Tung-Sol Reissue 6SN7 vs EH 6SN7 - Differences


I ordered a matched pair of the new Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes being made in Russia for my Supratek Chenin preamp and have been listening to them versus the stock 6SN7EH tubes. The Tung-Sols sound a bit fuller in tone than the EH, while retaining the bass and treble extension of the EH - in short, I prefer the Tung-Sols.
Before listening, I examined the two tubes very closely side-by-side, and could not see any differences in construction other than the fact that the Tung-Sol has a black plate and the EH has a gray plate. I was expecting them to sound identical, but I noticed the fuller tone of the Tung-Sol right away. I decided to contact New Sensor and ask them what the difference between these tubes really was.
They answered my email within an hour or so, as follows:

"The Tung-Sol 6SN7 has internal differences. The internal geometry is different and the grids are gold plated."

If we take them at their word, the Tung-Sols are not merely re-badged EHs as has been suggested by some. Thoughts? Anyone else have the same listening impressions as me?
ait

Showing 4 responses by dgarretson

Jfrech, recabling of the intrachassic IC requires only basic soldering skills. I used a three-twist of Audio Consulting 24awg silver wire in natural cotton sleeves-- about $50 per chassis. You can use any good IC that isn't too thick to route down center between the PCBs. You would also benefit by hardwiring the master/slave connection that converts stereo to monoblock. Free free to email if you want more info. I'm in the NE. There's a sleeping giant in there...
It's good there are now two kinds of high-quality 6SN7s from New Sensor within a few dollars of each other. I have NOS Raytheon & Sylvania chrome tops to compare to EH 6SN7 & yes the NOS are better. But the EH are quite good. In many instances the considerable expenditure of rolling NOS tubes might be more wisely committed to circuitry mods that produce greater returns than tube rolling.
jfrech, not sure if it's me you're asking, but in the input section of the 75SE I'm using 6SN7EH, Tung Sol reissue 6L6, and 6H30pi/EB. The new Tung Sol 6L6 has great tone, and IME there is only a slight gain in this unit with NOS 6H30DR.

I noticed you've added some nice cables to your system. I strongly suggest you consider replacing the two-foot lengths of $.40/ft IC cable used inside the 150SE.

Dave