Shootout of Nos 6sn7 tubes


I will have shootout between TS BGRP, RCA vt231, KR vt231, Syl vt231, Raytheon vt 231 and "Bad boy" next weekend.

If I get MELZ 6N8S 6SN7 Metal Base next week, then I will also include it in shootout


RCA5691, Psavne Acme 300B, Psavne Acme 805 are also being used in Line Magnetic 508 amplifier.

Speaker will be Lansche 4.1 with plasma tweeter.

Digital source will be Dave and HMS fed by ripped CD stored in ssd drive of Cocktail audio x30.


I will play

Eva Cassidy's 'Autumn Leaves"

"Trinity Sessionn " by Cowboy Junkies

For classical orchestra, "Trittico" directed by Fennel.

"Still harry after all these years" will be for fusion jazz.

Any more suggestion gentlemen and ladies.

Thomas
128x128shkong78

@shkong78 Thanks for your response and recommendation.  Can you give me your opinion on how the 6f8g compares to the 6sn7?  Is it worth the plunge?  Selection is pretty limited driving prices.  
Tom

@tksteingraber 

 

6F8g tubes tend to sound fuller than regular 6sn7.

 

Thus it may depend on your system and taste which one to choose.

 

Thomas

@tksteingraber I have found that the National Union 6F8G round plates are very special tubes in my Supratek Syrah. I also have the NU 6SN7 round plates and the NU 6F8G sound better in every way. Also have Tung Sol VT-231 round plates (transparency kings), KenRad VT-231 staggered plates (bass kings), Sylvania T-plates, Baldwin flat plates, Sophia Electric, and Shuguang Treasure CV181-Z and the NU 6F8Gs are my “go to” tubes.

Keep in mind that the Supratek power supply’s rectifier tube paired with the output tubes has a significant influence on the sound (I like the Phillips 5R4G rectifier with NU 6F8G while the Mullard 5AR4/GZ34 Fat Base rectifier pairs better with the TS round plates IMO), so some mixing and matching of rectifiers is important.

Re: Raytheon 6F8G T-plates vs flat plates, the T-plates are much easier to find but the flat plates (scarce as hen’s teeth) are said by many to be significantly superior sonically.

Another can of worms?  Anyone try mixing different styles of 6Sn7’s with success. I had a Raytheon vt231 T-plate that lost it’s partner due to bad noise.  On a whim I had just received one of my Ken Rad vt231 black glass and wanted ti try it out to make sure it was good and noise free.  Both tubes tested over 100% closely  matched.   Fired them up and  not expecting much but was  shocked how good it sounded.  Best pair I have rolled so far.  Looking forward to the second KR.  

@dlcockrum @shkong78 ordered a pair of Nos/Nib National Union 6F8G round plates and adapters.  They are branded Raytheon with identical construction as NU. I am using a Mullard GZ34 and Rca 6l6 bottom getter blackplates in my Supratek pre. Should be fun🤞