Tubes still available new...

[DustyOldPile]

I'm about to take the plunge into Tube Amps with a Harman Kardon FA3000X receiver. Assuming that I'll need some new tubes, what's a good brand to go with?

What are folks' thoughts on Electro-Harmonix tubes, are they decent?

 

[sabocat]

they are pretty good, depending on the actual tubes. Can you be more specific?

 

[peterh]

You better choose the dealer to buy from then a specific brand. And that depends on where you live, but i guess
that a few well-known dealers has written in this very fora..

 

[RossW]

You will have some trouble with the outputs. To my knowledge no one makes a true 7408. A 6V6 can likely be substituted but you'll want to check voltages and bias.
I've had good luck with both JJ and EH. Before you worry too much about finding replacements test the tubes you have. I'll bet most if not all of them are at least usable.

 

[Hyfi]

I got several bad EH tubes from Parts Express a few years ago.

Genalex Gold Lions Gold Pins are good depending on tube. I recently got matched sets of AX7s and AU7s for my pre-amp and am very happy with the results.

 

[arts]

If you need 6V6 replacements,good luck. Surprisingly enough,despite all of the marketing hype from most manufacturers (you know their lines:''the best'', ''finally,a real 6V6'',''this one can handle the voltage'' etc.etc....) quite frankly,my experience has been that they are all ****. For all of my projects,this is the only tube where NOS is,to me,the only reliable option.

 

[Lavane]

As far as new tubes I've had good luck with EH tubes. The best?, probably not but the 12ax7's and 12AY7's have sounded pretty good. Even the pair of EH 300B's sound really good for the money.

 

[sabocat]

I've had good luck with tungsol new production 6V6. Genalex would probably sound even better. For vintage smoked glass RCA I would check with Jim McShane.

 

[TerrySmith]

If you want to get creative and play with the heater voltages there's the 5V6 and 12V6. These are identical to a 6V6 except for heater ratings and NOS can be had for very cheap! There's also a locktal version of this tube that is cheap too.

 

[tubeampking]

EH makes a 6V6 designed to handle above usual max voltage. It was originally developed with the Fender Deluxe Reverb in mind, which runs 6V6s well above design maximum. I don't know how they'd be for Hi-Fi, but they are fine for guitar amps. I would have to agree that old production blow any current 6V6 out of the water. Best to see if you can use a 6V6/and get some NOS RCAs or something. Also if you can find some NOS JAN Sylvania, they'd work. I ran them in my Deluxe Reverb with no issues...they sounded amazing...

 

[ken99]

Why in God's name would anyone buy new tubes when NOS tubes are available that are much more reliable and are of superior quality? They don't go bad sitting in a box!

ken99

 

[nj pheonix]

I'd reach out to Jim Mcshane if I were you.

 

[arts]

EH makes a 6V6 designed to handle above usual max voltage. It was originally developed with the Fender Deluxe Reverb in mind, which runs 6V6s well above design maximum. I don't know how they'd be for Hi-Fi, but they are fine for guitar amps. I would have to agree that old production blow any current 6V6 out of the water. Best to see if you can use a 6V6/and get some NOS RCAs or something. Also if you can find some NOS JAN Sylvania, they'd work. I ran them in my Deluxe Reverb with no issues...they sounded amazing...

While I'm not contradicting your personal experience with the EH tube,my experiences have been the exact opposite. To the tune of 24 failures.These had been sourced expressly for use in Deluxe Reverb amps,which do indeed exceed the maximum plate voltage,and at high volumes,the maximum plate dissipation.After many very early failures in Deluxe Reverbs,I tried using them in less demanding applications.Still not reliable. They couldn't even survive in my personal 1959 Deluxe,a far less demanding model than later versions.

One of the custom amps I offered was a model that used 4x 6V6 in the output,and when these EH's became available,I thought my ongoing efforts to source NOS tubes was finally over.
I really had high hopes when this tube was introduced,and was sorely disappointed with the results.

 

[tubeampking]

Why in God's name would anyone buy new tubes when NOS tubes are available that are much more reliable and are of superior quality? They don't go bad sitting in a box!

ken99

Some people can't afford the premium cost. We're not all rich.

 

[gadget73]

What guitar amps do to tubes is nothing short of criminal. Most properly designed hifi gear doesn't torture it's parts so badly.

Anyway, the 3000X looks to run 345v on the plates, and 24 on the cathode, making for 321 volts effective on the tube. It uses a pair of 12ax7 heaters, so guesstimate about 150ma for the quad, 75ma per pair, or 37.5ma per tube. 37.5 ma at 320 volts is 12 watts on the nose, which is below rated dissapation for a 6V6 per RC-27 datasheets. Consider thats also plate+screen dissipation, and you're more OK. Datasheet allows for 14 watts on the plate. Max plate voltage is 315v, so you're a wee bit over but not by much.

So nutshell, I don't see any reason that a decent 6V6 tube won't survive in this. It will be run fairly hard, but probably not near the torture conditions that Fender created.

 

[arts]

Gadget,I take exception to your constant bashing of MI amplifiers,and more specifically,your indirect criticism of the men who designed them, and in many cases,were pioneers in their field. The fact that so many of these old machines are still giving ongoing service,and under very demanding conditions, is an attestation to their skills.

Men like Pete Traynor,Garnet Gillies,Bill Hughes and Jess Oliver (just to name a few) were extremely competent,conservative designers,for whom consistent reliability and good sound were not optional; They were obligatory. And they delivered.

Yes,there are and always will be exceptions.But to paint them all with the same brush is unfounded and unwarranted.

Art

 

[EastPoint]

You can easily get a set of vintage used but still working 6V6s for much less than a set of new ones. If you post a want-to-buy ad in Barter Town, I'm sure plenty of folks here will have them available. I am going through all my tubes right now, and I have found at least 40-50 good 6V6s from a variety of makers. There are tons of these out there--they're much more common than most of the other output tubes.

 

[Snow]

You can easily get a set of vintage used but still working 6V6s for much less than a set of new ones. If you post a want-to-buy ad in Barter Town, I'm sure plenty of folks here will have them available. I am going through all my tubes right now, and I have found at least 40-50 good 6V6s from a variety of makers. There are tons of these out there--they're much more common than most of the other output tubes.

People get hung up on NOS/NIB tubes when the truth is a good testing used tube is every bit as good and sometimes even better, I cant even begin to tell you how many times I have tested NOS tubes that tested below many used tubes of the same type. Like you I have many great testing 6V6 tubes and have actually gave away or threw away boxes of them simply because I could not sell them for any price.


Regards Snow

 

[gadget73]

Gadget,I take exception to your constant bashing of MI amplifiers,and more specifically,your indirect criticism of the men who designed them, and in many cases,were pioneers in their field.

Honestly I don't especially care who made what for what purpose. Maybe some people made good amps, and some made bad. If it chews up components because of poorly chosen operating conditions, that particular piece of equipment is not well designed, even if 98% of the other stuff that particular person made is just stellar. I've made the same comments about the Dynaco ST70 power supply and people get every bit as upset about that. I hold nothing to be sacred and beyond criticism from a design point of view, and my comments are merely directed in that area. I don't get into personal attacks on the people who made things. I'm sure those designers know a lot more about a lot more than I do, but it doesn't mean they didn't make some bad choices.

 

[crispycircuit]

The trouble with NOS or used is trying to match up current draw. Unless your amp has separate bias control for each tube your screwed. NOS is over priced problems. If your amp is eating 6V6s, then move up to a 6L6....