eth2 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Does anyone have a recommendation for a good EL34/6CA7? I have dual mono blocks that take four each. Therefore, a $350 tube x 8 = a truckload of money. As a result, I am looking for a quality tube at a more reasonable price. These will go in VAC 90e's and be driving Cornscalas. Thanks Edit: Where is the best place to buy tubes? Edited April 1, 2014 by eth2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 my tube preferences for el-34 are Russian current production PSVANE I stay away from NOS . When I was a kid, I used to help the local TV repair do house calls. We used to swap out tubes after spraying the tuner dust off spray. basically, just swapping out the tubes fixed a lot of problems due to oxidation of the pins. so one house's junk tubes became the next house's solution. after these Tv repair shops closed, tube raiders came in and bought up their shelf stock and pitched the inventory as NOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 my tube preferences for el-34 are Russian current production PSVANE I stay away from NOS . When I was a kid, I used to help the local TV repair do house calls. We used to swap out tubes after spraying the tuner dust off spray. basically, just swapping out the tubes fixed a lot of problems due to oxidation of the pins. so one house's junk tubes became the next house's solution. after these Tv repair shops closed, tube raiders came in and bought up their shelf stock and pitched the inventory as NOS. PSVANE are Chinese are they not? http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/store/products/6ca7-t-quad/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Speakerfritz, Where do you buy the PSVANE's? I have read horrible things about Grant Fidelity and they are the only ones I can find that sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon string Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I'm very happy with my SED Winged C's, EL 34's I bought them from upscale audio. I was previously running electroharmonix which were good but I do hear an improvement with the SED's. Check out upscales website they offer reviews of all the tubes they sell as well as customer reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeker Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) I love el34's. I have a collection including copper based models. Its purely subjective to what el34 will work best for 1 your amp, 2 your preference in sound. In my trials and not as long as some although for the few years in tube gear even some of the cheapest chinese tubes provide music nirvana. Considering imo with the range of 34's i have burnt in and tested i would try some that are cheap and new on ebay. I have some gold lions that most of my local friends consider to be choice. My current power 34s are a chinese model that are best to my liking to this point in time. They were $94 shipped directly from an online chinese shop. I will say as good as my choice chinese power glass is i do not know how long they will last but for under $100 i have another quad bought that are ready to burn in once the currents being used drop. I wouldnt bother the smaller pre tubes unless they seem to have too much noise. My current tube setup is 100% quiet when music is on pause. With the pre tubes the number 1 tube in the series is the most important to identify noise. If you hear noise to identify if its from your pre pull the number 1 pre tube and if your setup goes quiet then you should replace them. edit:I find it to be a fact that vintage amps respond to nos tubes better than new stock or re issues. As well as with modern tube amps respond best with new up to date tubes or current re productions. Some may find their preference otherwise. The best vacuum tube for anything and anyone is purely subjective. Just have fun and enjoy burning tubes in and auditioning any or all at your leisure. Just keep an eye on bias depending on what type of arrangement you may try. Dont stress just be careful. I have burnt in and tested many with a certain amp i use and its bias stands so firm i check it at about heck sometimes every 200hours of use. edit again:Ebay will yield great results with tubes. Also parts express is a very nice place to find many variations of the el34/el34b Edited April 1, 2014 by beeker 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I've been satisfied with the service and selection from here: https://www.tubedepot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thank you, all. Rolling tubes...a new way to deplete my bank account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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