SED Winged C el34. Help


I am tube rolling my Manley Snappers. I have heard many good things about the Winged C's. I have a few questions.
Are they reliable? I bought JJ el34's and the were like hand grenades in my amps. They blew and took out the tweeters and the woofers in my speakers! Ouch.
So I went to the EH 6ca7 at Manley's suggestion and they
have been reliable. However I would like to try the winged C's, but not at the expense of my speakers.
Also, where do I buy them. I saw a thread that said not to get the Svetlana version so I want to make sure I get the right tube. I have shopped at Tube Depot before but they don't sell them. Upscale Audio does but I have seen them for less at other dealers. Can you reccomend a good dealer?
I would also like to hear from those with experience with these tubes as to whether I can expect an upgrade over the 6ca7's.
Thank you, Scott.
abbeydog
Just make sure they don't say Svetlana,unless they are old stock.Those (the real original)usually are available in a used
amplifier for sale.The new one is supposed to be the same tube.They are called the Winged "C" SED.They have the same welded plates as the old. The New Sensor copy has 4 hole punched through each end of the plates like Sovtek,EH,Svetlana
copy.I'm on my last set,but have not bought any for ?? years.
I'm not familiar with any new dealers.If they look like your EH's,they're copy's.Link for real ones >>>>[http://thetubestore.com/el341.html] copys link >>>>[http://www.zzounds.com/item--SVEEL34]ZZOUNDS link is copy.Tube store shows the real SED,the preferred.
Excellent ,reliable tube..Check again at tube depot..I bought mine there...Looks like they still have them .........$50 pr......I have bought at least 4 quads from them ..Never a problem...Great sounding New production El34........
For some reason the links read the same.But they go to right
place.Real Winged "C" tube. the original preferred.Link>>>>
[http://thetubestore.com/el341.html] "REAL" SED.
They're fine. Great. No problems. I have two sets of 4. 16 total.

AES. Antique Electronic Supply. Tempe AZ. They sell the real deal.... or did a year or so ago. About $20 ea or so, and they'll or used too, match 'em too if you want... it is extra.

Thanks for the note on JJ
Excellent tube if it is the one manufactured in St. Peterburg. New ones are only labeled as Winged "C". I have used a quad for over two years without a problem and they hold a good solid bias. The Tube Store is a great source or Jim McShane is another that burns them in and matches the pairs or quads prior to shipping.
I am also using the Snappers and at the time being have the EL34 SED Winged C bought from tubedepot.com. I do not understand what you mean by not buying the ones from Svetlana, cause is it not Svetlana who makes the new production of SED Winged C?

Anyway, I am satisfied with the SED version. No problems with them after several months. In my system they took the sound one notch up from the Manley factory tubes. They makes my system even more transparant, dynamic and with a tighter bass.

As Blindjim says; thanks for the note on JJ. I have been curious about them, but think I will leave them for others to buy.

Hope you post your experiences. It would be nice if this thread could be a place for exchanging experiences on EL34 and Manley gear.
Another vote for the SED EL34. I started using them in the mid 90's and have yet to have a major failure (short,etc) but some have naturally died of age. Very reliable and a nice tone as well. I still have the old St Petersburg Svetlana as well as the new SED from St Petersburg. I've noted no changes tonally speaking or construction wise.

BTW, I've had a lot of major failures from other tube types as well as some other EL34's (Tesla E34L's) in various amps and have had to replace fuses and resistors in the amps but I have never blown a tweeter. That is scary! Is this particular to your Snappers? Can it be prevented?
Okay, thanks for all the info. I will go shopping with all your reccomendations in mind.
Out of ten JJel34's I think I blew 5. Manley used to ship these tubes in the Snappers but had to switch to the EH 6ca7's for reliabillity.
Newbee I don't know if my snappers are particular in blowing up speakers. All I can say is that when the JJ blew it took out my tweeter and woofer as well.
Come to think of it, I blew an el84 in my Stingray and no
damage other than a B fuse blowing. Hmmmmmmmn.
I've used the JJ EL-34's in my VTL MB-125's with no problems at all... in fact they were very nice sounding as well. I used the new Electro-Harmonix also with good results. Could be your Snapper is harder on them than the VTL's? Tough call. I've used both theTubeStore.com and TubeDepot with satisfaction. Just my 2 cent experiences.
I replaced the stock Ruby's in my Six Pac amps with SED EL-34's from Jim McShane. More warmth overall and so far, more reliable.
Lissner,
The problem with jjel34's as I got it from Manley's tech is a recent batch problem. They used to ship them with Snappers no problem. Maybe yours are older good tubes. I can't say what they sound like other than BLAM!!!!!
I just bought two matched quads of winged C"s from antique electronic supply. $208 for the octet. Will give them two weeks and let you guys know.
Thanks for all your input.
Scott.
The winged C's were a nice upgrade. Thanks for the recco-
mendations. They have more headroom then the eh6ca7's and the high end is more clear. Same solid bass. I also up-
graded the front end tubes to Mullard Black Sables from
tube depot. Unlike the JJ's these tubes are almost tottaly
silent. A nice all around upgrade.
Of course all this will most likely be benifiting someone
elses system since I just picked up Lamm 1.2 reference
monos here on the 'Gon. Couldn't resist. Do you blame me?
Thanks Guys, Scott.
Has anyone compared the winged C EL34 with the new production tung Sol EL34s? Thanks
Can't speak to whether the SED "Winged C" will be an upgrade over the EH 6ca7. I've been running Winged Cs as a replacement for stock Chinese EL34s. The Winged Cs made a HUGE difference.

Check our Doug's Tubes for reasonably priced, burned in and matched tubes.