smile
New Member
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Post by smile on Jan 13, 2020 7:25:04 GMT -7
new owner, new member and a question for you guys with Zlux
i have a zlux head.. all of my amps run NOS tubes, my 66 super has the rca blackplates in it and have been in there a great long while.. So does my vibroking, and vibroverb reissue. i went down the nos tube road and am happy with all the amps.. I have a tube tester, and will try different PRE tubes from time to time in the amps.. DR z was mentioning on here somewhere that the tung sol reissue in medium range is a "fendery" sound for the zlux .. A bit more head room etc..
does anyone know what an NOS tung sol tube would be in medium range? is that the GM rating?
has anyone tried nos tubes in that amp aside from some of the pre tubes in it.. ?
i have read that the reissues sound really good, and nos may not be a thing with them being so good..
sorry if this has been answered before..
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jan 13, 2020 7:42:53 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum, you'll find it to be full of great people and a lot of good knowledge. The 'Medium' range refers to GM or transconductance, and it's going to vary from tester to tester. I have 4 tube testers and a uTracer, and every one of them gives different readings for the same tube. I've been down the NOS road too and what I've learned is that most if not all the great NOS tubes have already been cherry picked. The thing about Doc's amps is that they've been designed to sound great with new manufacture tubes. I've tried various NOS preamp and power amp tubes and I've always ended up back with the tubes that Doc shipped the amp with and specifies here
I ran into a few rattling JJ 6V6 tubes a few years ago and tried the middle range Tung Sol 5881 tubes. I liked them and played it that way for a few months, then I ordered another set of JJ 6V6 tubes again and changed back. They've been sounding great over a year now.
I'll be interested in your observations with NOS tube rolling...but at least for me the stock tubes sound best. Have fun with it!
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smile
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by smile on Jan 13, 2020 19:14:09 GMT -7
thank you .. I bought some medium RI 5881's from tung sol, I will try them.. I also have some nos 5881 tubes in a drawer, and I can prob make a set of four if I find some like ones.. I have had great luck with nos tubes, although, once in a while an off the shelf sounds just as good, so you never know.. The tube market is funny.. since they are valuable, some guys remove them and sell them when they sell an amp, and some others are collecting or are HIFI types.. You do have to explore a bit, but there are great deals out there on NOS tubes from time to time that are really great.. But yea, many have been cherrypicked.. I mean its a long way from 1962..
The big question I have is what is the GM or tranconductance number that a RI tung sol 5881 is when it reads medium.. I cant seem to get it out of the tube suppliers.. I was thinking I would see if some of my old 5881 tubes are the number that doctor z says is the right GM, or the same as a Reissue medium, then I could see if I can build a set..
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Post by perryr on Jan 14, 2020 1:18:05 GMT -7
The big question I have is what is the GM or tranconductance number that a RI tung sol 5881 is when it reads medium.. I cant seem to get it out of the tube suppliers.. GM measurements are dependent on the testing criteria, which varies from tester to tester. Large operations may also have their own proprietary systems. I use a Maximatcher II, and if I bought tubes from someone who measured them on a maximatcher II, I wouldn’t be surprised to see different measurements.. maybe not a huge variance, but enough to impact what I might consider a tight match. Just different wall voltage will skew results.
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