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Current production 6CA7 tubes

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Does anyone here have any strong feelings about JJ vs EH 6CA7's? Are there any other true 6CA7 options currently out there? I see some PSVANE around but they are frosted so I can't see the construction.

I'm considering trying out a set of new tubes to rotate with the old-stocks, but it's a significant investment with 2 matched quads needed for my Quicksilvers. Original Sylvania 6CA7s are consistently my favorite power tube in any amp that's compatible, and luckily they last pretty long by all accounts.
 
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I had tried various EL34's, some KT-77's and even KT-88's in my VTA ST-70.
Once I tried the EH 6CA7's I was done. They sounded best to me over the new manufacture JJ's I tried. I liked them better than some old manufacture Mullard EL-34's too. In this amp they have a a better bottom end that's well controlled with a nice midrange too. Some have posted that the top end is a little hot, but I don't hear that. There are some nice EL34 types out there. It all depends on what your looking for. I ran KT-77's for awhile and liked them before trying the EH 6CA7's. I've read the EH 6CA7 is constructed more like a lower powered 6550 power tube. I don't know if thats really true or not though. If you liked the Sylvania 6CA7'sz you might like the EH's?
But just because I and some others like this tube in the Dynaco and VTA ST-70's, doesn't mean they will sound the same in some other amp.
 
Second the EH's, I have used them with my Cary V12's, and they sound great.

But be careful upon removal as the center pins break very easy on them. not sure why, maybe they weaken with heat as these Cary's really heat up.
 
Ken Boyd said:
Second the EH's, I have used them with my Cary V12's, and they sound great.

But be careful upon removal as the center pins break very easy on them. not sure why, maybe they weaken with heat as these Cary's really heat up.
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I've learned to be espec careful plugging in and removing any new production tube. I've had a couple keyways on JJ's snap off before. I always tried to be careful removing any tube, especially octals. But the keyways on those JJ's snapped off pretty easily. One was a KT-77, the other a KT-88.
 
I have a set of EH 6CA7 that I like just fine but haven't really compared them to any other 6CA7. I own a set of Shugang but haven't actually listened to them in the same amp so I have no listening impressions for you.

I will say that the EH need a little more negative grid bias than old production. The Shugang need a decent bit less. The Shugang EL34's I had were the same way. The JJ EL34's I've had bias very much like old Euro production EL34 but I know nothing of their 6CA7. On things with limited adjustment range you may run into trouble getting things to bias right.
 
Just ordered and will test out when they arrive (hopefully this week), the Shuguang Natural Sound 6CA7-T's. A lot of rave reviews, even from our resident Skunkie. Will report back, oh btw my current tubes are new Mullard EL34's.
 
The EH 6CA7 is a tough tube. It handles the rigors of gigging Marshall amps better than most modern EL34s. These guys tend to have an array of pedals, so the sound difference between a 6CA7 and an EL34 doesn't become a big issue.
 
I too really like the EH 6CA7 in my ST-70... I haven't compared them with the JJ's as I don't have a set, but IMO, the EH 6CA7 seem to have a more solid low end than the Mullard EL 34 that they replaced. Though those tubes, (Blackburn Xf1's), were fairly worn down, so maybe not a good comparison.
 
miles2go said:
I too really like the EH 6CA7 in my ST-70... I haven't compared them with the JJ's as I don't have a set, but IMO, the EH 6CA7 seem to have a more solid low end than the Mullard EL 34 that they replaced. Though those tubes, (Blackburn Xf1's), were fairly worn down, so maybe not a good comparison.
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That's what I found also. The bass is well.conteoled too. I did like the JJ KT-77's as well. I almost spelled out for a set of Gold Lion KT-77's. The 77's had a well balanced sound to me. But I do like the fuller sound of the EH 6CA7's better. As for the added negative bias needed for them as gadget mentioned, I did have to turn the bias pots further than any other tube I tried, but still had some adjustment left. I guess that might not be the case with some amps I though.
 
Lavane said:
That's what I found also. The bass is well.conteoled too. I did like the JJ KT-77's as well. I almost spelled out for a set of Gold Lion KT-77's. The 77's had a well balanced sound to me. But I do like the fuller sound of the EH 6CA7's better. As for the added negative bias needed for them as gadget mentioned, I did have to turn the bias pots further than any other tube I tried, but still had some adjustment left. I guess that might not be the case with some amps I though.
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I've read good things about the Gold Lion's as well, a nice tube no doubt.. Regarding the bias, I don't have a comparable reference since it was years ago I switched the tubes out.
I might add that the EH 6CA7 has a fatter bottle than a typical EL 34, so one might want to consider this if there are space constraints...
 
Thanks for all the replies, really! I think the takeaway is that there's really nothing negative to report about the EH. The things I like about the old stock Sylvania seem to be mirrored with them, especially the low-end punch and control compared to EL34s. The bias voltage observation is interesting and is something I will consider. I'm sure that there is amp-dependence in how different the two tube types sound in any situation, but this is at least the second amp where I keep.coming back to the 6CA7 when I A/B.

Just as an FYI for posterity, the reason I asked about "true 6CA7s" is that it's fundamentally a different tube than the EL34 (tetrode vs pentode). They SHOULD sound different. The only reason you see a lot of tubes labeled with both IDs is that they are mostly drop-in compatible with each other. All true 6CA7s are fat bottles as far as I know, at least for old-stock, and pretty much vice-versa for EL34. I'd be very curious to learn about any exceptions to this.
 
I'd ignore the 6CA7 and skip ahead to the 6550. You can run one of those right up to 6CA7 maximum dissipation, and have some real headroom.

Douglas
 
I think EH makes two versions, a standard slim bottled 6CA7 and then their Fat bottle variant. Depending on your amp the Fat bottle ones might be cramped. My amp that wasn't the problems as I purchased the Fat bottle version.

Or it could just be sellers trying to get an edge on other sellers by advertising them as Fat Bottles, while other ads don't include the words.
 
Have tried most of the EL34 varieties. would agree with the other posts the EH fat bottle 6CA7s. Very good sounding and very reliable. The are quite good. If you want to answer the siren's call for PSVANE or Shuguang just be careful. These tubes can sound really, really good but also have a high failure rate and matched quads are usually not much better than random picks. The quality of the Chinese tubes does not compare to anything US made (NOS) and is 2nd fiddle to any of the modern Russian tubes. On the Quicksilvers you may want to measure the B+ voltage before you do anything. If its around 400 to 440 VDC you are probably OK. If higher B+ avoid the VANES and shuguangs unless you like tube fireworks. Even if you get a quartet that lasts, you will likely get some ELF (early life failures) so will need to double the quantity you need to have some spares. If running a CJ premier amp forget the chinese tubes; most will not last more than a few weeks. When buying Chinese tubes a person needs to remember there are no rejects; everything passes and gets sold one way or another.
 
I have a quad of Shuguang Natural Sound 6CA7-T, and they came in a fancy gift box, sounded (and looked) great for about 6 months, at which point one of them flashed over and blew the amplifier's fuse. Amplifier is a Mullard 5-20 design, tubes were operated well within specs. Back to (Russian) Mullard EL34 for me.
 
PakProtector said:
I'd ignore the 6CA7 and skip ahead to the 6550. You can run one of those right up to 6CA7 maximum dissipation, and have some real headroom.

Douglas
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In an amp optimized for EL34 types the KT-88's and 6550's might not sound quite right. That's what I found with my VTA ST-70 anyway. The bass was better, but the midrange sounded a bit scooped out is the best way I can describe it. They just sounded off.
 
Just remember, New Sensor owns the following marketing names: Mullard (reissue tubes) and EH, The EH EL-34 and Mullard EL-34 might be the same tube in a different glass envelope as well as the thin bottle 6CA7. Who really knows.

I have some EH EL-34's and they seem to work great (bias, etc) as EL-34's.
 
THD+N said:
Just remember, New Sensor owns the following marketing names: Mullard (reissue tubes) and EH, The EH EL-34 and Mullard EL-34 might be the same tube in a different glass envelope as well as the thin bottle 6CA7. Who really knows.

I have some EH EL-34's and they seem to work great (bias, etc) as EL-34's.
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Don't they own the Tungsol brand as well?
 
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