Jump to content

A new EL34 tube design by Sophia Electric


Shiva

Recommended Posts

44 minutes ago, derrickdj1 said:

It looks nice.  What is the cost of the Sophia EL 34?

Sophia Electric offers the following pricing options for the Sophia Electric EL34-ST tubes:

  • Grade A (top 10%): $125 USD per tube with 30 days warranty, $25 extra for one year warranty.
  • Grade B (top 25%): $100 USD per tube with 30 days warranty, $25 extra for one year warranty.

As points of comparison, a matched pair of vintage EL34 Mullard nickel base tubes with an early production 1956 date code (the most desirable vintage Mullard EL34), sell for $499 USD per matched pair at Brent Jesse Recording (when available), and the new production "Mullard" (the name and trademark were acquired by New Sensor Corporation) that are manufactured in the Reflektor factory in Russia, typically sell for around $26 USD per tube.

So, the vintage 1956 Mullard EL34 at about $250 USD per tube, is about ten times more expensive than the mass production Russian Reflektor EL34 at $26 USD per tube, the new Sophia Electric EL34-ST at $125 USD per tube is about five times more expensive than the mass produced Russian Reflektor EL34 per tube, putting the Sophia Electric EL34-ST towards the middle of the pricing spectrum between current production Russian Reflektor EL34's and the vintage 1956 Mullard EL34's.

Sophia Electric told me that the Sophia Electric EL34-ST tubes are rated to have a mean life span of 7,000 hours, with a range of 5,000 – 10,000 hours, which translates to about a four to eight-year lifespan, with a median of just under a six-year lifespan, assuming about 1,200 hours per year of operation.

 

https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/sexy-blue-tubes-the-sophia-electric-el34-st-and-aqua-274b-vacuum-tubes/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started working on hifi gear after school (HS) '64-'66 , picking it back up part-time while I was in college '66-'68. I joined the Navy as an ET - '69-'72. I recall a lot of VT equipment - and the last color you wanted to see from the tube was blue... It meant gas!  And... how can the shape of the glass envelope 'color' the sound? I guess it's like using super-sized Litz wire for speaker runs... if you spend enough, it must be better. Still... $600 for a quad of EL34 bottles... you could get a p-p stereo PRC-made Yaqin amp - with a quad of EL34's (or 6CA7's) - delivered (Amazon) for that!

 

Of course, I am frugal... and when I ordered my MP-301 MK3 in August, I had to think about ordering a spare pair of PRC-made EL34B's at $25/pair! I probably need to check tube prices...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On 9/30/2017 at 1:30 PM, Stainz said:

. I recall a lot of VT equipment - and the last color you wanted to see from the tube was blue... It meant gas!  And... how can the shape of the glass envelope 'color' the sound?

I'm always astonished by the claims people make for their gear in this hobby.  I'm sorry, but their claim that the color of the tube is influencing the sound is pure hokum. However, blue tubes are not necessarily gassy.  Check out some pictures of the Acturus 126 tube. Blue. Beautiful, and made that way on purpose.

 

I'd post a pic but this lousy forum rewards active participation by limited the amount of pics you can post to some laughable 50 or 100 megs or something, so I don't even try to post pics here anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...