceptable sub for a 6BQ5. Check the specs if you are unfamiliar. Note: pinout is different. These are very articulate tubes, probably the best I've got among the six amps I've got. That includes one with a pair of Telefunken EL84's and another with a pair of Mullard 6AQ5's, both of which are also very excellent. I humbly suggest that those who do homebrew have been looking in the wrong place for tubes. Try some of these. Low risk, high potential reward. With shipping, a pair should be under $20; that includes matching by someone who does a proper job of it, not just sticking them in some meter and declaring they are matched.

sounds like something worth trying. how would i rewire the tube socket to accomodate the 6GK6?

here's the valvos i snatched up on the bay

code on the side of both tubes reads:
rX3
D9H

on the top of one reads:
D61

the other:
(looks like) 118

there's 4 seams on the top of the glass

help deciphering these codes anyone?

does the D of D9H stand for the Hamburg, Germany plant? i assume the codes on the tops are date codes? the others are foriegn to me.

rX3 = Design specification
D9H = D= Valvo plant, Hamburg.
9= year, could be '59, most likely '69
H= month of year, Aug. (A=jan, L=dec.)

So you have some Hamburg made Valvo's most likely from August 1969!

The markings on top of the valves are a bit of a mystery to me, possibly an internal batch number? Quality control? Unluess somebody can chime in on this, I'm kinda stumped...