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Baldwin 6BQ5

shacky

shacky

Addicted Member
I ordered a used quad of 6BQ5's from CL. Thought I was getting Sylvania as that was what we discussed. Ended up receiving Baldwin. No to be fair I ordered a set of "matching" 6BQ5's but early in email conversation I asked about Sylvania.

How are Baldwin and are they a step down from Sylvania? Got them at what I think is good price - $60.

They look excellent. Will try them in my Eico HF-81 tonight.
 
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Baldwin tubes were private labeled (branded) by several tube manufacturers, including Sylvania and RCA.
 
shacky said:
I ordered a used quad of 6BQ5's from CL. Thought I was getting Sylvania as that was what we discussed. Ended up receiving Baldwin. No to be fair I ordered a set of "matching" 6BQ5's but early in email conversation I asked about Sylvania.

How are Baldwin and are they a step down from Sylvania? Got them at what I think is good price - $60.

They look excellent. Will try them in my Eico HF-81 tonight.
Click to expand...

Do they have green print on them? They are likely Sylvanias relabeled as Baldwin. Baldwin didn't manufacture their own tubes as far as I know.

Should sound decent. I have a quad running in my Pilot 232 right now :D!

Cheers

Lar
 
Yes they have green label.

And we only discussed Sylvania at beginning. I specifically asked for good matched quad and didn't sepcify at the order stage Sylvania.
 
shacky said:
Yes they have green label.

And we only discussed Sylvania at beginning. I specifically asked for good matched quad and didn't sepcify at the order stage Sylvania.
Click to expand...

FWIW, every "Baldwin" branded 6BQ5 I've encountered so far (~20) has been of Sylvania mfg. Based on everything you've stated so far, Sylvania is what you're getting.
 
Yep you should be fine.
I've got a weak set of blackplates and like them a lot. 4 for $60 is a good deal; they usually go for more than that on eBay. Since these are organ tubes, in many cases they have low hours on them. Most folks don't play organs like they play stereos.

Look for the two vertical sets of 3 digit numbers. The first should be "312" which is Sylvania's tube code.
 
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Organ, hi-fi and radio manufacturers often had tubes made with their logos instead of the tube manufacturer's. I have some Lowrey-branded 6V6s that sound great, I need to post some pics to figure out who made them.
 
I'm new to tubes. Have some questions.

Do I need to readjust bias when changing output tubes? Currently Tube Doctor 6BQ5/EL84 to thes Baldwin 6BQ5's?

And are fingerprints a problem like some newer light bulbs?
 
Andyman said:
Yep you should be fine.
I've got a weak set of blackplates and like them a lot. 4 for $60 is a good deal; they usually go for more than that on eBay. Since these are organ tubes, in many cases they have low hours on them. Most folks don't play organs like they play stereos.

Look for the two vertical sets of 3 digit numbers. The first should be "312" which is Sylvania's tube code.
Click to expand...

Andyman,

That's one heck of a Halloween avatar you have going. Before I say more is it someone you know, are married or related to? :scratch2:
 
shacky said:
I'm new to tubes. Have some questions.

Do I need to readjust bias when changing output tubes? Currently Tube Doctor 6BQ5/EL84 to thes Baldwin 6BQ5's?

And are fingerprints a problem like some newer light bulbs?
Click to expand...

Yes.

No. As long as your hands are reasonably clean, the white glove treatment is not necessary.
 
what was your bias before replacing the tube to these sylvanias? did you do any mod or adjust bias by changing out the resistors? was the reason for changing the output tubes red-plating by any chance? 'cause if you're using newer production tubes w/o lowering the bias, you'll see red-plate easily. even though these slyvanias should handle whatever current bias ok, it's good to know what the number is. you can measure it across the 5w resistors for each channel.

i have closely matching RCA 6BQ5's in my HF-81, and before i got 'em to match closely, i had one tube with red-plating problem.
 
I haven't had the Eico long. And never did bias. PO had just completed resto with Tube Doctor tubes in place and all calibrated.

One of the Tube Doctor tubes gives annoying pop when powering up. It's like pop, Pop, POP... then it's fine. It's only one. PO didn't notice it till it was too late to return bad tube.

I wanted to eliminate this issue. And I wanted vintage tubes.

Soo guess I need ti figure out how to measure bias :scratch2: I do have the manual.
 
I suspect the bias will be within specs. Remember, technicians in that era did not adjust bias every time they changed the output tube. Nor did they match them. That was reserved for much more sophisticated gear...
 
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