Tubelab SSE Light Show!

[w5jag]

I think the blue glow champion is the Bendix 5992.

I have never seen one that did not glow robustly, and in my experience, it never fades. I have one 5992, one of the Pioneer / Eclipse super old timers that barely has any getter left, and it glows like a new one.

Sadly, they have become quite expensive because of the audiophile hype. My measurement equipment is pretty crude, but the 5992 always seems to measure out with more distortion than lesser 6V6's. But they sure do look good, and last forever.

[Tubelab_com]

I have noticed that Chinese tubes rarely have blue glow on the glass. Many older US tubes do, but you need to run them at high voltages. The most blue seem to be found in Russian tubes, so I'm guessing it has to do with the glass itself.

[cogitech]

Interesting that you say that, George. I've never had Chinese tubes with blue glow either, but the new 6L6GCs that I mentioned earlier are Chinese. They are "Preferred Series" (house brand) tubes from thetubestore.com, which were made to order by Shuguang. Preferred Series 6L6GC Audio Tubes - www.thetubestore.com

I'll post a photo later.

[w5jag]

I haven't really used many Chinese tubes. I recall the small coke bottle 6L6GC's would glow pretty good. Best I recall, those Chinese 6146B's I used in the SSE gave a good blue glow.

I agree the Russian tubes are most likely to give a good glow. I had ( have ) some of the coke bottle 6L6GC's that Tung Sol markets, and they look terrific at about 450 volts across the tube. Most of mine went to gas sitting in the boxes though, so I am sort of sour on them. They weren't cheap tubes.

[cogitech]

Just a cell phone pic, but you get the idea. They don't pulse at high volume like the 6P3S-E do.

[Mr_Zenith]

When I finished my TSEII, I was pleasantly surprised myself when a pair of Chinese 2A3s (really 300Bs with a 2.5V filament) exhibited that mystical blue glow. The pic below is of said amp in its original "breadboard" state.

And cogitech: When I first read the thread title I had visions of sparks, smoke and shards of glass - not unreasonable given George's well-documented antics on the forum. I'm pleased your light show was of the more, er, "functional" variety.

[Tubelab_com]

I have a pair of dual plate Chinese 2A3's in my TSE-II. Despite running on 370 volts they don't glow at all. They are probably 20 years old, but had never seen power until I put them in the TSE-II. I got a bunch of 300B's, 2A3's and 845's from Stan back when he first started selling Chinese tubes. They were real cheap, like $28 for an 845.