Sophia Electric Blue glass


  Anyone try these? Interested in the 6sn7,wondering if it is worth the money, about 60% more than the clear glass version. Would be for my pre amp.  Thanks in advance
winoguy17
Hey there,

Ive been running a "Grade A" Sophia Electric 6sn7 Blue glass in my Icon Audio PS3 MK II for about the past 7 months. It sounds great! In my opinion it sounds better than the David Shaw CV 181 "HIFI Vale" that came with the unit. However, just yesterday, it failed me. One of the triodes crap  the bed, the right channel in this case. I got a loud pop and then there was next to no audio passing through the right channel. it was at this point that i had also noticed microphonics from it. So a nearly $200 tube for 7 months that could have damaged other components in my rig while it was at it. Unfortunately, id say in my experience here, they are unreliable. I emailed Sophia Electric and explained this to them and asked them for an exchange for a new tube or a discount on a new one or something to help me out here even though its out of the stock 30 day warranty; well see what they have to say, ill keep you guys posted if anyone is interested.
I was blown away by the 2 quads of blue glass KT-88's that I installed in my VAC Phi 300 that I wanted the full complement.  Galen Carol audio's website gathers first-hand experiences of the 6SN7's, and the qualities described there are what I'm hearing in the KT-88's.
There's an unmeasurable magic that caused my eyes to well up last night - yeah, the real rare magic of music.  In  Anne Sophie Von Otter's  'Sovente il sole' (Vivaldi) there's a moment when her voice emanates from the same note at the same moment the violin plays it. Purest beauty. 
So the Psvane 6SN7 globes have burned in and are excellent sounding. The bright tonal balance has faded leaving a very transparent and detailed tube.
Just replaced some Sylvania 6SN7GT circa mid 1940s NOS with the Blueglass in my Cart SLP 05 SE and I have to say I am sold.  The best way I can describe it is there is some extra magic here.  Expensive but I would definitely recommend.
Crickets.

Sorry, but I have some NOS RCA grey glass that cost me $50/tube that are vastly superior to my old style Sophia based on the Full Music tube.  I actually preferred a new production Tung-Sol to that Sophia in one application.  I'm not spending $200/ tube for Sophia's latest offering until a credible reviewer advocates giving these a try.  On the other hand, I've had good luck with some of the Psvane tubes.  I might give them a try, but I use multiple 6SN7 and I am not sure I could get more than one to fit.  Again, the NOS stuff is so good, there is not much of a driver (no pun intended) for an expensive experiment.
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I hear lots of noise when I turn on the bedroom light too early in the morning.
@noromance , thanks for the info on the globes.  Please keep us posted as they burn in, and any comparison with the NOS standbys would really be great.
I have the Psvane Globes. Very expensive. Extremely detailed but quite bright. Only 20 hours on them. Apparently thd brightness cools after 70 hours.
Good post browns fan, thanks for the input.  I thought for sure someone would have actual experience with these, guess not.
I've looked at these, and am intrigued by them.  The issue is cost.  At the asking price, you can still get superb NOS 6SN7's, and you can get really good 6SN7s for less.  It is hard to justify running the experiment.  The same goes for the Psvane globes.   Judging by the lack of response to your post, it looks like there aren't many who are inclined to take a chance.  6SN7s are widely used.  If no one on AG has tried these tubes, I think Sophia might want to rethink their pricing. 
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