Rusky version EF86

[Stixx]

pftrvlr is right... for 14$ you probably get 4 of them off one of the sellers from ukrainia. Most of them have really good feedback!

[Shoog]

I have gotten my Russian valves from one of the Soviet countries. Fantastic price and good service. Postage was much more reasonable than from Western Europe or America.

This seller seems to be one of the many valve rip off merchants.

Shoog

[kstagger]

I've used a number of EF86s - triode connected mind you - and (subjective warning) the Svetlana ones always sounded a bit bright in the treble in my system. I've always like the Philips ones... along with Tungsram. I've also used NEC made-in-Japan with good results. Surprisingly the Telefunken EF86 left me cold... go figure.

Prices on EF86s are rising due to a number of guitar amps (old and new) using this tube.

I've heard rumors that the older Russian EF86s were better than the latest production - but honestly I've never compared.

Another budget option is to use the Philips/Tungsram EF40 (European B8A socket) as EF40s are dirt cheap and an exact equivalent. They can be a little more difficult to find stateside though.

[richwalters]

Originally posted by kstagger
I've used a number of EF86s - triode connected mind you - and (subjective warning) the Svetlana ones always sounded a bit bright in the treble in my system.

Triode connected brings out the best performance and is far more consistent when changing brands.
Not sure about bright treble ? Case of clearing out ear'ole or gradual tinitus.
I've never had any problems with the winged C EF86's. Interstingly, on noise issues it isn't one of Morgan Jones preferences..

I thought my system sounded dull on highs until I changed Sat receiver, after which it really sounds sharper.. Obviously not all Sat receivers have the same audio out circuitry.

richj

[kstagger]

Originally posted by richwalters



Triode connected brings out the best performance and is far more consistent when changing brands.
Not sure about bright treble ? Case of clearing out ear'ole or gradual tinitus.

richj

nope - no tinnitus here... and I can still hear half decently into the high-freq (being only 37 with no big booming car stereo).

Though different system/speaker/room interactions definitely can give different results.

[crazy bill]

Hello all,

Sorry it took so long, but thanks to all for your thoughts. It helped a great deal.

The other day I was in my tube stash, and lo and behold, I find a lot of four of the Russian EF86's dated 1966. I had totally forgotten I had purchased these during one of my Ebay buying sprees. Tough getting old.

I've been buying Russian tubes mostly on Ebay for a while now. I use 6h23n-eb (cryoed from the Tubeman, absolutely incredible tube ), 6n15n-ev, and 6n14n-ev. I find that cryoing tubes makes for a very significant improvement ( at least in my admittedly limited experience,though YMMV ).

One Rusky tube that I absolutely love is the Svetlana black plate 5U4G.
If you use a 5U4G, you must try one. Just make sure its the black plate version, only made in the fifties and sixties. They're available on Ebay @ approx. 15.00 tube.

Give me a couple of months to get the amp breadboarded and I'll report back on a comparison between the Russian and Valvo tubes.

Thanks again, and till then

Cheers, Crazy Bill