ckhirnigs113
Headphoneus Supremus
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I was looking at some of these “potato masher” 5R4WGA rectifiers. How important is it to have the GM1 and GM2 closely matched on these?
I was looking at some of these “potato masher” 5R4WGA rectifiers. How important is it to have the GM1 and GM2 closely matched on these?
All your fault that I now have one of these potato mashers in the collection . £22 delivered! Built like a brick sh#**@&£¥.So many tubes, and so little time. . .
Here are a couple of output tubes worth a look.
The Mullard 6L6G is already a winner in my book. This tube does super deep and tight bass and lifelike mids incredibly well, with crazy holographic staging. The bass with the CC's is freaking awesome. This tube is awesome for Folk, Bluegrass, acoustic stuff and anything with female vocals. Agnes Obel sounds incredible with these tubes.
These Russian 6P3S are also fantastic and can be had for cheap. These are more of a fun V-shape with big bass albeit a bit loose, decent mids and extended yet smooths highs. This tube is a lot of fun with Electronica.
A couple of Rectifiers worth owning.
The Mullard GZ32 Black Plate. Compared to the stock Sovtek 5AR4, the GZ32 relaxes the sound a bit, and opens up the stage. The bass becomes fuller, and the level of realism in the mids goes up substantially. I have the earlier black plate version that is a bit rare, but I would assume the more widely available grey plate GZ32 is close.
Next we have a fun one, and highly affordable rectifier the Chatham/Tung-Sol 5R4WGY AKA. "Potato Masher", and this one also opens up the staging and has a grander presentation with good note weight, compared to the stock Sovtek. This tube can be had for around $25, and I think everyone should own one.
Several more are on the way, so more to come.
Nice! That is a very pristine looking tube.All your fault that I now have one of these potato mashers in the collection . £22 delivered! Built like a brick sh#**@&£¥.
Heck yeah! Glad these tubes work so well, and I just got shipping notification that my pair had arrived in the states. Won't be long, and I will be able to compare my Mullard 6L6G vs. EL33.Next up, the Mullard EL33.
Another nice pair, good condition. Same envelope as the EL37.
Okay so in terms of biasing, these bias really nicely in this circuit. With a GZ34, they are right near their maximum ratings, not quite there, but close. So you could technically run them with a GZ34. For longevity reasons, I would probably run them with just about anything BUT the GZ34 to get a little more voltage drop. So even GZ32 / 5V4 will be fine. If you want to treat them very nicely, GZ37, 5U4, 5R4, or 5Y3 types.
These sound really nice, better than I expected. Tonally, they remind me a lot of the EL37, probably not surprising since they likely use the same materials. A little less airy and a little less body than the EL37, but still very great tone and air, still very smooth. I think these could make for a nice budget alternative to EL37.
I would advise to try EL81. A very cheap tube which sounds spectacular. Adapters needed, of course. There are several variations there (3-4 types including 6DR6) which work in the same adapter and sound exceptional. Of course, do not forget that 6K6 works natively on the amplifier. Tung Sol 6K6 are something special.
If I remember correctly it's the same as for PL81 and in a Tesla datasheet you can see:EL81 I cannot find any triode data.
I understand, in that case most probably also EL36 is in the same situation.Oh thanks! Unfortunately those aren't going to work, will bias beyond max ratings.
I understand, in that case most probably also EL36 is in the same situation.
I’m looking into getting some GE 6550 output tubes. Is there any issue using a 5R4WGA rectifier with them? I’ve already ordered one of these “potato mashers” because it was so cheap, so I want to make sure it’s ok to use with any type of output tubes in the Aegis.
To make it a more general question, do I need to stick with the GZ34 or GZ32 families of rectifiers for the higher-power output tubes? I know it’s been said that it’s wise to use higher Vdrop rectifiers with lower-power output tubes like EL84 and 6V6, but I’m wondering if the reverse is also true.