Bottlehead Forum
Bottlehead Kits => Legacy Kit Products => Quickie => Topic started by: precd on November 28, 2013, 05:25:06 AM
-
There is a seller on eBay who has RCA 3S4s with U getters. I ordered a few pair and have found them to be the best sounding and less micro-phonic of any tube I have used with my setup. Very happy with them. I have no affiliation with the seller whatsoever and wanted to let the Quickie owners know about the tubes. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
-
Thanks for the heads up I now have two pair coming my way! :)
-
What are U getters? I saw those on ebay too and was wondering about them.. Initially I had microphonics and with the stock tubes and thought about replacing them with the RCAs. In what way do they sound different? (As far as bass, mid, and treble). Any idea when RCA made these? Thanks,
Dave
-
The getter is that small appliance in the vaccum tube at the very top. It can be a circle, square, a "U", and other shapes I would imagine. Google it! :-)
Those particular tubes were made in 1942 and are pretty neutral sounding tubes. However they increased the sound stage quite a bit in my system with tight bass and smooth highs. The microphonics all but left and I am sure if I were to attack what is left with those ideas voiced here it would be gone completely. It is so insignificant I have not bothered with it. By the way I have my quickie spiked sitting on top of a 1 inch concrete cap block......for now. I am really thinking hard about mounting it to the wall behind my equipment.
What are U getters? I saw those on ebay too and was wondering about them.. Initially I had microphonics and with the stock tubes and thought about replacing them with the RCAs. In what way do they sound different? (As far as bass, mid, and treble). Any idea when RCA made these? Thanks,
Dave
-
That sounds pretty cool.. Out of curiosity is your Quickie stock? I ordered a PJCCS so that should be coming soon.. Just curious how much the RCAs would change the stock Quickie sound.
-
Yes it is stock. Will install the PJCCS later though.
That sounds pretty cool.. Out of curiosity is your Quickie stock? I ordered a PJCCS so that should be coming soon.. Just curious how much the RCAs would change the stock Quickie sound.
-
Just an FYI - the getter itself has nearly 0 influence on the sound, though it is often used to designate certain production runs of certain tubes.
-
But if the getter's gone the sound can get really crappy.
-
oh no!! I just ordered those tubes!!
-
I misspoke, meant that if the getter flashing is gone the tube can sound bad because it will probably be gassy. Very long day yesterday.
-
I picked up a pair of these to try, box's are labeled US Navy July 1943.
They do seem smoother sounding and more full bodied in the mids and lows vs the supplied tubes (Amperex?). The supplied ones however have more forward highs and overall sound cleaner and more transparent to me. They really focus on opposite ends of the spectrum and compliment each other rather nicely, just as well as i cant decide which i prefer..
-
they arrived today to me , I can confirm , sound is smooth , highs are sweets , nice voices , I like them but I ordered four of them and one was almost voiceless so i guess they are used tubes
-
I had to cut the box to get them out so they are definitely unused NOS. It felt so wrong having to do that, they survived in storage for 70 years before i got my grubby mits on them. Amazes me to think they were manufactured before my parents were even born..
-
i got two with sealed boxes and two open boxes ,and one of them almost doesn't work
-
I had a tube that did not function either and it was in an open box. All the rest function fine. Glad they worked out for you both.
-
I got a pile of French 3S4's in for the next batch of Quickies. They are not the gray plates that I bought last time, but rather shiny plates with horizontal ribs. I'll have to sit down some time over the holidays and try the two French variants against the Mullards and Brimars.
-
Most ebay sellers I have dealt with will replace bad tubes within a week or two of delivery. It can't hurt to check into it.
-
anyway the RCA are really little microphonics and are silent while with the stock tubes, Emerson, there was a slighty background noise and a lot microphonic
-
they have a lot of bass too , i think the best i ever tried until now
I wonder since they have been not working for so long , do they need a period to work before they could sound at their best ?