What EL84's do you like?

Jackie Treehorn · Post by **Jackie Treehorn** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 8:28 pm

I bought a quad of Electro Harmonix EL84's on a whim and they're not really doing it for me; they don't really have that vox-esque, chimey-crunch. I was using the cheap Sovteks before, but they're a bit muddy and unreliable.

Is there a clear winner in the new production tubes?

redshark · Post by **redshark** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 10:57 pm

Russian "old" sovteks labeled 6P14P. You can still get them on ebay. There are diferent types of this tubes made by the russian with military specs. These were Ken's favorite EL-84's besides the obvious mullard, telefunken and valvos. I think these are the ones people calls Saratov because of the plant they were manufactured.
These tubes are rated @ 14 watts instead of 12 watts like regular EL-84's and that is why they can take the rocket's punishment of hot bias.

Bob S · Post by **Bob S** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:01 pm

For the price, the Russian 6p14p-ev's from the 1970's are very good.
Very, very good.

I have a bunch of good nos Euro & US quads.
The Russian tubes are as good as any of them to my humble ears.

Cantplay · Post by **Cantplay** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 2:31 am

The 6P14-ev's have outstanding treble range and detail.

The NOS Mullards are better in the bass and midrange.

John

Post by **xtian** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 3:56 am

Bob S wrote:For the price, the Russian 6p14p-ev's from the 1970's are very good.
Very, very good.
I have a bunch of good nos Euro & US quads.
The Russian tubes are as good as any of them to my humble ears.

Good place to look for these?

Also, Saratov 12 ax7?

rock_mumbles · Post by **rock_mumbles** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:21 am

xtian wrote:
Bob S wrote:For the price, the Russian 6p14p-ev's from the 1970's are very good.
Very, very good.
I have a bunch of good nos Euro & US quads.
The Russian tubes are as good as any of them to my humble ears.
Good place to look for these?

Also, Saratov 12 ax7?

As far as I know there isn't a Saratov 12AX7, the Svetlana 6N2P is electrically equivalent but uses a different socket wiring.

It's getting harder to find 70's 6P14P-EV's, ones from the 80's are available on ebay ... I've bought them from several ebay sellers ...
There are more 6P14P tubes available, they are a bit darker (maybe) more like a JJ EL84 ... all of the Reflektor (Saratov) EL84's are rated 14 watt dissipation not 12 watt ...

telentubes · Post by **telentubes** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 3:21 pm

I've had great luck with the Saratov 6P14P tubes in all three Rockets. I found several sources that have since dried up. I'm not a big fan of ebay, but they show up there now and then. They should still be affordable.
Going back a few years I found them for $4 apiece, which has climbed to around $9. I have had the same set in my main gigging amp for over two years and they are still going strong.
Here's a link to a chart showing some of the variations...
http://www.tubes.ru/techinfo/HiFiAudio/6p14p.html

I have used JJs as well, which worked well. I also have a set of used Mullards that a friend gave me that I have not tried yet. I don't know how much life is left in those tubes.

2tone · Post by **2tone** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:14 pm

Ken preferred the commercial tube (6p14p) to the military ev version because he thought they were a little sweeter. maybe to some people, darker, but perfect in liverpools and even Rockets. The commercial version were the tube shipped in new Trainwrecks. The commercial version is plenty rugged also. I ran a set over a year in my high voltage Rocket no problems...

M Fowler · Post by **M Fowler** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:41 pm

I've tried many different EL84 type tubes and I keep going back to JJ EL84's because they handle the plate voltage and the tone is great.

Mark

LeftyStrat · Post by **LeftyStrat** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:59 pm

I agree with Mark. At least among the current production types I've tried, the JJ's sound great and seem to hold up well.

2tone · Post by **2tone** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:26 pm

I agree that the JJ's hold up well and sound good. That's why most builders use them. However in some amps they can be slightly harsh or uneven when pushed..But in general they are hard to beat.

telentubes · Post by **telentubes** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:50 pm

Tried some TADs as well as the JJs. I seem to remember liking the JJs more, but both were good (hopefully they are not the same tube with different labels, just for my credibility). Still run everything with the 6P14s.

Cliff Schecht · Post by **Cliff Schecht** » Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:27 pm

In the Rocket I sold my buddy the JJ EL84's are holding up great and sound good doing so. I've had great luck with JJ power tubes (6L6's, EL34's and E34L's), don't ever really use their preamp tubes, but I know many people who do use them with great success (i.e. they use JJ's in most of their amp repairs).

Also FWIW the Sino 5AR4 in that same Rocket has proven to be a great rectifier as well. I can't necessarily say it drops the same amount of voltage as an old 5AR4 (although I have compensated for this in other manners), it hasn't hickuped or caused a single problem in the two years or so that it's been in service thus far. Getter is still nice and shiny too! I think the general online consensus is that these are pretty dang decent rectifiers for the money.

Buschman · Post by **Buschman** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:39 am

Tesla hexplates. They are not terribly expensive yet and last a good while.

Post by **Colossal** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 1:14 am

JJs and NOS Saratovs!

The Amp Garage

What EL84's do you like?

What EL84's do you like?

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6p14p

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JJ's

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