baretta
Active Member
I think JJs last longer than Sovteks.
Your Favorite EL34 or Equivelent Power Tube
- Thread starter AudioSoul
- Start date
Junk Audio
Active Member
Hands down, The Metal Base Mullard is the best EL34, Followed closely by the Fat base XF1 Mullard, And Amperex Bugle Boys are right there and gorgeous to look at.....
My Fisher X-1000 has fat bottle RCA 6CA7 (EL34). Sounds great.
My Scott 272 has Groove Tube EL34, and sounds OK. (FYI, in my SEP amp, my favorite output tube is Groove Tube GT6L6 GE - Gold Series, performance rating 5. Don't dismiss GT tubes.)
My Pilot SA-260 has JJ EL34s. They perform OK.
I sold a near-mint Scott 210F (mono) equipped with Amperex Bugle Boy EL34. (I gave up trying to find a mate - for a stereo pair. The guy who bought it from me was more patient - he now has a pair of 210F.)
FWIW, my favorite output tube: 6L6GC - for the classic "warm" tube sound. Favorite 6L6GC amps: a pair of McIntosh MC30s, and Scott 296. Both are excellent for classical music.
My Scott 272 has Groove Tube EL34, and sounds OK. (FYI, in my SEP amp, my favorite output tube is Groove Tube GT6L6 GE - Gold Series, performance rating 5. Don't dismiss GT tubes.)
My Pilot SA-260 has JJ EL34s. They perform OK.
I sold a near-mint Scott 210F (mono) equipped with Amperex Bugle Boy EL34. (I gave up trying to find a mate - for a stereo pair. The guy who bought it from me was more patient - he now has a pair of 210F.)
FWIW, my favorite output tube: 6L6GC - for the classic "warm" tube sound. Favorite 6L6GC amps: a pair of McIntosh MC30s, and Scott 296. Both are excellent for classical music.
Auto Analog
Justin Credible
Tung Sol’s EL34B currently impresses me the most, followed by the ElectroHarmonix 6CA7EH.
I'd have to go with the G.E.C. KT77 
and as soon as I find another pair I will be doing the factory mod to my Fairchild 260 amplifiers and using them.as of now I run Svetlana winged c 6l6gc's (original)I just wish I had the foresight to stock up on these back when they came out as they're sure risen in price since I bought mine.
and as soon as I find another pair I will be doing the factory mod to my Fairchild 260 amplifiers and using them.as of now I run Svetlana winged c 6l6gc's (original)I just wish I had the foresight to stock up on these back when they came out as they're sure risen in price since I bought mine.sold all my old Mullards, kept old Teslas, RCAs, and Winged Cs. it all depends on whether
the tube amps can use the tube's capabilities. when I had Dynacos the mullards (original
and relabeled Dynacos) didn't give me top prize at the Voice. and due to frenzy I got top dollar
for them.
the tube amps can use the tube's capabilities. when I had Dynacos the mullards (original
and relabeled Dynacos) didn't give me top prize at the Voice. and due to frenzy I got top dollar
for them.
soundmotor
super modified
Not sure that ever got answered. Yes, it can and the filament draw is lower too, 0.9A vs. 1.5A per tube x4. That's a significant load reduction on the PT and not a bad thing on an original one. I did do one mod though as my line voltage was much higher than 117VAC spec on the PT. I changed the B+ to choke input (LC) by moving the 1st section in the CLC to follow it. That dropped the B+ down to spec. I ran the amp that way for a long while before I sold it and performed great.
PakProtector
AK member
I thought those were Siemens branded Mullard. xf4 exactly...it has been a while, but I got some of these and time in between then and now may have fogged this a bit.
Douglas
soundmotor
super modified
You're going to make me dig them out.....
Mine have nice clear Mullard logos on a clearly German tube. As an aside, they ran great in anything I tried them in.
Junk Audio
Active Member
Vintage KT77 is a Kinkless Tetrode, Not exactly an EL34... When I listened to them, They didn't sound any better then a Bugle boy....
s-petersen
Scott
Sylvainia fat bottle, Mullard vintage, Electro Harmonix fat bottle, in that order
eickmewg
Well-Known Member
I have a Silk (= Yaqin) MC-30L amp that came with blue-bottle Yaqin-branded Shuguang 6CA7 power tubes. After three years I wanted to try something different. As this amp takes EL34/6CA7 tubes, I followed this thread with interest. I decided to give the JJ KT-77's a try. Matched quads from Eurotubes are very reasonable and Kegger (RIP) gave them a very good recommendation. They biased up just fine and sound good and well-balanced so far and I think they were a good choice. Time will tell. I have previously had good luck with JJ rectifiers, small signal tubes (12AX7 and 12AU7), and EL84 power tubes for my Magnavox 9304 amp. All good performing tubes at very reasonable prices.
PakProtector
AK member
Any of youse ever use the EL34 for a signal tube?
cheers,
Douglas
cheers,
Douglas
FWIW, when I “discovered” these Mullard EL34s @ AES it seemed too good to be true. Even back then NOS welded plate Mullards were rapidly increasing in price. So, being curious, I ordered a quad or two. Turns out it was too good to be true. What I recd were clearly relabeled East German RFTs. At the time, RFTs were considered much inferior to Euro Mullard, Amperex, TFK and even US fat bottle 6CA7/EL34 (VTL disparagingly referred to them as “continental slimmies”). I was disappointed. However, with the passage of time I’ve developed quite a bit of respect for the RFTs. They’re quite consistent and sound good. The only shortcoming might be a max plate voltage of ~ 450- 500V for best life.
soundmotor
super modified
Did RFT build for Siemens? Much later I bought a quad of orange/blue box Siemens and they had the same dimple tops as the earlier "Mullards".
Agreed on consistency & sound though. I like them too.
Yes, near the end of tube marketing by Siemens they did indeed rebrand RFT production. Not sure what Siemens did before this but every Siemens branded EL34 I’ve encountered was actually an RFT.
