Weird 5814 I came across, anyone know anything more?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by gmcjj, Jun 10, 2021.

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  1. gmcjj

    gmcjj Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mid Michigan
    So in rolling tubes in my phono pre (a 834p clone) I've read how people change the 3rd tube from a 12ax7 to a 12au7 or equivalent and it opens up the sound. And as I found out that the best sounding 5814 was the Hytron 5814 and I happened to come across one and that has been in the phono pre since. I found this Raytheon 5814WA that looks nothing like any other Raytheon 5814 or 12au7 I've seen. It has long grey box plates with 3 holes on each side for a total of 6 per side. The getter is horseshoe shaped and big. The way the plates are put together is different then any other 12au7 or 5814 I've seen online. The guy I bought it from said he hasn't seen anything like this tube before and was thinking it might be an experimental tube. It has readings of 135/130 out of 56 on the tester. The price was cheap so I bought it and I am just breaking it in on the phono pre and need to do more listening with it. Has anyone seen or know anything more about this weird tube? Well on to the pics

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    Thanks
     
  2. regore beltomes

    regore beltomes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Helenville, WI
    The 5814 is a ruggedized version of a 12au7. Used where vibration and shock may be a consideration.
    Antique Electronic Supply covers specs and descriptions of all available NOS tubes.
     
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  3. gmcjj

    gmcjj Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mid Michigan
    Thats great but thats not what I'm asking. I'm looking for more information on this certain Raytheon tube. I can find nothing about this tube other then it is different then every other 5814 out there. I found zero other ones that look like this tube and I've been looking for a week now. I was just hoping someone has seen one like this before.
     
  4. Claude M

    Claude M Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
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  5. gmcjj

    gmcjj Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mid Michigan
    I know most box plates like those have the sides clamped or welded, which this one doesn't. Crazy
     
  6. gmcjj

    gmcjj Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mid Michigan
    I have a Raytheon 5814a grey plate 3 hole windmill getter, the holes on this one are in a different spot then the one above. These ones have the plates sticking out on the side like most others.
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  7. gakerty

    gakerty Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Tube in the OP is an odd one! It looks like a cross between the Raytheon 5814WA windmill getter (or 3 mica which have same plate)which have the holes as you noted just above, and a standard ladder plate, yellow labeled, long plate 12AU7 Raytheons had. I like it! How does it sound?
     
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  8. gmcjj

    gmcjj Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Mid Michigan
    So far it sounds good. I've only have like 2 hours on it so far.
     
  9. gakerty

    gakerty Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Sorry I'm of no help, but folks at Tube Asylum or the tube forum at Audio Asylum may be able to help. Some of these Raytheon tubes are worth the hype. I have a set of the 5814 short plate Windmill getters (and the short plate triple micas), which don't sound like any other American tube. They are almost "European" in their balanced, but airy character. The long black plate Raytheon 12AU7s yellow labels I have are nothing special though... maybe that's why I only paid ~$20 for the pair. : )
     
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  10. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    Almost looks like it could be a mislabeled computer tube.
     
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