Vivatubes the picture on your site of the Linlai elite 6sn7 tube doesn't look exactly the same as some of the other tube sellers, it may just be the picture.
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All the Linlai elite 6sn7 tubes I’ve seen pictures of look identical besides the logo on the glass, except the ones from viva tubes the internal structure looks different in the pictures.
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The western electric company is not the same company that produced the nos tubes of yesteryear, that company was a subsidiarity of bell systems and AT&T.
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@borisj try switching the tubes to the other channel just to make sure it's the tubes and not just a connection problem. It's possible that the tubes are bad, even if they are matched, tube testers don't test the tubes at the same parameters that your audio equipment will be using them at.
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I have the Linlai elite 6sl7 and they look identical to the ones pictured on Grant Fidelity's site. Other than the printing on the glass I believe they are the same tube. I purchased mine from China. They sound better than my nos ken rads that I bought from Andy at vintage tube service.
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Is the Linlai 6sl7 already available?
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Has anyone tried the Linlai elite 6SL7?
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I definitely need the gain, with my krell amp that needs 2.5 volts and my apogee duetta 2 speakers that are 80db.
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Should be receiving a pair of Linlai elite 6SL7 tubes on the 11th
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If I'm not mistaken, the Bendix draws 1.2 amps and a 6x5 draws 0.6 amps.
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This reminds me of years back when dealers were saying that the nos cv181 was a drop in replacement for the 6sn7 tube even though it draws 50% more heater current.
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Those Bendix 5852 rectifiers are expensive. I was going to try one in my tube DAC, but I can just buy another super rectifier power supply and run a couple $20 6 amp half wave rectifiers instead.
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I received my pair of Linlai elite 6SL7 tubes on the 10th of may from Hifiamplifiers.com and they have been in circuit and powered on since I received them. I plan on leaving the system powered up 24/7, so I will be testing their durability. They sounded really good right out of the box, and the detail seems to be improving with time.
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The only authorized dealer for the US is grant fidelity, but I see most of the Chinese sellers on the web have the same tube, it just doesn't say Linlai global on the glass. The ones viva has do appear to be of a different internal construction.
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The internal structure doesn't look the same on the tubes from viva.
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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.
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I know Linlai says there is a difference between eastern and western bound tubes, but I bought mine from a Chinese dealer and they look identical to the ones from Grant Fidelity, besides the logo is a little different, so maybe viva got some early issue tubes or later issues. I would be surprised if they weren’t both Linlai elite tubes.
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The name in the lower right corner is actually the full name of the Linlai company.
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The full name of Linlai was mentioned along with Linlai global in this article.
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I've been running my Linlai elite tubes 24 hours a day since the 11th of may, except during a few thunderstorms. They don't get that hot in a preamp.
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From pictures on the web it looks like you have enough room between tubes on the vac 200 IQ amplifier.
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I bought mine from hifi amplifiers, they came with a measurement sheet, I've been running them 24/7 since the 11th of may.
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My Linlai elite tubes look identical to the ones pictured on Grant Fidelity's site, so I believe pinwa has a point.
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I don't know what they could possibly do to make them sound so different if the internal structure looks identical.
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There shouldn't be any gases in a 6sn7 tube
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I wouldn't doubt if they are the same tube, maybe screened a little better from Grant Fidelity. If they truly are different, then why doesn't Linlai just say what the difference is inside the tube. All I know is my elite 6sl7 tubes sound better than my old favorite 1940's ken rad 6sl7 tubes, they even beat the ken rads in bass detail and impact, but the jury is still out on longevity.
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Some say the black glass ken rads are better, but they both perform very well.
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The best place to buy the ken rads is vintage tube service, but you might have to wait a while to get them as he is backed up right now.
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I doubt that there is any difference, the global branded tubes might be screened a little better is all the difference would probably be if any.
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@xcool I wonder if the socket saver fits a little tighter around the pins of the tube and fits tighter around the tube sockets on your preamp, that could be the difference.
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The only difference I see between the two other than the logo, is the more expensive ones might be closer to exact spec.
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They both look like the same tube. The internal structure looks the same.
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The only two advantages I see in buying the global elite tubes instead of the elite tubes directly from China is they might be better matched and if you receive a bad tube you don't have to ship it back to China for a replacement. The whole tube matching thing can be problematic because nobody is matching these tubes at the parameters that they will be used in a piece of audio equipment.
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Linlai does the same thing with the elite 6sl7 with the global and eastern tubes, they look like the same tube also.
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@alexberger they have that big tone and bass like the ken rads, but with more detail. Now if they can last as long as the ken rads, is yet to be determined.
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@vthokie83 I bought my Linlai elite 6sl7 tubes from the same seller as you. I've had mine a few years, powered on 24/7 most of that time and no problems at all.
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I never could figure out why they are called cv181 when the nos cv181 tubes have a different heater current than a 6sn7 tube.
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