Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

On a slightly different topic:

Has anyone tried tube rings on the Global E-6SN7's?

I have no experience with tube rings, so just asking if we might hear an improvement.

Not wanting to deal with eBay and China, I bought my first pair of Linlai Elites from Grant Fidelity. Then came the tube crisis and huge price increases so I took a chance buying a pair Psvane UK's from China off eBay since they were just for the buffer stage of my Freya + which is my first tube preamp since an AR SP3 in the 70's. They are fine. One of Elites from GF went bad, so while waiting for a replacement from GF, I bought a pair of Elites from China. They came and are fine also, so two good experiences with eBay and China, who knew! Now with my replacement Elite back from GF, I've replaced the Psvane UK's and now have Elites in all positions. I didn't think it would make a huge difference having the Elites in the buffer but it did, hugely better especially in the low end both in quantity and quality and definitely worth the additional $$ and this is with only about 15 hours on the new Elites.

Also I think there is confusion about the Globes, not Global's,  sold by GF. They are not Linlai, I believe they are Shuguang iirc.

eBay dealer names upon request as I may have just gotten lucky so I can't really vouch for them.

No, the Linlai Elites will need socket savers to fit in the Freya+. I’m using the Amptata’s from Amazon. 

@ram18 Hi Ram: I do have a Freya+ but I don't have a lot of tube experience with it. I bought it without tubes and other than having 4 Elites in it, I initially had Elites in the gain stage and Psvane UK 6SN7's in the buffer. This sounded terrific but I was liking the Elites so much I got another pair for the buffer. The result was certainly worth the cost, much better soundstage, especially depth. Much better low end in quality and quantity, really just significantly better all around and that was immediately obvious even with zero hours on them. The Psvanes UK's are supposed to be pretty decent tubes and I still only have about 35 hours on the buffer stage pair of Elites. I'm really happy with my system at the moment, incredibly musical. As to the socket savers I recommended, I can't tell if they effect the sound, I hear varying reports about their usage in the forums. I have another brand which I don't like as much, way too tight. Didn't see the gold pin version, not sure it really helps or not. I can't imagine that the goodness the Elites bring would be negated enough to ditch them for a tube that doesn't need the savers. Hth, Bob

@ram18

Those are the ones! But they are also available on Amazon for quick delivery depending on location of course.

@rocray 

Hmm, my tubes from both GF and China look different. They all have the vertical Linlai and the ring around the base. Probably just different glass suppliers perhaps?

It might be interesting to match pictures to serial numbers?

All 4 of my tubes, purchased within the last 2 months, have the vertical Linlai.

2 came from Grant Fidelity in plain tube boxes.

2 came from China, eBay seller kt88_6550, in a gift box. Their picture of tubes and box was overlaid with signage that said "Linlai Store".

I don't think anyone has to worry about fake tubes. There are only 2 companies in China capable of making these tubes and I don't think Psvane would do a fake, although a copy maybe with their own label is very possible. The two versions may be voiced differently, although I don't know why. Someone with both types will have to tell us what they think.

@danmar123 I don't know yet whether my 2 pairs sound any different. I'm waiting till I get 100 hours on the GF pair then I'll swap them into the gain stage. I only know they sound hugely better than the Psavane UK's that I replaced them with in the buffer and the Psvane UK is a decent tube. Hopefully the GF will sound a little better, for the extra cost they should!