Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

The Head-Fi link is very informative. Chinese politics is very concerning as stated with the Psvane company. I wonder about the future of Linlai, President Xi Jinping does not want companies to be independent anymore. However, it might not affect a small business like Linlai.

@rocray 

Yes, and the 6SN7 has become widely used in modern designs. I for one have been bitching about the prices and lack of NOS stock.

Thanks decooney, lots of good info at Head-Fi.

I've had Funn Chen at Chinese restaurants. It's a tasty noodle dish.

@bugredmachine 

How were they packaged? In the nice display case or in 2 standard tube boxes? I received damaged tubes in the thin paper tube boxes.

@bugredmachine 

What component had the Bendix?

FYI, Audio Note issued a warning that Bendix rectifiers draw higher current than the recommended  or stock type.

"The Bendix 5852 is direct a drop in replacement for any 6X5 tube type." This is false. Bendix 6x5 has burned up PS boards. Need to check with manufacturer.

@invalid , if that's off the top of your head, that's awesome. I was going to look it up. You are correct or very close to it. Bendix is not a drop-in replacement as dealers are saying. I forget where I saw the thread about Bendix. I'm lucky I didn't buy one for my Audio Note but the price is so high now. 

Good stuff @invalid  👍.

CV181, as in a Mullard UK?

I never experienced lack of low-end with these Linlai's. Right out of the box, I was surprised by how deep the bass was. It didn't take long to hear a realistic kick drum and jazz bassline.

I want to add regarding dealers, maybe Don Sachs should be asked if Viva Tubes is a legitimate dealer. Many vendors may be buying in bulk and setting up shop as dealers. I see a lot of Ebay vendors now selling Linlai.

One point about socket savers, who knows what the quality of the wire is inside, unless they are described as coated with a good conductor.  Maybe some of them are adding noise. My experience was the tubes didnt sound very clear, had a lack of transparency. I used Deoxit D5 on all the contacts and it was like a veil was lifted.

Nice @danmar123 .

But very strange.

I know Don buys his tubes in bulk from an authorised dealer in China.

Re: Viva Tubes, all I'm saying is that they've become a dealer recently. Maybe contact Linlai and ask if there are legit dealers in the US. The only one I know of is Grant Fidelity, Canada I think. 

Maybe move the preamp to a different location, change all cables in and out of the preamp, try plugging into a different circuit. It's possible a circuit is picking up RFI or EMI.

I say plug the pre into it's own separate circuit. 

You should ask the dealer if noise testing is available. Upscale and VTS include it with every matched pair. Brent Jesse and others charge $10 per pair.

@danmar123 

Set of four....E-6SN7's? Which dealer?

My advice from earlier in the thread, clean the socket saver pins and inside wiring with Deoxit.

That'll work!!

My amp uses 4 tubes in a cascode gain-stage. I have a pair of E-6SN7s in the front slots, 1940's Ken Rad VT-231 black glass behind and a Sylvania '53 GT as the driver. It sounds fantastic. The Linlai is very transparent but the K-R is colouring the sound with its deep forward signature. I'll swap in a neutral Sylvania and hopefully the Linlai's sonics will be easily heard. That's the issue of using a multi-stage amp, the different colours of the tubes influence the sound. If I could fit 4 of these large bottles I'm sure it would sound wonderful.

My 6SN7 preamp is in the shop, so looking forward to rolling in the Linlai. 

@audioquest4life

Thank you. Seems like the name has been lost in translation. See the Linlai website.

There’s something not quite right about Viva when it comes to Linlai sales. There are reports that some of their tubes are noisy, they’re not using the same nomenclature as Grant Fidelity or Linlai.

And isn't this tube called a Globe?

@audioquest4life

I’ve been suspicious of Viva since the start of this thread. And thank you for confirming my thoughts that they are not the same tube.

I posted this earlier, a warning from Linlai: Chinese domestic tube market, unfortunately, is very much unregulated with insufficient trademark protection, a very chaotic supply chain dotted by ‘underground or backdoor deals’, sometimes even mixed with counterfeits and bad qualities.

Everybody, please read:

https://linlaiglobal.com/index.php/category/buyer_beware/

I don’t believe Viva is an authorised dealer for the above reason. I do believe Grant Fidelity is a Linlai dealer based on their website which uses the same photos and descriptions as the factory site. Also, their prices are high. There are a couple of legit dealers that @rocray knows of. I contacted Don Sachs regarding where to purchase. I’ll let rocray respond since he started this thread and may have the latest and most complete information.

My advise for everyone here is to stop ordering from Viva and get your refunds. We’re a small and tight community, a band of brothers if you will, that love audio and took a chance on obtaining some new premium tubes. I hate seeing our members getting ripped off.

wonder if Viva got a bad batch all from the same lot (giant box o’ tubes), rattled apart or something maybe from a dropped box in shipping from afar. Who knows, they’ll have to answer to you’all on that. 

More likely they were a backdoor purchase or worse. Not the same build and they are called by a different name. Even Ali Express, which Linlai has declared illegitimate, uses the correct name of the tubes.

Google them and you'll see a nice looking Ebay storefront. Linlai E-6SN7's matched pair in gift box at a fair price, free shipping. Much cheaper than I paid from a Chinese dealer.

My E-6SN7's have a serial number inside the bottle. All authentic Linlai's do. I wonder if Viva's tubes have it.

The global ones have the logo vertical and the eastern ones have it horizontal, but the internal structure looks the same, except for the ones from viva tubes.

I don't think you can use that as a reference any more. Mine came from Don Sachs's distributor and have horizontal lettering. And the amptata_audio website has horizontal lettering on all tubes.

My Linlai's match the 2nd photo and came via Don Sachs's vendor. Either the 1st pic shows the Chinese version or it's an earlier construction.  In fact, I now have 2 pairs, both match pic #2.

@danmar123 

Yours is a difficult situation to figure out. Could your tubes have been for the Chinese market, or grey market US? We'll probably never know. 

@ram18 

Those look really good. Mine are Bakelite but don't say silver plated. Got mine on Ebay. The pins looked dull or tarnished so I cleaned well with Deoxit and got them shining. 

@ram18 

I'm so glad to hear that your sound is improving. Keep moving forward.

@xcool 

I've seen that page. It doesn't look complete because it says "more to come."

YES. To invalid.

Same box as mine. The question is, what box is Linlai direct and Grant Fidelity selling?

That makes sense Dan. I'm extremely frustrated as I'm listening to these unknown tubes which sound fantastic.

@ram18 

Everything in your link is the same as what I purchased. Horizontal lettering on glass, logo on base, same box with test results for 2 tubes. What's interesting is the cards are printed in Chinese. There's a red stamp (probably for QC) in Chinese. And the date of manufacture is stamped in reverse of international/military dating. My tubes were made 22 - 03 - 2022. That's March 3, 2022. The card has 2022, 03, 22. Not a international date.

Looking forward to the delivery of @danmar123 tubes. 

@aricaudio 

I hope you've been following this thread to see our confusion regarding Linlai Global tubes for export. Can you tell us which tubes you have purchased and are using, vertical logo or horizontal Linlai branding? 

And if you're able to comment on a difference in sonics between the two. Many thanks.

@ram18

Yes, the sound is wonderful. You’re right, the Globals are much more expensive than from Chinese Ebay dealers. Grant Fidelity, $303 per pair. My pair was fairly priced at $190 USD but shipping to US was $60. So not so cheap.

Another thing I don’t understand is why Viva Tubes, who is an authorised dealer, has so many defective tubes.

Will wait to hear from danmar.

@invalid 

I haven't read the full article yet, but the pic on top of page shows the Linlai (looks like E-6SN7) with logo and ridge on silver base.

@ram18 

Sounds like a plan. The Globals are very expensive, I'm looking forward to the comparative analysis of both tubes.

I've given up on my conspiracy theories and believe you and the others are correct. No greymarket tubes, both Linlai types are genuine and are manufactured for Chinese domestic and international markets.

It's hard to tell the players without a scorecard. Can somebody remind me who's got the Global E-6SN7 and can we expect a comparison vs. the Chinese E-6SN7? 

@danmar123 

I remember, they were out of stock. Wasn't your initial order from the Linlai website?

@pinwa

Thanks for chiming in. You can see how confusing this has been and it took some collaboration to figure things out. I agree with you, is the SQ of the Globals really worth the increased cost? But, after all the research we’ve done here, I’m dying to find out.

Here's a crazy idea, perhaps an owner of a Don Sachs preamp could contact him and ask if he's compared the Linlai Globals with the E-6SN7 Chinese domestic. After his Shunguang supplier closed, he must have auditioned several types of tubes.

@aricaudio 

Thanks for the reply. I have the same tubes as you, excellent sound and build-quality. It seems like Linlai isn't trying to control their international distribution, there are many vendors selling the E-6SN7 (non global). Makes me wonder if there really is a difference in SQ between tube types. 

I have a suspicion there is an arrangement in place that gives the distribution Partners a reassurance that there Sales opportunities will not be threatened by a undercut when contacting the Factory Direct.

Maybe Linlai does Screen for a select tube to be sold with a Global Logo.

A cost for the service to Screen, addition of a Global Logo and risks of return are calculated as added costs, that are then passed on to the Buyer. Hence, producing a increased value for the tube, that is a protection toward impacting on sales Partners businesses.

Has GF, been more astute in their screening and selecting of tubes ? Surpassing the Global Standard, to receive the status of being awarded to the Top of the Range Tube extraction. 

How does the GF Top Range compare in price to Linlai Global. 

From my evaluation of the previous posts from seasoned 6SN7 users, it does seem most likely,  if a tube is received functioning correctly, the method used to source and purchase is not such a concern, any method chosen will give access to a tube that will make a very good impression.   

The practice of screening tubes for the Western market is most interesting. I think it's highly likely that QC on tubes sold to Grant Fidelity meet more stringent measurements than the Chinese tubes. For instance, transconductance (Gm) and emissions may be held to tighter tolerances such as 2% or 5% between anodes. This would have nothing to do with sonics, but these tubes would have less noise and maybe a longer life. Maybe they are tested for noise and microphonics. 

In the US, dealers such as Upscale and Brent Jessee would charge a higher price for tubes that measured with tighter tolerances.

As for Linlai producing two different designs for different markets, I'm not sure I buy it. As was mentioned earlier, maybe the Chinese tubes are Driver Grade. It's anybody's guess.

I was on another forum and Linlai tubes was being discussed. Here's an excerpt:

I tried both the Linlai E-6sn7 and their less expensive Global Hi-Fi 6sn7 in my amps. I prefer the sound of the Global Hi-Fi version.
The bass is better on that one and the overall tonal balance seemed to be more neutral. The E-6sn7's seemed to accentuate the hi frequency spectrum at the expense of bass (the difference in sound of these tubes can be used to tune your system).
Linlai are making excellent sounding low noise low microphonic 6sn7's.

this is yet another 6SN7 from Linlai.

@danmar123 

It's the first time I've seen those tubes as well. And they're affordable.

I'm glad they're working out for you. I always like to use a different set of tubes as cathode followers. I'd still like to try the Linlai Globals.

@ram18 ,  yes and I'm still buying them at inflated prices. I needed to stock up on rectifier and power tubes. 

Can anyone comment on this?  With all the reviews I've seen on the Global Elite E version, this is the first I've read where it may "accentuate the hi frequency spectrum at the expense of bass". 

He may have been referring to the Chinese E-6SN7 and not the expensive Globals. I sent him a message asking which tube lacked bass.

I finally pulled the E-6SN7’s from my amp and installed them into my preamp. What I was hearing before was influenced by tubes in the other stages. Now I hear the sonic signature of the Linlai’s more clearly.

First off, it’s an incredibly quiet tube. No noise or microphonics, I tapped on the PCB and nothing. There’s usually some sound from my NOS tubes. The bass doesn’t dig deep, I’m hearing a more pure sound than when it was in the amp. Highs are extended but not tipped up, no harshness. It’s neutral and there’s a good presentation of tonal colour plus a wide soundstage. The mids are linear and nothing special.  Imaging is focused, but not 3D (and I’m using Melz 1578’s in my amp. I understand why they sound good in the Freya and Sachs preamps when used with a complimentary cathode follower.

The cost of the Global E-6SN7 is prohibitive for experimentation, it’s equal to a good pair of "NOS" tubes. Now I wonder if the Global HIFI (entry-level) tubes are worth a go.

@danmar123 

You must have some hours on your Globals now. Can you comment on their performance and sonic signature? My impression of the E-6SN7 from Ebay is they are rather pedestrian.

@danmar123 

I remember you preferred using two different tube types. Did you try the Globals in the gain stage and Shuguang as followers? Are the Shunguang superior?

Here's the thing, if I'm going to order a pair of Globals, I'd like to get as much feedback as possible on their performance. They're too expensive to make a blind purchase. For instance, what were your thoughts on bass, highs, imaging when you had all four in your preamp?

@danmar123 

The left side is the gain stage? I thought the front was gain, rear was cathode follower.

But @rocray , I don't have those tubes. I have E-6SN7 from a Chinese vendor on Ebay. Does not have the vertical logo.