EL 34s

[ricky]

This may be a foolish move on my part, but what are your favorite EL34s and what do you avoid? I am usually a fender style 6L6 guy, but my RM50 with the EL34s needs new tubes and I was curious what you folks think. Best vs. Worst?
thanks in advance

 

[Mattfig]

Hey Ricky,

Have you considered 6CA7 tubes? Like an EL34 only a bit bigger and more open...

 

[ricky]

I don't know anything about them but I am open....

 

[Corium_AZ]

I've been using SED 'winged C's' for some time now. IMO, they are the best sounding EL-34's, not counting vintage tubes of course. They sound great clean, have a powerful but controlled bottom end, complex chewy distrtion and great classic crunch. I personally run a pair of these along with a pair of TAD 6L6-GC STR's in my RM100. They compliment each other wonderfully.

I had a couple caps and a resistor fail in my RM100 a couple weeks ago, leaving me with only one pair of usable power tubes (running at 50w). I spent a week with just the 6L6's and a week with the EL34's. I would be happy with either if I had to choose!

 

[The Rossness]

EHX

 

[horseblanket]

Hey Ricky,

Have you considered 6CA7 tubes? Like an EL34 only a bit bigger and more open...

I second this. I have some a set of Mullard 6CA7s in my Traynor YRM-1 and I love them.

 

[ricky]

What is the biggest difference between the EL34s and the 6CA7s?

 

[Mattfig]

6CA7s are more open. Not as open as 6L6 but kinda in-between....

 

[ricky]

I guess that openness is something one needs to experience first hand? I will definitely invest in some. Is the bias pretty much the same?

 

[Mattfig]

I guess that openness is something one needs to experience first hand? I will definitely invest in some. Is the bias pretty much the same?

Open to me means more clean headroom...I consider 6550s to be the most open sounding and EL34 more compressed....

Bias is the same as EL34....

Hope that helps!