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First Impressions of new Tung-Sol 6SL7 Gold Pin

So my reasoning on using new production tubes is unchanged as my situation is unchanged.

You guys clearly prefer NOS but I'm only interested in new production. Have we anything constructive to say on various new production brands?
 
I'm gonna give the Shuguang WE6SL7 Plus a shot, I think. I don't have a ton of experience with new production tubes outside of the Gold Lion reissues, but people seem to like them. I've tried a few NOS small signal tubes, and haven't gotten the same enjoyment others have out of them. I honestly can't stand RCA's, it seems, regardless of the tube. 12AX7's and 5693's are the only ones I've tried, but they had similar characteristics I didn't care for. Also not a fan of most of the NOS Tung Sol's I've tried. I get that tube production used to be more consistent due to multiple factories pumping out millions of tubes from the 1940's though to even the 80's, mostly for the military. But the new production are getting their feet under them, getting experience, and they are manufacturing tubes strictly for audio. Nothing else. Maybe it is some sort of "scam", but that's about par for the course with any niche audio products.
 
Your reasoning is sound.
I'm eager to hear your impressions because I'm working on a preamp which can use them, in order to keep the hours off the old stock.
 
egellings said:
Gold pins are not worth it. When the tube gets plugged into its socket, the thin gold plating gets scraped off the pin where contact between the pin and the socket receptacle is made. The inertness of the Au finish is lost, exactly where it is needed most. They look, cool though, but are largely useless.
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Gold pins are audio bling. :idea:
 
I use new and NOS tubes, and both can sound good. Both of my amps use driver tubes that haven't been made by anyone in decades, so NOS is the only option. I've actually had more problems with bad new production tubes than used tubes FWIW.
 
Guys,

I didn't buy the tubes solely because they had gold-plated pins; I bought them because the marketing promised more careful electrical selection and hence more consistent sound quality. Plus they have a better warranty. The gold pins were a secondary feature but a positive; lower contact resistance and no corrosion risk - just like gold plated binding posts and connectors.

Plus, I had money in my pocket to burn on my favorite hobby - my stereo!

If anyone has NOS tubes that they think will be revelatory in my Willsenton R8, feel free to PM for my address and send them to me on speculation. If I agree that they are a definite improvement over the new Tung-Sols or new JJs at the price, I'll buy them and reimburse your shipping. If I don't think they are better, in my sole judgment, I'll pay for return shipping to you (via postal!) 6SL7s and 6SN7s only.

I agree with Yogi Berra - in practice, theory and practice are not the same. In theory, new tubes are as good or better than old tubes.

Change my mind!
 
I only have one amp that uses two 6SL7's, my AES SE-1 kit amp. It came with Soviet era 6SL7's which still work fine. I've had Raytheons in it now which have been in service for around 10 years, though not may full time amp. Shortly after I put the amp together I bought 4 Sylvania JAN's, unfortunately one lost vacuum so I have one tube which will always be an orphan. The plates have always looked suspiciously small in the new Tung Sol. I have always wondered if it were a tweaked 12AX? in a larger bottle.
 
FauxHall said:
Guys, I didn't buy the tubes solely because they had gold-plated pins; I bought them because the marketing promised more careful electrical selection and hence more consistent sound quality.
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Everyone is free to pay as much as they like for things, of course. But $100, plus shipping for a pair of 6SL7s is more than I would pay, gold pins or not, NOS or new production.

As I recall, matched pairs of the "regular pin" versions sell for half that. So it looks like they really do charge an extra $25 a tube just for the gold pins.

As for "careful electrical selection", the tubes pictured in your initial post are fairly well matched in terms of current draw, but one is not well matched at all in terms of transconductance.

The sections of the tube on the left measured 810 and 1050. So one side is about 30% stronger than the other. I wouldn't call that matched. I don't know if there is any 'set in stone' standard but I've always considered 10% to be matched, maybe 15% at most. Maybe.

As for the readings themselves, those will vary depending on the voltage and current used by the particular tester. My Hickok says the new reading is 1250. The original Tung-Sol data sheet says transconductance is 1600 uMHOS.

Here's the data sheet: https://tube-data.com/sheets/127/6/6SL7GT.pdf
 
Destructor said:
The plates have always looked suspiciously small in the new Tung Sol. I have always wondered if it were a tweaked 12AX? in a larger bottle.
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Yeah, what's up with that? @arts made the same comment about this earlier in the thread.

arts said:
Based on my own examinations and testing, including curve tracing, all of the modern 6SL7 and 6SN7 types I have encountered are neither; they have always been 12AX7 or 12AU7 sections installed into a fat bottle. In my opinion, nothing more than marketing wank trying to open up another revenue stream. I will stick to NOS.
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I have a small stash of old production ones. All of them have much larger internals than the ones pictured earlier. The NOS ones also test higher than the typical new spec on my tester (1400 to 1500 is common) with sections very closely matched (perfect match to 5%).

I'm sure I got these buying random batches of tubes but the dealer near me lists NOS "generic" 6SL7s for $15:

https://vacuumtubes.net/Prices 6M3 to 11Y9.htm

. . . and most of the ones on their "NOS Audio" list are between $20 and $35, including the clear glass versions of the NOS Tung-Sols.

https://vacuumtubes.net/RES Audio pages/6sl7.html
 
That's a lot of money for a 6SL7. Gold on the pins does not get you much, since the soft thin coat of Au scrapes off the tube's pins where they contact the sockets' receptacles.
 
Ive been having great results with reissues.

The Tung Sol 6SN7 reissues were much better than Sylvania, GE and a couple more NOS I was rolling.

The Electro Harmonix Gold 6922s, after the first 50 hours or so, settle down and start sounding very sweet. Much better than most of my 6DJ8s including the Bugle Boys.

Definitely opened my eyes to reissues.
 
Mr Boochie said:
One suggestion: Brimar CV1985. Also known as the 6SL7GTY. Mil spec. Brown micanol base. 1950s vintage. I don't think you'll be disappointed, if you can find any good ones. Best 6SL7 I've used. :)

View attachment 2223231
Photo from Tubemonger's site.
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Notice these tubes have cylindrical plates. That's what I would look for in either a 6SL7 or a 6SN7. The premier cylindrical plate 6SN7s are the famous Tung Sol that is now practically extinct in the market place. Some of the other cylindrical plate 6SN7 types are the 6F8G and the 12V 12AH7. The cylindrical plate 6SL7s are not hard to find. There is something special about those cylindrical plate tubes. I am using the 6F8G currently and it is astonishingly good. Compared to the new Tung Sol 6SN7 there is absolutely NO comparison. Make sure you run your 6SN7s at 5mA - 6mA for best sound.
 
Palustris said:
Notice these tubes have cylindrical plates. That's what I would look for in either a 6SL7 or a 6SN7. The premier cylindrical plate 6SN7s are the famous Tung Sol that is now practically extinct in the market place. Some of the other cylindrical plate 6SN7 types are the 6F8G and the 12V 12AH7. The cylindrical plate 6SL7s are not hard to find. There is something special about those cylindrical plate tubes. I am using the 6F8G currently and it is astonishingly good. Compared to the new Tung Sol 6SN7 there is absolutely NO comparison. Make sure you run your 6SN7s at 5mA - 6mA for best sound.
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Round plate Tung-Sol (USA) are premier tubes. The Brimar 6SL7GTY have a similar sound, to the classic Tung-Sol tubes. Clear with nice midrange. Great instrument separation. Well-balanced and they last forever. :thumbsup:
 
Got the Shuguang WE 6SL7 Plus today. They are HUGE compared to the 6H9C they replaced. Almost literally the size and shape of a 300B. Out of the box they are good, but they will obviously need at least a few hours before they sound anywhere near what they are supposed to sound like. Obviously these are the 6H9C occupying the cutouts for the WE 6SL7's.
IMG_0787.JPG
 
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Update: After around 10 hours the Shuguang WE 6SL7 Plus are opening up really nicely. Extremely listenable and nothing overtly pushy in any frequency. Much like when I switched from sino 12AX7's to Gold Lion reissues, in another amp, these really transformed my Himing Mona 845 monoblocks. They changed the sound to a more "true" degree, which renders great recordings fantastically, and, unfortunately, reveals even smaller flaws in recordings I previously thought were at their best. It sometimes seems that the more "veils" you pull away from music, the better, or worse, it ends up sounding. In any case, these were a little spendy, but Shuguan is currently not up and running, so their tubes are getting sort of hard to find. I paid about $200 for the matched pair, and feel like they were worth it. Also come in nice box.
 
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