Quote:
Originally Posted by hrparsons
I don't remember seeing but which rectifier tube are you using with the 6ar6? I thought I'd try your tube combo in my fire bottle.
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Sorry, I missed your question somehow. I'm using an RCA 5u4g.
And remember how I said I was going to stop tube rolling for a while? That was a lie. lol. I'm using a tall bottle 7n7 and the RCA 5u4g and...
A friend gave me a pair of Mullard El38 tubes and the adapters. I'm in love! Here's the maddening thing about this amp, you can get equally enjoyable, but different, sounds out of this amp. The el38 gives me an amazing amount of clarity and that leads to a depth that its lacking with other tubes. I can especially hear it with acoustic instruments. Piano notes and their overtones ring out more, as do the strings and body of classical guitars. Room reverberations are easier to hear leading to a deepening of the soundstage.
But! The 6ar6 (and the 807 to a lesser extent) gives me a much "thicker" sound. That makes the mid bass and bass hit harder and warms everything up. Rock sounds amazing with that combo and anemic with the el38. Do I really want to switch tubes every time I get in the mood for different kinds of music?
I assume that the el38 is a better load or something for my particular speakers and so has less distortion whereas the 6ar6 has a lot more. I think I still prefer these to the Psvane Kt88 tubes that came with the amp but the el38 is closer to that sound.
The el38 tube is beautiful and the blue glow is super strong! Looking at the specs it seems as though they should last approximately forever in this amp. They are being run far below their max ratings and are practically loafing along. Maybe I should put the 5ar4 back in...
Have I mentioned how fun this amp is?