What do you think of GE tubes compared to RCA or Sylv?

Suzuki

Suzuki

jl1dca
TOday, I replaced HITACHI 6BA6s with GE's 5749s and am happy with remarkable improvement of sound from my vintage receiver.:music::tresbon: GE's tubes are available readily and kind to wallet, yet non the less good. I can not afford to buy Mullards or Teles so easily. The same gear of mine has a Sylvania 12AT7 and Sovtec 12AX7 per channel. I'm pondering which brand to choose for final stage tubes of 6BQ5 for replacement now. On internet auction, four NOS 6BQ5s made in US of different makers including RCA and Sylvania are for sale for $40 in all.
What do you think of this offer?:scratch2:
 
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IMO, GE tubes are on the bottom rung of vintage tubes.

People dont remember nowadays but GE tubes were always the cheapest and were the "vanilla everyday tube" back when they were in daily use.

Nothings changed.

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resound said:
IMO, GE tubes are on the bottom rung of vintage tubes.

People dont remember nowadays but GE tubes were always the cheapest and were the "vanilla everyday tube" back when they were in daily use.

Nothings changed.

..
Click to expand...

That is a catch all statement that I'm glad you quantified as your opinion.
I have found many GE tubes to work well in my gear most notably 12by7a, 7581a and 6bq5. Most 6l6 variants were/are quite good and the rectifiers, if not the top of the heap are better than most out today.
Remember too that GE, like most tube manufacturers rebranded some lines they could not produce.
 
Bluelobster said:
That is a catch all statement that I'm glad you quantified as your opinion.
I have found many GE tubes to work well in my gear most notably 12by7a, 7581a and 6bq5. Most 6l6 variants were/are quite good and the rectifiers, if not the top of the heap are better than most out today.
Remember too that GE, like most tube manufacturers rebranded some lines they could not produce.
Click to expand...

Oh,,,,you mean the OEM is unknown to us....:D Btw, GE tubes are something like sardine-sushi, very economical and
high-grade sushi restaurants don't serve them, however it's popular among sushi gourmets.
 
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resound said:
IMO, GE tubes are on the bottom rung of vintage tubes.

People dont remember nowadays but GE tubes were always the cheapest and were the "vanilla everyday tube" back when they were in daily use.

Nothings changed.

..
Click to expand...

I would respectfully disagree, some of my best tubes from top to bottom of the spectrum are GE..... lovely tubes IMO. Funny thing, everyone talks about Tele's as THE tubes to buy, I have not heard a Tele that lasted more then10 minutes in any of my tube gear along the years, to each his own I guess.........;)
 
Personally I think you should become an AK subscriber. The you could post an ad on Barter Town, and get a quality quad of 6BQ5's/EL84's for as cheap or cheaper than E-prey.

And you're much more likely to come away happy with the result....:yes:
 
analog addict said:
Personally I think you should become an AK subscriber. The you could post an ad on Barter Town, and get a quality quad of 6BQ5's/EL84's for as cheap or cheaper than E-prey.

And you're much more likely to come away happy with the result....:yes:
Click to expand...

Damn good idea!!!
 
I'm thinking of becoming a member as soon as my credit card is ready. Not having it was my policy. I'm very happy being with you all... Thanks. >Taihei Suzuki
 
As a long-time member of.....The Empty Wallet Club......I cannot afford the more expensive European-made tubes.
RCA, Sylvania.....and GE.....have been mainstays in my tube systems for years.
I'm running two GE rectifier tubes (6CA4 and 6X5GT) in different amps right now.
I've NEVER had a problem with GE tubes, and would rather have a GE tube than ANY current production tube.

Steve
 
shelby1420 said:
I would respectfully disagree, some of my best tubes from top to bottom of the spectrum are GE..... lovely tubes IMO. Funny thing, everyone talks about Tele's as THE tubes to buy, I have not heard a Tele that lasted more then10 minutes in any of my tube gear along the years, to each his own I guess.........;)
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Im not saying they dont work or sound good, just that they are the standard vacuum tube. Not standing out in quality or any special sonics.

I go thru alot of used and NOS tubes and when you compare old used tubes of the same vintage style and use, the GE's will be the throwaways. The only Rectifier tubes that I seem to find shorted, unbalanced or dead are GE's. I have 4 GE 6BQ5's on a console amp right now and they sound great, but if you tap one, the rattles are evident. That shows up when the room is thumping. I do have a couple amperex GZ34's that are branded GE and Im more than sure they are fine and I will buy a raft of NOS GE's to load in one of my project amps but I dont use them if I can help it in my own stuff.

My favorite tubes are actually Sylvania's.


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How good are GEs? Like every other tube maker, it depends on the particular tube and the application.

Soundwise, some GEs are first tier. Their 6550 immediately comes to mind. An excellent tube, Tung Sols notwithstanding. Some GEs are also very good in phase splitter and some RF and some rectifier positions. Some very early '50s GE/Ken-Rad X7s are great all rounders, competitive with the black plate Sylvanias and RCAs (but with different tonal emphasis). Some small signal audio GEs have incredible bottom end extension (better than RCA). If a system does everything above the bottom octave well, one such GE placed in the right spot might consequently be the perfect tube for it.

GEs in RF are generally competent, but not as spectacular as some Sylvanias can be (which are noted for potent emission levels, a plus in some RF apps).

Their overall quality was as good as any of the other first line makers. They have gotten a bum rap among some collectors only because they produced bottles in such large numbers for so long. Just like Sylvania, they were a large JAN supplier into the '80s. Twenty years ago, folks turned their noses up at the JAN stocks. Now the view has changed (as the supplies have dwindled).

Bear in mind that the later ones may not be as homegrown, and others were sourced from competitors. For instance, Westinghouse made GE's early 7591a (until GE could get up to speed on this family). So just because it is stamped GE doesn't mean it didn't come from elsewhere. They eventually changed their box "origin" to reflect this later upheaval. One of the worst sounding nuvistors I ever heard was GE branded . . . but from elsewhere.

BTW, some of the Japanese tubes are actually quite good. Matsushita/Phillips tubes are outstanding phase splitters, and are tough as nails. Toshiba also made a very sturdy tube.

Like anything, the secret to effective rolling to select tubes in thoughtful combinations, each one tonally complimenting the others. All of any one "flavor" is usually excessive.
 
JAN means military issue (Joint Army Navy). Good tubes.
In small signal tubes, I don't like GE 12AX7s, but I love GE triple mica 5751s, particularly the black plates in preamps.
I am not at all in love with GE 7868s, but the 7591s have been Ok and the 7581s also.

By the way Suzuki, I'm glad you stayed. We like conversing with you and hearing your point of view..
 
JAN means it is a military surplus tube
W means ruggedized.
None of it means anything in particular to audio guys but sometimes the right spec tube in the right circuit is real good.

The insides were made to spec for the govt and they are "bullet proof" with stuff like double and triple mica's, beefier and or more structure supports, Thicker glass and stuff like that.


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Thank you, audiodon. I think I have to take care not to express my opinion straight without paying attention to others' opinons (kikubari). An arrogant person will be subjct to being criticized as "He can't read the atmoshere" by others in Japan....
I learnt here that Americans respect anyone else's opinion, contrary to what I had believed.
 
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Agree with the previous poster who stated that GE 6550s are a very decent tube. Same with the GE 6BQ5, they are actually fairly highly prized by many people in the know. Their 5751 triple mica black plate five star is another case in point:yes:.

Depends on the application as well of course. GEs are a very solid/dependable tube in many guitar amp applications. :thmbsp:

Cheers

Lar
 
Big GE tube fan. I my be the odd man out but I really like the punch RCA & GE 12AX7's give an amp. I've sold every Mullard and most every Telefunken 12AX7 I've had because I just don't like the way they sound in any amp I've had. Been running a Bogen AP-30 with 4 GE 12AX7's a RCA clear top 12AU7 a quad of GE 7408's along with a Mullard 5AR4 and it's a great sounding amp with a very good bottom end. The Stromberg Carlson ASR-433 has RCA 12AX7's, 6AV6's, 6BQ5's and a pair of Philips JAN 6U8's and I like the RCA 6BQ5's just as well as the Philips that get rotated in, another great sounding amp. IMHO GE tubes are underrated and I hope they continue to be so I can pick them up cheap. Thank you Mullard and Telefunken for under writing a good portion of my audio habit.
 
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