Shanling Vs Jolida tubed CD players

[Thatch_Ear]

Sorry about deleting some posts but lets start this thread over without disturbing the review that Dave spent so much time on.
For starters how about the tube type used in the Shanling. Are the WEs the only drop in sub?
Brian, please post the review to the Enjoy The Music review on the Shanling again. I found it quite interesting.
Thanks

[BrianB]

Starting a new thread makes sense to me. And if someone wants to ask for a comparison of these two players again, I'll try to recompose my response to the question...

But to answer your questions, Thatch:

1) The Shanling comes stock with four Chinese 6N3P dual triodes. There are also some Russian military 6N3Ps floating around out there. And in addition to the Western Electric 396As, you can find Sylvania and Tungsol 396As (which are not quite as good as the WEs) as well as 396As with the Northern Electric label (which are reportedly better than the WEs).

2) Here is a link to Thorsten Loesch's excellent Enjoy The Music write-up:

Shanling CD-T100 Review (http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0902/shanling.htm)

Cheers,
Brian

[Jack G]

It takes 6N3Ps/2C51s and you can substitute 5670s and 396As.
The WE 396As are by far the best to my ear, and they are not very expensive or rare.
Jack

[BrianB]

Hi Jack,

I've tried out three or four NOS replacements for the stock 6N3Ps, and the WE 396As have been my favorites to date as well - although a couple of folks have told me that the Northern Electric 396As are even better.

Out of curiosity, what drop-in replacements have you auditioned in the Shanling?

Cheers,
Brian

[Jack G]

I tried a few 5670s, such as Sylvania Gold Brand, Raytheon and a few others, but they were nothing special. Northern electric was a Canadian branch of WE. Haven't tried their tubes-my Shanling is dormant at the moment, waiting to be set up in my (soon to be) fourth system.
Jack

[BrianB]

Originally posted by Jack G
Northern electric was a Canadian branch of WE.

Thanks for the info - I was wondering about the relationship between these two labels.

[Rob]

I've got some NIB NE-417A's, but those came from some discarded stock I got decades ago when working for the the telephone company. Where does one buy NIB WE tubes these days like the 396A's spoke of?

[BrianB]

Hi Rob,

Here are links to a few sources of NOS tubes that I've used in the past:

Antique Electronic Supply (http://www.tubesandmore.com/)

Triode Electronics (http://www.triodeelectronics.com)

Tube World (http://www.tubeworld.com)

There are many, many others, of course - you might try doing a Google search.

Cheers,
Brian

[Rob]

Thanx for the helpful info BrianB! That may help other readers here as well.

[merrylander]

Just a slight correction from a former Bell Canada employee whose Dad and Brother worked at Northern Electric (Now Nortel Networks).

NE was formed by Bell Canada and was at one time a wholly owned subsidiary. BC later sold off 70% of the stock and kept 30%. NE manufactured WE products under a licensing arrangement BC had with AT&T. Now Nortel is totally publicly owned by the shareholders and the BC - AT&T arrangement bit the dust years ago. This was about the time NE began building their own switch machines and other telcom products.

Rob

[Jack G]

That would explain why people say NE tubes sound different (read better) than WE tubes. Thanks for the clarification.

also,
check out www.electron-valve.com for WE tubes. They are however, not cheap. They do tend to have the old tennis ball tubes.
You can also try www.vacuumtubesinc.com.

Tubeworld seems to have the best selection though.
Jack