Sorry I meant to say keep the RCA not the Raytheon as I misread your post and sell the single Shuguang 6SL7-T or perhaps wait until later this year and Shuguang might start making tubes again and you could pick up another one at a reasonable price then.
Just to wrap things up for anyone that might be considering buying some Linlai E-6SL7 tubes. Here is everything that I have learned so far. The North American distributor Grant Fidelity is now selling them at their premiumvacuumtubes website. The cost for a pair shipped to a US address is $310.73 which includes $265 for the tubes, $25 shipping, $6.23 insurance, and $14.50 tax. I paid a total of $194.69 for a pair that came in a nice looking presentation box that I bought from the Hi-end Audiotube Store a seller on AliExpress. I see that same seller has recently lowered the price to $178 with free shipping to US and UK and many other countries. I don't normally like to give a link as I'm not sure if I'm suppose to be doing that here but for some reason when I search AliExpress for Linlai E-6SL7 nothing is coming so I'll give the link below. 90.0US $ |Elite Series Linlai E 6SL7 Replace Shuguang 6N9P/6H9C ECC33 Double Plate Current Matched GENERAL AGENT|Operational Amplifier Chips| - AliExpress I would like to give a shoutout to the excellent packing job that Hi-end Audiotube did for my pair of Linlai E-6SL7 tubes. They took the presentation box which has has a contoured foam insert to protect the two tubes and wrapped it in 13.5 feet of 9" wide bubble wrap and then put it in an oversize 9" x 9" cardboard box. The box looks like it had been through hell by the time it arrived and one side was split open. But the tubes arrived safe and sound and there was no damage to the presentation box. I'd be more worried about buying a single tube as then you won't get the substantial protection that the presentation box affords. See presentation box at link below for E-6SN7 which is the same as for E-6SL7. https://media.karousell.com/media/p...7_vacuum_tube_1618636859_d33b822c_progressive The risk of buying them from AliExpress is not insignificant but you can save a lot. If the package is lost, AliExpress will refund your money. Musicphil on a earlier post to this thread talked about how he had to return a tube that he had bought on AliExpress that was noisy and when he returned it they only wanted to give him a partial refund. He was finally able to get a full refund by filing a dispute with Paypal. So try to use PayPal when buying anything on AliExpress to better protect yourself. Also one of my tubes had a very low level crackling sound that went away after I had use the tubes for about 10 hours and now both tubes are quiet except for some very low level hum which can only be heard when I put my ear right up against the speaker. This is normal for my amplifier as I get it with all 6SL7 tubes that I have tried. One last warning is that if you live in the USA, you won't get any warranty from Linlai unless you buy from Grant Fidelity. Linlai also claims that the E-6SL7 tubes that you buy from their North American distributor are tuned for the American market and sound different than the ones sold by their Chinese sellers. I'm not really buying this as it seems like a lot of trouble and extra work and how do you tune a tube that is physically the same to sound different. No other Chinese tube makers do this; I think they are just trying to scare people into buying from the American Distributor. Anyway here is their statement on this subject. LINLAI™ Global Vacuum Tubes – [Official English Website for Worldwide Audiophiles] Anyway the ones that I bought on AliExpress sound just fine to me and I'm very happy with them.
That's my setup above with the stunning 1945 ('Black Bottle') Tung Sol 6C8G tubes in the 6SL7 slots. I alternate these with the amazing MELZ milspec 6SL7s, metal base, from the 50s. In the other slots are vintage Sylvania 6SN7 GTAs and vintage Sveltana Winged Cs. This tube line-up is now my 'standard' setup with the R8 (used in Triode mode) and, for the time being at least, I have stopped rolling tubes as I am so delighted with the current sound. I generally hang out in the Australian StereoNet R8 thread, but this thread has some great content and advice too. The R8 is an amazing amplifier for the money (or amazing amplifier, period) and has built up a huge, international following in little more than a year.
Those are very nice looking tubes; I didn't know you could 6C8G tubes to replace a 6SL7 tube. It looks like you had to get an adapter because of different pin out and connection to the top of the tube. I did a quick check and it says it can replace a 6SL7 or 6SN7 as it has an Mu of 36 which falls in between the 6SN7 Mu of 20 and the 6SL7 Mu of 70. Do you happen to know how much the heater current is? I know the 6SN7 has a 600ma heater current, while the 6SL7 has a 300ma heater current.
They are great-sounding tubes, too. Different to the MELZ but good in their own right. I swap between the two quite often. You need the adapter - the pin layout is the same as for the 6SL7 - the adapter is needed for the top cap on the tube, that's all. The 6C8G is a suitable replacement for the 6SL7, not the 6SN7 which, I believe, requires a similar-looking, but electrically different 6F8G tube (same adapter). If you were interested in a top-cap tube like those (they look amazing I think, and very retro, with a ton of 'wow factor'), I would use the 6C8g for the 6SL7 slots and use a 6F8G for the 6SN7 positions. The adapters work with either. Definitely worth a try, IMO, for tube-rolling fans with the R8. I also have a pair of vintage Ken-Rad 6C8Gs, which are also nice-sounding tubes, and, IIRC, cost me less than the Tung Sols. Here's a close-up of the Tung Sol 6C8G. Alongside, you can see one of the two Shuguangs I tried in the 6SN7 position - a highly regarded new-production tube that is quite expensive, although, to my ears and setup, it isn't as nice as the vintage Sylvania GTAs I am now using in that position. You can also see my modern-production Tung Sol EL34Bs in the background, which I was using before I got my Svetlana Winged Cs. The Tung Sol EL34B is, IMO, a lovely modern tube and gives the vintage EL34s a good run for their money.
I switched back to my Willsenton KT88’s after the new Mullard EL34’s “tricked me” with their detail . What I noticed was the EL34’s provided full sound on a few records (primarily MFSL releases), but completely sucked out the midrange and bass on albums like Porcupine Tree - Stupid Dream. I was under the impression that EL34 tubes were to have amazing midrange, but perhaps newer versions don’t cut it. Instead I found these newer Mullard EL34’s boost treble as I was getting some offensive highs. I would be interested in getting a KT88 that would improve upon the Willsenton in regards to punchier bass and a bit more clarity. Looking at the new Gold Lion KT88’s. Any feedback on rolling KT88’s and their experience would be much appreciated.
As always for 6SN7, I highly recommend to check out the 7N7 tube. It is a complete electrical equivalent to the 6SN7, but with a different base, so it also needs an adapter. I bought my stash at Jac Music in Germany. I'm still on my first, which has done 5.5 k hours in my Kit One and still sounds amazing. They have a Telefunken-like sound, with no weak points, high resolution and firm, deep bass. They clearly beat various Tungsol and Raytheon NOS 6SN7 I have tried, although these were not the very top-shelf, $$$$ ones. Because of their loctal base, the 7N7 isn't nearly as ubiquitous as the 6SN7, so prices are very low. Currently, JAC charges less than 10 Euros for one. In fact, the adapter will be more expensive. A word of caution, though. Jac has always been very slow to deliver. And to respond after you have placed your order and paid. I have always gotten my orders but a couple of months back, a user in a Danish fb group apparently hadn't received his after many months.
sully12 I've heard a lot of good things about the Gold Lion KT88s. I still have the stock Willsenton in mine, but when I swap the KT88s, I will likely get the Gold Lions.
Interesting. I just placed an order for a pair of the Sylvania NOS 7N7 and adapters. Weird to pay so much more for the adapters than the tubes! I am always interested to experiment with the more 'off the wall' tube types, especially since, as you say, the less fashionable a tube is, the cheaper it is! It will be an interesting comparison with my NOS Sylvania 6SN7 GTA tubes (which cost way more, of course). Thanks for the heads-up.
I envy you having an Willsenton R8; like you said it is a great amp. I wanted to buy one in April of 2020 but I couldn't find anyone that had them in stock. It seems they had closed their plant for awhile to expand the capacity so I ended up buying a RFTLYS A5 which was the closest to a Willsenton R8 that I could find at the time. But it doesn't have the ability to use EL34 tubes only KT88 tubes. Also the 6SL7 and 6SN7 tube sockets are closer together so I couldn't use a 6C8G and a 6F8G at the same time. I've managed to squeeze in a 46mm wide Shuguang CV181-Z and a 56mm wide Linlai E-6SL7 together but I only have about 3mm space between the two tubes. I'm pretty happy with the Shuguang CV181-Z so I don't plan on buying any more 6SN7 tubes. My RFTLYS A5 came with Russian 6N9P and 6N8P tubes that didn't sound bad; they had a brighter more forward sound perhaps similar to your MELZ. I was lucky as I swapped the 6N8P tubes right off the bat with Shuguang CV181-Z tubes and haven't looked back. I though the Shuguang were more laid back sounding and sounded more like NOS tubes and were very nice tubes to listen to. Finding a replacement for the 6N9P tubes has been more of an adventure. I first tried some Kenrad VT-229 and they sounded nice. I then tried some Sylvania 6SL7WGT Gold Brand tubes and they sounded even better. Recently I decided to buy what I thought might be the best NOS and best new production 6SL7 tubes to try out and see how I liked them. I just got the Linlai E-6SL7 tube on Saturday and it looks fabulous in my amplifier and it sounds very nice as well, see my earlier post for details. I also got some RCA 5691 red base tubes that I've been trying out the last couple of days and I think I like them even better. I really wanted to like the Linlai E-6SL7 tubes the best as it looks so great in the amp much like your 6C8G look so much better than the MELTZ tubes. They both are very nice sounding tubes with the Linlai E-6SL7 having the more analytical and accurate sound but with the RCA 5691 tubes installed, my amp sounds so nice and sweet; it just sounds like what you want your tube amp to sound like., sweet and seductive. I know it is coloring the sound and adding some warmth but it is just sounds so perfect, I could listen to it all day. I'm a big fan of the RCA 5691 tubes now and can see why they command such a high price.
Correction I meant to say I was trying to buy an Willsenton R8 in April of 2021 not April of 2020. I should have bought one in April of 2020.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience using the 5691 tubes to replace the 6SL7 tubes in their Willsenton R8? I was a little worried about the 5691s higher heater current requirements of .6A vs. .3A for the 6SL7 tubes. Changing two 6SL7 tubes to 5691 tubes will require an extra .6A from your transformer. I don't have a Willsenton R8 but I have a RFTLYS A5 which looks very similar. As I seem to be the only person that owns this amp, I've come here for some help and advise. From pictures both amps appear to have similar sized transformers and the same tubes used except the Willsenton R8 has three 6SN7 tubes where the RFTLYS A5 only has two. I tried to find the heater current requirements for each of the stock tubes and calculate the total heater current draw with the stock tubes. 4ea KT88 1.6A x 4 = 6.4A 2ea 6SL7 .3A x 2 = .6A 2ea 6SN7 .6A x 2 = 1.2A So I get a total of 8.2A total heater current for the stock tubes RFTLYS A5; Willsenton R8 would have a total of 8.8A due to having three 6SN7 tubes. So adding in another .6A for the two 5691 brings the total to 8.8A which is about a 7% increase . The transformers look pretty beefy and the RFTLYS weighs 23kg which is a little less than the 26kg for the Willsenton R8 but it does have one less 6SN7 tube so I think it should be able to handle the extra .6A without a problem. I checked my transformers to see how hot they were after playing music for two hours and the outer two transformers felt like room temperature and the middle transformer which I believe supplies the heater current for the tubes only felt slightly warm. I let the transformers cool down and I replaced the two 6SL7 tubes with two 5691 tubes and ran amp for two hours and checked how hot the transformers were again. The two outer transformers were still at room temperature. The middle transformer still felt slightly warm; perhaps a little warmer than before but no where close to being hot. So I'm thinking it should not be a problem using these 5691 tubes in this amplifier.
Next, try the Mullard ECC35. These are the 6SL7 I have in my collection for good. 1. Mullard ECC35 2. RCA 5691 3. SYL 6SL7WGT Used to have another popular one, TS 6SU7GTY, but sold the pair.
I'm really happy with the RCA 5691 and I think I'll stick with that one; all of the tubes that you listed are getting very expensive. I do have some Sylvania 6SL7WGT Gold Brand but I like the RCA 5691 better. How would you describe the sound of the TS 6SU7GTY compared to the RCA 5691? I'm curious because I could have bought some for the same price as the RCA 5691?
From JAC Music? I've checked with the fb group. Since my last visit to the group in August, a couple of members had bought from JAC and had received their stuff, although with long delivery times. But the one person--as I understand it a dealer who had ordered and paid for a pair of EML tubes--that hadn't received his tubes in August still hadn't received them. So not ideal ... BTW, at around 20 minutes into this video, Carlson discusses loctal tubes, including how to take them in and out of their sockets. I wasn't aware that it should be done differently than with other tubes. I do remember that my 7N7 was very difficult to insert into the adapter the first time. It needed quite at bit of force. Maybe if I had known the right way, it would have gone smoother.
I didnt really spent much time with the 6SU7GTY but to the best of my memory, they sound almost identical, that's why I sold the only pair I have and keep the 5691. If I must choose again, I will take 5691 over 6SU7GTY, 6SU7GTY is slightly over etched for my taste.
For any of you that are interested in old tubes and old tube amplifiers, I just discovered a treasure trove of information that is still available on line. All 20 issues of the Vacuum Tube Magazine are available on line in .pdf format and can be downloaded for free. Vacuum Tube Valley Magazine Get the entire 20 magazine set for free! Article By Steven R. Rochlin I found a listening test done on some 6SN7 tubes back in 1999 on page 9 of issue #11 which gave each tube a numerical score. The top six scoring tubes were: The Mullard CV181 (ST shaped 1952) score 97 Sylvania 6SN7W (metal base ring, top getter early 1940s) score 97 Raytheon 6SN7WGT (brown base 1950s) score 96 Sylvania VT-231 (bottom getter WWII era) score 95 Sylvania 6SN7GT (top getter, black base early tri-plate 1950s) score 95 GE 6SN7GTA (1953) score 94 Wayback Machine
I have the Gold Lion KT88's and new production Tung Sol EL34B's and in my system, the EL34B's give more punch or better bass performance.
It's interesting and a little ironic that one of their articles reveals that the famed Mullard 'Blackburn' EL34 was originally chosen because it was a cheaper alternative to the tubes around at the time, especially by legendary Jim Marshall for his guitar amps, which set the Mullard E|L34 on its path to glory. It reminds me of NASA astronauts Alan Shepard or John Glenn (depending on which account you read) who, when asked what goes through his mind as he's sitting there waiting for lift off, allegedly replied, "Well, how does it feel when you know your life depends on 150,000 parts all bought from the lowest bidder?"
Most people think RCA made the 5692 red base tube for GE, but according to an article in Vacuum Tube Valley, It was the other way around. According to an article in issue number 11 on page 5: "RCA may have developed this tube, yet it seems that GE actually manufactured it for them under contract. The distinctive red base is apparently unique to GE production. Many other firms (including Raytheon, CBS/Hytron, and Rogers in Canada) made their own 5692s, but always with brown Micanol bases." Wayback Machine
Crazy question (maybe)....Has anyone hooked their R8 to a passive soundbar to use for home theater? (or even music?) if so, what speaker. thank you
