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The difference between 7189 and EL84?

andy

andy

Super Member
I was comparing some Admiral branded 6BQ5/EL84 tubes to a Sylvania branded 7189 (all with made in Holland printed on them). The Admiral 6BQ5s look internally identical to the 7189. The 7189 has the code rX4 on it, and the 6BQ5s have rX3. rX means they are supposed to be EL84s and 4 is some kind of run number. Were all rX el84s equivalent to 7189s, or does the branding really matter? I've looked over a tube code sheet, and there is no specific entry for the 7189, just two codes for the EL84.
 
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You can sub a 7189 for a 6BQ5, but you can't sub a 6BQ5 in a circuit calling for a 7189. I mean it'll work, but tube life will be shortened. 7189 is a military version and it can handle considerably more voltage than a 6BQ5. EL84 is the european designation for a 6BQ5. The term EL84 is sometimes misused to refer to any thin bottle tube of this pinout. Hence, the confusion.
 
And you have to be careful with the 7189. The 7189A has pin 6 internally connected to pin 9. This will cause a problem if pin 6 on the tube socket is being used as a tie point. It will also cause some tube testers to give a false short test...
 
I know you can't normally sub a 6BQ5 for a 7189, but my question is, did they ever sell 7189's labeled as 6BQ5s? If the markings were washed off all these tubes, and I was going by the etched codes alone, I wouldn't be able to tell these 6BQ5s apart from the 7189.

The Sylvania 7189 doesn't have pin 6 connected to anything. Does this mean I have a counterfeit 7189?
 
I think kvflyer was saying that the 7189A version is the one that the 6 is connected to the 9. the regular 7189 does not. That would make your OK.
 
andy said:
I was comparing some Admiral branded 6BQ5/EL84 tubes to a Sylvania branded 7189 (all with made in Holland printed on them). The Admiral 6BQ5s look internally identical to the 7189. The 7189 has the code rX4 on it, and the 6BQ5s have rX3. rX means they are supposed to be EL84s and 4 is some kind of run number. Were all rX el84s equivalent to 7189s, or does the branding really matter? I've looked over a tube code sheet, and there is no specific entry for the 7189, just two codes for the EL84.
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Those codes are all Phillips codes for the various flavors of EL84 tubes made throughout Europe. The best resource for identifying the year and location of manufacture of Phillips (Mullard/Valvo/Amperex/etc) tubes is this website

Karsten is the webmaster, and has answered every e-mail I've ever sent him, and seems to be a very nice fellow to boot....:thmbsp:
 
I've had ones that I wasn't sure about, particularly from europe. I default to 6BQ5/EL84, which were used a lot more than 7189s. 7189s started getting used first in industrial applications like Paco amps designed for all-day play in stores or PAs, and later during the output wattage wars.
Does anyone know if the trending was towards making 7189s exclusively after, say 1964?
 
andy said:
I know you can't normally sub a 6BQ5 for a 7189, but my question is, did they ever sell 7189's labeled as 6BQ5s? If the markings were washed off all these tubes, and I was going by the etched codes alone, I wouldn't be able to tell these 6BQ5s apart from the 7189.

The Sylvania 7189 doesn't have pin 6 connected to anything. Does this mean I have a counterfeit 7189?
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I believe that Sovtek is currently selling a 6BQ5M (I think) that is built to the 7189 specs. That's the only one I know of.

Shelly_D
 
shelly_d said:
I believe that Sovtek is currently selling a 6BQ5M (I think) that is built to the 7189 specs. That's the only one I know of.

Shelly_D
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I have a set of the Sovtek 6BQ5M's and borrowed a set of Amperex 7189's. They are very similar with the 7189's having a bit wider sound stage and just a bit better detail (top end).
 
I use the Soviet Military 6pi14pi-EV [6П14П-EB]. The price is right and they work just fine. Listening to a quad of them right now in an HH Scott 299.
 
clydeselsor said:
I think that they are EL84M
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You are correct, I gotta quick trying to remember and go look at stuff before I post. Too many combination's of numbers and letters floating around in my head. Don't know if they are supposed to be at the 7189 specs however.
 
I think that they are at least close. I bought a quartet for my Sherwood S1000II mono PPP amp that called for 7189s and they seem to work fine.
 
Well, that answers my question then. rX is EL84M, so I was right that these are in fact 7189s.
 
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