Anybody had a chance to flirt with EL84?

organ
organ Posts: 4,969
edited August 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
Getting an EL84 SE int amp and I'm thinking about which EL84 to get. I haven't heard EL84 yet. This will be my first time.
Can anybody suggest good sounding current production 84's?
So far I'm thinking JJ or Mullard (reissue).

Thanks
Post edited by organ on
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  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited August 2010
    You just need a pair?
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    I am completely satisfied with the JJs (although many have complained of quality issues); both my HF-81 and my SCA-35 are so equipped.

    I also quite like the Russian (Reflektor-made?) 6П14П-ЕВ (6p14-ev), essentially a 7189 or tough-guy EL84 variant. I think that they sound quite good, they'll work in amps that really push outputs hard (e.g., Radio Shack Realistic SAF-40) and are pretty inexpensive.
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited August 2010
    Russ,
    Yeah. This unit is single ended. I think the unit comes with the Ei EL84 from the previous owner. But I won't be using them until I get them tested.

    MRH,
    Thanks for the info. That's too bad about JJ. They make great sounding tubes, but their power tubes always have issues.
    Is this the one you're talking about? http://thetubestore.com/preferred7189.html
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    organ wrote: »
    Russ,
    Yeah. This unit is single ended. I think the unit comes with the Ei EL84 from the previous owner. But I won't be using them until I get them tested.

    MRH,
    Thanks for the info. That's too bad about JJ. They make great sounding tubes, but their power tubes always have issues.
    Is this the one you're talking about? http://thetubestore.com/preferred7189.html

    Yes, it appears to be.

    As to the EI tubes in the amp - EI made some very good tubes (I don't have experience with their EL84, so I cannot specifically comment). The best test of a tube, as far as I am concerned, is to use it in a real-world application (i.e., the circuit in which it is intended to be used).
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    NOS EL84s are cheap for the most part. Why use reproduction tubes?
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    HB27 wrote: »
    NOS EL84s are cheap for the most part. Why use reproduction tubes?


    The 6p14p-ev tubes mentioned before are NOS. If you can point me to a good source of inexpensive US or (Western) European-made NOS EL84s, please do! Matched pairs?
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    I bought 9 RCA marked "made in W. Germany" from Brent Jesse last year for $5.00 each NIB. It's all he had at the time. $52.00 to my door.
    I bought 4 NOS NIB RCA marked "made in Holland" for the same money.
    Just look around.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    Yes, those sound like good deals -- and, in fairness, the OP doesn't need matched pairs for a SE amp :-)
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    The 9 RCA were all matched codes as was the quad. Brent Jesse has some great deals on some tubes.
    Others are Skyrocketing like the prices of precious metals.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    Matched codes doesn't equal matched tubes; the current draw must match if, e.g., a push-pull pair in a cathode-biased amp share a common cathode resistor/bypass cap.
    I hate to see a good EL84 redplate due to excessive current draw :-(

    I know that you know what a "matched pair" is, but there are youngsters out there who might not.
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited August 2010
    you might wanna' pm jerryj12-- he had a boatload of EL -84' pulls,,amperex IIRC.
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    Understood and agreed.
    My only point was they're available at bargain prices on occasion. I only needed 4 when I bought 9 and I got some nice matching tubes.
    it's nice having extra quality tubes around when you find them priced right.
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    george daniel wrote: »
    you might wanna' pm jerryj12-- he had a boatload of EL -84' pulls,,amperex IIRC.

    DITTO!!! Jerry has some nice tubes. TOO MANY if ya ask me. The greedy hordin' bugger. LOL!!!
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited August 2010
    HB27 wrote: »
    NOS EL84s are cheap for the most part. Why use reproduction tubes?

    Exactly my thought. Perhaps I'm just more anal or persnickity(sp) than most, but as I've stated in other threads, I'm not a fan of current production tubes. But then maybe part of that has to do with the allure of a 50-60 year old bottle of glowing glass that connects me with a time I wasn't even a twinkle in my fathers eye. I do think most NOS tubes sound better than current production so the final sound is a factor as well.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited August 2010
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Exactly my thought. Perhaps I'm just more anal or persnickity(sp) than most, but as I've stated in other threads, I'm not a fan of current production tubes. But then maybe part of that has to do with the allure of a 50-60 year old bottle of glowing glass that connects me with a time I wasn't even a twinkle in my fathers eye. I do think most NOS tubes sound better than current production so the final sound is a factor as well.

    H9

    Our "Anals" must be related
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    HB27 wrote: »
    Understood and agreed.
    My only point was they're available at bargain prices on occasion. I only needed 4 when I bought 9 and I got some nice matching tubes.
    it's nice having extra quality tubes around when you find them priced right.

    durn tootin'... and I think that the OP got some good leads from his query.
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited August 2010
    Thanks so much for the help guys. Very much appreciated. I definitely want to get into NOS in the future but $$$ is very tight right now. New owners taking over my workplace and I'm getting a pay cut for the first year or so. That's why I'm looking for current production. This EL84 amp will be my last big purchase for a while.

    Here's an interesting thing...
    I was at the dealer earlier today to pick up my cdp and talked to the shop owner about the EL84 amp because it's one of his friends selling it. He said they might actually be Mullard tubes in there. If that's the case, it's def. great news.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,806
    edited August 2010
    I firmly believe that it is impossible to make a bad-sounding amplifier using EL84 outputs - single-ended, push-pull, triode-mode or not, Williamson, UL, or not. They're just intrinsically nice-sounding tubes. I prefer 'em to all the big "modern" higher-output tetrodes and pentodes... the only thing better are the classic direct-heated triodes for me.

    EDIT: 6V6s ain't bad, either - and NOS 6V6s may be had fairly inexpensively.
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  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited August 2010
    That's great to hear. I did tell the tech to install a pentode/triode switch.
    I have a 300B int. that need new tubes. I plan to have that running in the next few months. DHT have a very sweet sound. I'm enjoying my Sophia Electric Mesh plate 300B in my cdp.
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