I think 6sn7 is a very nice tube with nice selections and excellent SQ (full bass and warm tonality). It draws more current than 6922. (600ma vs 360 ma) Thus amplifier with small power supply prefer to use 6922.
I also have CBS-Hyrton which sound lively. After getting Melz metal base, I will do second round of shootout which include CBS-Hyt.
Change out the socket to a loctal and rewire for a 7AF7. One tenth the price with cylindrical plates just like some of the best sn7 varieties.
I have recommended 7N7 in several posts in several threads. They may not beat the best of the NOS 6sn7 but they beat my NOS Tungsol and Raytheon 6sn7. The only disadvantage is that there isn’t as much selection, so they may not work in every system. In my Kit One the 7N7 gave a very open, Telefunken-like sound. Great resolution. In terms of value they can’t be beat, and if there are other tubes in your device Or your system that you can roll to tune your sound, the savings from the 7N7 can be put into buying better tubes for those other positions.
Several people had recommended 7N7 to me. But I had already bought 13 different kinds of 6n7 some of them more than 2 pairs each. After counting, I will have 50 6sn7 tubes after delivery of Melz. Thus I will stop buying more 6sn7 tubes after spending lot of money on TS bgrp. With more than enough tubes for LM 508 and Freya, I may need to sell some of them in the future. List of 6sn7 that I have 1. Six Syl vt231 2. Six RCA vt231 3. Quad Kenrad vt231 4. Quad Raytheon vt231 5. Pair of Tungsol bgrp vt231 6. quad Syl GTB made in 1955 7. Two Amperex 6sn7 made in Canada 8. Six Rca gray glass gtb 9. Two Syl GT "Bad boy " made in 1952 10. Two Melz metal base 6n8s coming on May ( two more coming on June) 11. Five Tungsol 6sn7gtb 12. Two CBS/Hytron 6ns7gt 13, Three Sylvania brown base 6sn7gtw
That’s why I’ll never get tube gear. Well never say never. Just don’t want to be involved in getting a tube that sounds great and then endlessly searching for the same ones when tubes are so scarce.
Ha Ha. But tube rolling is more fun than cable rolling which cost more money and time with lesser effect. Another thing is that good Nos tubes never lose its value. I bought Nos We 300b made in 1940's at 3k$ 20 years ago. Now I have to pay 10K$ or more on the similar one. It is still working fine after 10K hours of use.
I've been thinking about getting some 7N7 from Jacmusic in Germany but sourcing a converter for my Saga+ from Chyna as Jac's is pretty pricey which makes the 7n7 less of a deal.
As good as 7n7 tube is good for the money, it is still possible to get a decent pair of 6sn7 tubes around 100$. I had been happy with purchase of pair of Syl, RCA, KR and RT vt 231 under 100$.
Ha no dude. Spent endless hours in my guitar amps so not gonna drive myself nuts with this hobby as well. Lol
I had tried not to have tube in headphone amp which I use around 4 hours a day. But I felt something missing. After having Freya in front of headphone amp, I can enjoy headphones again. I had collected lot of 6sn7 tubes due to Freya which use quad 6sn7.
I am curious how it sound in my system compared vt231s. I ordered pair 3 weeks ago and have my finger crossed when I will get it.. It was processed in Kiev 2 weeks ago.
For anyone that wants to dive deep into the 6sn7 read Vacuum Tube Valley, Spring 1999 issue. It's all about the 6sn7 with shootout distortion measurements and sound characteristics.
I've not done a back to back comparison. But the Melz have a very nice presentation, nicely balanced and holographic, not as dark as the RCA VT231, but not too forward either. Smooth yet detailed is the best I can describe. I think you'll be pleased.
I got the 7N7 tubes from Jacmusic. Just so I could try them. Woo Audio makes an adapter to use 7N7 tubes in a 6SN7 socket. The Woo adapter does have a ring around it that makes it a little larger diameter than other adapters. I don't know if that ring makes it too fat to fit in the recessed sockets with Schiit gear. The Woo adapter is of higher quality than the Jacmusic adapter. But also more expensive by a few dollars. The Jacmusic adapter is rusty old NOS parts. The Woo adapter is all new parts. Unfortunately I didn't quite like the sound of the Jacmusic 7N7 tubes in my amp.
The Reference 6SN7 Thread 6SN7 VT Those two links are useful for selection of 6sn7 tubes. As I go through the tubes myself, I concur with most of the opinion on those. The only new thing I found out is that TS brgp is over hyped.
There are many good 6sn7 tubes available. 2- 1956 RCA 6SN7GT Amp Tubes - Matched-voice of music VM Strong Pair! | eBay I paid 20$ for tube made in 1956. It sounds fine just short of excellent vt231 tubes.
Yes there are many 6sn7 tubes to try. I do have a pair of RCA 6sn7GT tubes to play with. I wanted to try the Jacmusic 7n7 tubes because I was curious about the Sylvania tubes and those 7n7 tubes seemed like a good way to try that flavor. Just wasn't the right flavor for me with that particular amp and my current headphones. I'll keep them and see how they do with other gear. For anyone curious, here's a picture of the Jacmusic 7n7 with the Woo Audio adapter
Almost all Sylvania 6sn7 made in 1940's or 1950's are good. But I had never tried flat offset plates.
This one looks similar to Syl gtw metal base which fetch more than 200$ per pair Nos Tube could be hit or miss.
I'm wary of having a valve collection more expensive than the actual unit itself and enjoy changing flavours in a more economical way. I'm enjoying subverting the 6SN7 sound with the 6SL7 in the Saga+ and that's why I'm next trying the 6922 family with an adapter as Jason Sch!!t has said of this: "However, you'll lose the distortion cancellation with the weird hybrid buffer. Some people might like this a bit better, as it will probably sound more "tube-y."
Nos 6l7 tubes are available at lower price than 6sn7. But 6sl7 has higher gain than 6sn7. Thus I am not sure I can use 6sl7 in place of 6sn7 in my amps. If it works in Saga, it will be nice.
