It says tuned, produced and screened. It’s conjunctive. Perhaps? But again ... why bother unless 2-3 million Chinese/Asians are buying them.
Well, I bought my Psvane 805 ACMEs from China-hifi-Audio online store, Yaqin,Meixing Mingda,XiangSheng,Line Magnetic Tube Amplifier, power amp, preamp,hi-fi CD Player high end audio for sale as I bought my amp and another gear. Mr. Yong Lee, the owner of the site, an authorized chinese LM dealer, is very proffesional. In fact, one tube came broken and he changed it right away. This week I should get another pair (used) of Psvane 805 ACMEs (I like them very much) that I bought from another fellow audiophile on this thread. He bought them from Grant Fidelity I believe. If everything is fine, I will compare the sound and post here. We'll see if the Grant Fidelity ones really are better or not.
You can find RCA 805s cheaper than that. I paid about $650 for a pair. Be patient and you'll be able to locate a set for a good price. A brand new pair of Psvane Acme 805s is more than what I spent on the RCAs and I prefer the RCAs.
Well, yestarday evening I've tested the 805 ACMEs I've bought from a fellow audiophile here (he got them from Grant Fidelity) vs the ACMEs I've bought in China-hifi-Audio online store, Yaqin,Meixing Mingda,XiangSheng,Line Magnetic Tube Amplifier, power amp, preamp,hi-fi CD Player high end audio for sale Both pairs had about the same hours as I was told by this new seller. I believe the ones from China-HiFi-Audio maybe had a few less hours (about 100), but both pairs were quite new for premium valves (about 300/400 hs). The system used was exactly the same (mine) and a quite revealing one. In both cases I leave the system on (playing music) for about 30 minutes before evaluating and then I listened for about 30 minutes to the same songs, the ones I know quite well. To be honest, I found them quite the same. In fact, if I had to choose one pair, it would be the China-HiFi-Audio ones as I found them with better bass, soundstage and mids (by a very small margin). To be honest, it also could be a false impression as I had to wait about an hour between tests (30 minutes for cooling the valves tested and 30 minutes again for heating up the following pair). I don't doubt about Grant Fidelity's great service at all and their selecting method for premium valves, but in my case, I don't know about paying much more for what I believe are the same chinese valves, if you can buy them from a dealer you trust. Just my two cents.
VinylSavor: Tube of the Month : The 7F7 This is an informative article n 7f7 tube(6sl7 alternative). I had spent more than 50 hours on Sylvania 7F7 tube with round plate. This is an ideal match in my system sounding midway between Mullard Ecc35 and RCA 5691. Mullard Ecc35 sound organic and full bodied while RCA 5691 give more vivid details. Even with adapter Sylvania 7F7 cost around 30$ (10$ for tube) while RCA 5691 cost 80$ and up and Mullard Ecc35 hard to find below 150$. After being impresssed with 7F7 tubes, I am trying Sylvania 7n7(6sn7 alternative) in Schitt Freya pre which use quad 6sn7. I will let my opinion on 7n7 after having spent more than 100 hours. VinylSavor: 7N7 Thomas Mayer also wrote on 7n7 tube. There is no end to tube rollling on LM 508 or 805. Now I am floored with collecion of Nos tubes which is similar to vintage wine collections.
I had not done comparison between Sylvania 7F7 and Russian 6N9S. Last year I used to put tubes back and forth to do quick comparison. But from this New Year, I had decided to play one tube for 100- 200 hours if the initial impression is good. Thus it will take time to get a chance of comparison between Sylvania 7F7 and Russian 6N9S.
Bought a pair of the Linlai 805’s from a Chinese shop for < $300 all in. Couldn’t resist. Will let you know how they compare to the stock Psvane 805’s. (Sorry I have nothing better to compare to!)
Sure, I know rolling and testing tubes is a lot work; money, energy and time consuming. Not to mention system, taste and mood dependant. I was asking about impressions, not to make a specific test between them. Of course, it will be by memory and that's another issue easy to fail. If you want, you can give us your impressions between the Sylvania 7F7 and the Melz, only by memory. Just curious.
Good to know and curious about this valve. The BIG question is how it would compare against ACMEs or RCA 805. If anyone could compare them it would be great! By the way, another test that maybe it's easier or cheaper, is to compare the Linlais with the Psvane 805 T-II Psvane 805 Cossor, wich I believe are similar sounding. These other Psvanes cost less than U$S 200 in China. I have the T-II and they are noticeably better than stock 805, but not even close to ACMEs.
Hi Pedro From my memory, soundstage width and depth are similar. But unless you go back and forth, you may not be able to detect small difference. Nos tubes are like vintage wine or spices. You can mix and match. I also got Raytheon and RCA 6f8g tubes. Raytheon 6f8g sounds lively while RCA 6f8g sound full and round like Amperex 6sn7 tubes. There are so many combinations in LM 508 that it could drive me crazy. From this year, I had decided to play one combination for at least 100 hours before swapping the tubes. I am music lover not crazy audiophile. Since I had amassed serious collections of Nos tubes, it will take 10 years or more to go through all possible combinations. I have 40 pairs of 6sn7, 20 6sl7, 11 pairs of 805 and 5 pairs of 300b including Nos WE 300b, 10 7f7 , 8 7n7 , 6 pairs of 6f8g. But I am happy with synergy between Lm 508 and my speaker Lansche 4.1. Thus I may live with it until I die. Both of my parents had lived until 87 years old. Thus I have around 25 more years remaining.
Yes, I agree. It should be all about the music, not the gear. I have a MUCH smaller collection of tubes and, even with mine, combinations are numerous! Difficult to tell the small differences unless you hear them within a few minutes of distance. Not to mention all the possible combinations changing gear, cables, tweaks, etc. It can drive you mad. I've also told my self to start enjoying the music more and search less for audio nirvana. I have to try harder! Good luck. PS: I will get a pair of RCA 6F8G smoked glass next month and a Sylvania 7F7 to complete my collection. Those will be (I hope) maybe the last tubes I buy in a while.
I had spent time on my Acme805, four pairs of RCA 805 , two pairs of United 805 and two pairs of National Union o85. They are all excellent tubes. RCA 805 sounds very transparent and vivid like RCA 5691(6sl7), but could sound lean or hot. Thus I matched it with Sylvania 7f7(6sl7) and RCA 6f8g(6sn7) to good success. Although Acme 805 is not as transparent as RCA, it has nuanced texture. Overall I think Acme 805 is still the best 805 tube. United 805 sounds slightly veiled before breakin but improve a lot after 50 hours. It goes midway between RCA and National Union 805. National Union 805 sounds creamy and full like National Union 6sn7 or Amprex 6sn7. You can be happy with any one of these tubes by choosing right 6sl7 and 6sn7. Acme and National Union 805 worked well with 1578 Melz and RCA 5691 or Russian 6n9s. Pedro you can be happy with Acme 805 not caring about Linai 805.
Hello guys I've been using a pair of National Union 6SN7GT black glass. Very nice tube, with good soundstage, strong bass and nice details. When I tried them with the Sylvania 6SL7 GTA brown base, the sound got a little bit on the hot side and forward. Then I remember that the Melz 6N9S was a more polite and sweet tube and I tried it replacing the Sylvania. Well, the NU + Melz make a GREAT match. The sound got sweeter, more laid back, soundstage is perfect (completely detached from the speakers and deep), midrange is beautiful and there's a lot of detail in the highs. The only problem is that one of Melz tube doesnt work and the other one, while sounding beautifully, it makes random pop noises on the right channel, something like the hizz on vynil (I'm playing digital). Does anyone of you had a similar problem with a tube? Does it go away with time or is it a bad tube?
The only noise type that may go away is a very low level one, which you can only hear with ear next to speakers. That is common in vintage tube and may settle down after 20-50 hours. Any kinds of pops or similar will only get worse with time up to a point of complete tube failure. You better replace tube immediately before it takes out some other part of circuit. Many Russian vintage tubes sold on eBay and other markets are defective. You may need to order 10 if you really want 5.
Random popping noises implies a connection failure within the tube somewhere. I recommend junking it before it gets worse and possibly ruins something.
While waiting on my recently ordered 6F8G's and Linlai 805's, I also picked up a mint Sylvania JAN-CHS (military) 7F7 from 1951 for $10. It has the oval mica and round plates at 180 degrees (as @adamaley prefers in comparison to others). Sylvania JAN-CHS-7F7 Vacuum Tube (loktal 6SL7GT) Military Specs Green Label | eBay . Only had it running for around 10 hours so far but I concur with others that it's a fantastic tube, at least in this role in the LM805. It's the quietest tube I have had in the 6SL7 slot, quieter than the RCA 5691. (Noise was maybe the primary cause of my dissatisfaction with the two ECC35's I have tried). It produces a warm and highly textured sound with great spatial depth cues emanating from the dark/silent background. Early days (hours!) yet, but this might end my endless equivocating over the various 6SL7 tubes I have. Good find @adamaley (I did find one thread from head-fi in 2010 that basically mirrors same findings - an ideal cross of ECC35 + TS6SU7/RCA5691 - but that's really about it ... )
Hello Chris Good to hear that you also like it. I have one coming home soon. A couple of questions: 1. Wich tubes have you compared it to? 2. Do you have a picture of the tube? I'm still not 100% sure that I've bought the right one.
@Pedro Guillemain Aside from the stock Shuguang and some throw-away Magnavox 6SL7's dealer gave me, I have on hand: TS 6SU7GTY RCA JAN-CTL 5691 2x Mullard ECC35's short brown base (One coded as CV569 military) Sylvania JAN-CHS 7F7 I won't repeat my descriptions of these tubes as it's all been said many times over. I really wanted to like the ECC35 because of it's reputation but didn't get along with the first one I ordered. So I ordered a 2nd to make sure it wasn't the specific tube I got. But same thing. Just a little plodding and muddy (likely due to noise) in this position in the LM805 - which is a bit different than how it is used in other preamps from what I understand. This is the one I bought: Sylvania JAN-CHS-7F7 Vacuum Tube (loktal 6SL7GT) Military Specs Green Label | eBay
I too recently bought a Sylvania 7F7 tube. Mine has a leaf on it for some reason (right side of pic). Keep in mind that I currently have elevated tinnitus and hearing loss on the high-end of my range that is due to a drug taken for a mere 3-4 weeks! It is possible these two symptoms will be the new normal for me but I sure hope not! It's been 2 weeks since the start of my symptoms and quitting the drug cold turkey the moment I noticed those 2 major changes will hopefully save me but it appears that those for whom it is not permanent have had their hearing take anywhere from 6 weeks to a year to return to what it once was. While I'm crossing my fingers my hearing will go back to what it was only 6 weeks ago,... I initially used the Mullard ECC35, then switched to the Sylvania 7F7, then back again to the Mullard ECC35. The results? In spite of my current hearing handicap, I can still confidently make the following statements regarding how each fared in my setup. - The Sylvania 7F7 is an extremely quiet tube. - Its bass is somewhat tighter and also slightly less pronounced than the Mullard ECC35 which could either be an advantage or not depending on one's setup. - The ECC35 is superior in a couple of areas such as high-end extension and detail. - The ECC35 has a more textured approach that is sorely lacking otherwise. Setting all that aside, the level of SQ given by this tube for a pittance is terrifically surprising! If I were on a tube budget, I would definitely be more than happy to keep this one. Since I already own and have the luxury of doing a head-to-head comparison, the Mullard is (unfortunately) superior to such a degree that I cannot ignore. I'll nevertheless be keeping the Sylvania in the event the ECC35 experiences issues. The Sylvania 7F7 is one hell of a spare wheel to use in such situations and for the price of a record, no less! It's impressive and I therefore wholeheartedly recommend those on the fence to spring for an adapter and Sylvania 7F7 tube. This is easily the 2nd best tube I've ever used in the 6SL7 slot and I have used most of the top-rated/popular choices.
That's sad yo hear! I hope you get back your hearing ASAP. Can you tell us what drug did that to you? To be aware of
I made a mistake and purchased a Sylvania 6SN7 instead of a 6SL7 for my LM-508. I know that I cannot replace 6SL7 by 6SN7, but would it make sense to replace one of the 6SN7 on my amp with the one I purchased although it is not matched with the other?
Actually you CAN replace 6SL7 with 6SN7. Circuit used in LM-508 allows it: plate load and bias will be within operational limits for 6SN7. But since 6SN7 has much lower gain, feedback will be lower too. If you like to have feedback set to "1" with 6SL7, you may try 6SN7 with feedback set to "4". Of cause your preamp should provide higher output voltage than normal - at least 5 volts RMS to drive LM-508 to rated output power.
I had good result with Schitt Freya + inserting between Dave with HMS and headphone amplifiers (KGSSHV Carbon for Stax 009s and Jot R for Raal Sr1a). It makes headphone sound fuller and more balanced ( without it the my headphone sounds little bit of analytical). Out of curiosity, I had inserted Schitt Freya between Dave with HMS and LM508. It makes soundstage slightly deeper with better image layering. But it is not a night and day difference. I took Schitt Freya out of chain for comparison. Now serious ground hum noise keep bothering me without Schitt Freya. Thus I have to insert Schitt Freya + back between Dave with HMS and LM508. The conclusion is that Schitt Freya + is very effective at eliminating ground hum noise due to its balanced design ( it converts unbalanced signal to balanced signal and back to unbalanced signal for LM 508). Now I have to use three pairs of 6sn7 or variant tubes in the chain. There are too many combinations to try out. After doing some quick comparison, I am happy with full and organic sound of following combination. 1578 Melz at gain stage and Zenith 6f8g at buffer stage of Schitt Freya +. RCA 805, Acme 300b, RCA 6f8g and Russian 6n9s. I will let this comination for more than a week to get long term impression and then try different tubes for slight adjustement of the sound. If you have lot of 6sn7 tubes, you can try out Schitt Freya + with generous 15 day return policy but it is backordered until March 25th. Schitt Freya + is very popular with excellt value for performance.