Best make of audio valves/tubes

[payitforwardeddie]

In your honest opinions which sound the best?
eg
EL34
6L6
KT66 etc
GZ34 etc
ECC83 etc
EF86
and their equivalents?
and any others

[SY]

What's the best motor vehicle?

Ford F150 pickup truck
Cadillac CTS-V
Hummer
Ford Lotus
Peterbilt 389
Toyota Prius

[planet10]

Depends so much on the circuit they are in.

dave

[el156]

Or you mean the maker?
TELEFUNKEN ? MULLARD ? PHILIPS ?

[payitforwardeddie]

Originally Posted by el156

Or you mean the maker?
TELEFUNKEN ? MULLARD ? PHILIPS ?

YEP!
For amps like the Mullard 5-20, the Radfords, Quad IIs, Williamson, Leak, etc.
I see so much s**t on Ebay, I'm thinking...stay away from Chinese?, Russian? are they OK? What about the good old USA types, East European, NOS (thats crap - should be UOS unused old stock).
One of my favourites from the 60s is the CV4004 (if its genuine). I had a little SE once with EL84,ECC83, EZ80 and swapping the 83 for the 4004 really improved the sound. I'm building a pair of 5-20s and I want them to sound the best but I don't have much cash. Cheap but not nasty to start with, then improving by changing the valves. No point in buying stuff that is no better than I will have fitted already. If you see what I mean. I'm aiming for 20 -30 watts per channel. If I succeed, I can sell them to pay for the next project, maybe a pair of Radfords.

[azazello]

Originally Posted by payitforwardeddie

In your honest opinions which sound the best?
eg
EL34
6L6
KT66 etc
GZ34 etc
ECC83 etc
EF86
and their equivalents?
and any others

IMO, all tubes are for best guitar ampl, but not for best audio sound....

[Miniwatt]

Originally Posted by azazello

IMO, all tubes are for best guitar ampl, but not for best audio sound....

Who knows, some day you might see the light..

[azazello]

Originally Posted by Miniwatt

Who knows, some day you might see the light..

I sow it some years ago......https://picasaweb.google.com/azazell...00460015416338

[TugaTweaker]

Ok . Its your opinion azazello . This part of the forum, Tubes / Valves, is for the ones that are convinced tube sound is the best no neighbour volume azzard killing sound source of hi-fi music . So , be kind ...

[Wavebourn]

Originally Posted by TugaTweaker

Ok . Its your opinion azazello . This part of the forum, Tubes / Valves, is for the ones that are convinced tube sound is the best no neighbour volume azzard killing sound source of hi-fi music . So , be kind ...

Sorry, I disagree with you, but agree with Azazello: tubes used for best guitar amps are not necessary the best tubes for audio. For example, while 6L6 is a good sounding tube in guitar amps, it is not the best one for SE amp for high-end audio reproduction. Some other tubes are better. And so on.

Now, please let me disagree with both of you.
The original question was, who makes best tubes listed by the topic starter. Very few manufacturers of tubes remain alive, so if I understood well, the question was, where to source listed tubes.

Did I understand you right, payitforwardeddie?