organ Posted February 17, 2005 Author Share Posted February 17, 2005 ---------------- On 2/16/2005 2:04:13 PM Ki Choi wrote: Maurice: Did you try the New production Mullard EL34s from TubeDepot and compare them to the high buck NOS Mullards? Thanks, Ki ---------------- I haven't tried the new Mullards or NOS. I was wondering if anyone has. The new Mullard looks very close to the Svetlana from New Sensor http://www.thetubestore.com/ne-el34.html I'm extremely happy with the EL34EH. The info you read around the net is very strange. Everybody says EH, JJ and SED sound very close to NOS Mullards but those new production tubes sound very different from one another. I've always wanted to try the Ei big bottle EL34 but it's out of stock everywhere. Maurice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Try this for Ei: http://www.tubedepot.com/ei-6ca7.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 ---------------- On 2/16/2005 9:23:30 PM Ki Choi wrote: Guy: Thanks for your clarification on New Mullards. BTW, are the Marantz 5 monoblocks on Audiogon yours? Tempting.... But I shouldn't. Ki ---------------- Ki, Apparently, my buyer had some buyer remorse and wanted to return them because they didn't have enough power for his JMLab Utopias. I agreed to take them back and return his money. They're still available if you're interested . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ki Choi Posted February 18, 2005 Share Posted February 18, 2005 Guy: Thanks for thinking of me. Last month or so, I have accumulated the 8b, ST70, and the Peach (along with other tube amps that I have already collected...)to keep me busy for a while before looking elsewhere for that ultimate tube sound. I'll get in touch with you when I get that itch again. Ki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organ Posted February 18, 2005 Author Share Posted February 18, 2005 Kev, Thanks for the help. Can't believe I didn't check tubedepot for them. I'd like to try them out in the future. Haven't heard anything about them on the net. I think very few people use them. Maurice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMDP Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Hi Maurice, We've chatted about this in another forum (where tube lovers are a bit scarce.) It's nice to see all the fellow tube junkies here. I have two tube amplifiers - A Dynaco ST-70 (which is stock, save for cap upgrades on the driver board), and a David C. Manley 75+75 (4 x EL34/6CA7 not tube rectified.) I variously drive RF-3's or Polk SDA-SRS's with my gear. So far, here are the rankings from EL34/6CA7 types I've tried: 1. JJ/Tesla E34L - Really bring out the best in my ST-70. Bass is tight and extended with real punch. Clear mids with exceptional definition and imaging. Highs are shimmering and vibrant without harshness or grain. They took aprox. 30 hours to burn in and open up. I haven't tried this tube in the DCM yet. 2. (Actually, tied for first)Vintage mixed quad of Sylvania/Dynaco/Mullard (all identical build structure) - In the ST-70 they have a warm and buttery mid range, yet not to the extent of detail loss. Bass is strong, but a bit loose. Highs roll off a bit early. In the DCM they are about all you could ask for. Makes you feel like part of a live musical experience. 3. Ei thin bottle pinch top EL34 - Second best imaging tube I've tried in the DCM, but quite thin in the bass and not much depth to the soundstage until broken in. The Ei brand is well regarded in current Manley designs, so thought I'd give them a spin. At about 36 hours these tubes started to sound great. One problem - one of them started arcing on the cathode riser to the beat of the music in play. It didn't effect SQ at all (surprising), but it was obvious the tube was destined for a short life. I returned the quad for replacement. The new quad had about 10 minutes on it when one of the tubes blew (literally), even breaking the glass sleeve. Back they went. Quad Three: (Sounds like a boxing match) After approx. 40 hours of play, they're still all in one piece and sounding good (like quad one after similar play time) in the DCM. With fingers crossed, I'm planning to roll them into the ST-70 this weekend. I've heard of reliability problems with some of the Ei small signal tubes. I don't know if it's mu (ha ha that was a typo on "my", but fitting) bad luck or if this may become an issue with their power tubes. Tubes I'd like to try are the "Seimans" branded EL34's - the ones made in E. Germany before unification and disappearance of the factory. I'd be interested in anyone's experiences with these. Closing thought: Has anyone else had the thought that the tube rectified B+ voltage in many vintage amps may be a bit high for some current production EL34 types? Some of the tube data I've read leads me to believe the new production types might fare better (both in longivity and SQ) in a tube rectified circuit with something like a GZ37/CV378 and a 10-20 volt drop in B+. Crazy idea? BTW - this is my first post here, so be gentle. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 nice post, can't help ya though, how does the ST70 compare? (future is so bright, I have to wear shades) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMDP Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Thanks! They (the ST-70 and DCM) are two pretty different takes on the 4 x EL34 circuit. I think an ST-70 with power supply cap upgrades and a driver circuit with 3 or 4 12A(insert your favorite letter here)7's would probably be really close. I'll very likely mod the ST-70 along those lines in the future - due to the dwindling supply of good 7199's and a desire be rid of the selenium rectifier and for better power supply capacitance. The DCM is my favorite of the two, a gorgeous sounding amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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