Shootout of Nos 6sn7 tubes

Couple thoughts:
1. I *really* think you need to include shuguang WE6SN7 plus and CV181-TII in the group you audition. However,  these will require some period of break-in. So that might slow down your testing and comparisons. 
Many folks who have rolled all the tubes you are testing have come to the conclusion that these new production tubes are right up there with the best of the old best NOS tubes. 
2. Do you think you need to be concerned with burn in when you are testing these tubes?
3. There are several great 6SN7 threads out there.  Please add your comments to these threads on head-fi and here on Audiogon.  Look for 6SN7 reference and 6SN7 tube addicts threads. 
Keep it up. 

Rodman-
That makes sense and matches my own experience. I brought it up on this thread because it might be a factor in the listening tests of the shootout. 

Good to see the posts above. In particular, the notes about the Melz 1578. Those were impossible to find for a while but now it looks like a batch has shown up from somewhere and there are multiple dealers selling them.

Please - those of you who are trying them out - please continue to share your impressions and also your trusted sellers with best price and delivery.

Best regards,

Markus

I’ve been reading this thread with interest.

By chance, a few weeks ago I won a nice pair of NOS CBS 5692 red base tubes at a very good price.

They have now replaced my much-enjoyed pair of Ken-Rad VT231.

The CBS 5692s do not seem to be as sought after as the CBS/Hytron tubes. What I can say is that these tubes are very well balanced and the quietest of any 6SN7s I own.

Dear @lowrider57 and @shkong78 -
might you be able to post pictures of your favorite Melz 1578 tubes and also the name of your trusted ebay sellers? From my research (much of which took place before this shootout thread was started) the desireable Russian 6N8S/1578 tubes are the ones with multiple round holes up and down the plates, the OTK stamp and (ideally) 1578 stamped on the tube. Now on ebay I am seeing several other variants being marketed as 1578s. One is a more common one without the multiple round holes up and down the plates. This one looks a lot like the Foton 6N8S, which is pretty common. Another has the round holes, but no OTK stamp and no 1578 stamp.
Which ones are you guys enjoying? And how are you able to confirm the production dates?
BTW, some of the Foton 6N8S tubes sound very good, but some sound rather thin, in my system.
Thanks, in advance, for any info you can share.
Markus

@highstream 
I'll be curious to read your thoughts after you play around with the tube rolling in your Supratek when you return to the stock tubes from Mick. I have really enjoyed tube rolling in my Cortese but could easily live with the preamp outfitted with the stock tubes.  They're really good and strike a very nice balance with all the important characteristics I look for when rolling tubes. 
Right now I tend to roll between CBS 5692s and Ken-Rad VT-231s. Only because I'm too cheap to step up to the Melz 1578s, the Psvane CV181s and I missed out on the Shuguang WE6SN7 plus tubes with the extra tall glass.
 I've got a lot of love for the 6SN7 and the Supratek!

Fun to revisit this topic.🤪

And just to add to our obsessive collecting horizons, may I remind you all that the predecessor of the 6SN7 was the 6J5? A 6SN7 is basically two 6J5s in one bottle and the change was made to simply reduce costs. Mick Maloney seems to acknowledge this by offering a uber-preamp which uses vintage Navy 6J5s instead of 6SN7s...

Those who research obsessively will find a thread (somewhere - I don’t remember where it is right now) in which the claim is made that the best 6SN7 is a pair of 6J5s...! A whole ’nother domain for tube obsession insanity. 😉

I think it’s interesting that Don Sachs is using the new Linlai Elites in his preamp and they were also selected for the new 300B amp discussed by Lynn Olson and others on the "300b lovers" thread.

Me, right now I keep coming back to the old KR VT231s. But there’s a lotta’ great sounding tubes out there. Haven’t tried the Linlais yet. Also haven’t tried the 6F8G tubes with the adapter yet. But it’s in the back of my mind to do so. 🙃