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Re-tubing Quickie M60 (EL34 quads)

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I'm seeking feedback on the new tubes on the market, as I have original (real Tesla E34L's) and need new tubes.
Really enjoy the warm midrange and open soundstage of these tubes.

I've heard the new JJ's are not what they were, and the new EH fat bottle are very good.

Would like to know what kind of sonic signatures they have?
Svets, EH, EH fatbottle, JJ as well as reliability. THe M60 runs at or near Class A.
 
With the el34 from Svetlana you get a very nice midrange and top-end, also deep bass response. In my opinion the best affordable el34. They cost about 15 euro each. (in the Netherlands) The other el34 I've ever heard was one from sovtek but that isn't my cup of tea. (with other words cr*p) I'm using them in a push pull amp.
 
wheezer said:
Would like to know what kind of sonic signatures they have?
Svets, EH, EH fatbottle, JJ...

Svetlana: buttery smooth with nutty after flavors.
Electro Harmonix: good nose, strong finish. Flavors of vanilla and poppy.
Fatbottle: see above, but with more fatty marbling. Some stridency in the mid year batches.
JJ: Big and bold! Strong musky start, rolling smooth finish. Hints of citrus and a slight beefyness.
 
diyAudio Senior Member
Joined 2002
EL34/6CA7

Hi Mitch,

The original Tesla EL34 were very good indeed.
I used to buy them in cartons of 120 pieces and 99% of them always tested perfectly so matching was a doddle.

If you want to, I still have a source for these EL34 Tesla, not the E34L though.

I don't have any idea about the EH fat bottle ones.
Does anyone know where they're made?

Cheers,;)
 
Hi Mitch;

I'm using the EL34EH's in my JoLida 202 and they've got a couple thousand hours on 'em by now. So far so good - they hold bias and haven't misbehaved (yet - knock on wood after making that statement! LOL!).

Sorry, but I can't compare 'em to much other than the Shuagong (yuck!) EL34's that were in there when I bought it. One of the Shuagong's arced over at something like the 800 hour mark and refused to hold any bias level higher than about 29mA afterwards.....

As far as sound is concerned, I liked the EH EL34's enough to have stocked up on 'em. Darned if I can describe sonic character in words, as well as some of the others here, but they're certainly listenable.

One caveat though - on both heatup and cooldown they are notably noisy (lots of metally 'pings' and 'tings' as things expand or contract). If that sort of thing really bothers you, you might want to think twice about 'em.

Good luck and all the best!
Morse
 
diyAudio Senior Member
Joined 2002
NOISES.

Hi,

One caveat though - on both heatup and cooldown they are notably noisy (lots of metally 'pings' and 'tings' as things expand or contract). If that sort of thing really bothers you, you might want to think twice about 'em.

That is pretty normal behaviour for any power tube when run hot and is nothing to be worried about.

Pling,ploing...;)
 
Hi Frank,
I'm not familiar with the Tesla's EL34's compared to the E34Ls?
But I'm interested in feedback if anyone knows this tube?

BTW did you find any feedback on my boutique killer caps?

As for my first choice of outboard heater trafo's, Signal wants 45 bucks as it's not a stock item . That's just the setup charge, then 53bucks on top.
Looks like a Hammond will foot the bill , as their regulation is tighter than Signal for these trafos, but still need to address the 120mains and 115 primary.
 
diyAudio Senior Member
Joined 2002
E34L

Hi Mitch,

I'm not familiar with the Tesla's EL34's compared to the E34Ls?

They sound the same, a little bit tighter specs...other than that I wouldn't pay for them.

BTW did you find any feedback on my boutique killer caps?

Yes, thanks.

That's just the setup charge, then 53bucks on top.

Do you think you need that? After all the EL34s will only consume 3A/block.

Cheers,;)
 
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