Sources for 3S4 tubes?

[Grainger49]

  .  .  .   Good, I'd like to know how the Mullards sound. Although I don't have a quickie yet I bought a small stash of NOS Mullards from a guy in Athens, Greece. I'll be ordering a couple of quickies before the end of the year. One for me and one for a friend.

Some would call you crazy but I have bought a dozen Russian tubes for the input stage of the Eros.  And I don't own one yet either.

I would say we are good planners.  Our wives might disagree.

[booangler]

Hello my fellow quickers,

Here is a really quick tube update.

Ok I think I have gone a little over the top with tubes for the Quickie, 3 pair of 3S4's from a local supplier, a set of mullard and a set of Brimar on the way and in the mean time.  I ordered some 10 DL92's from a seller in England off of flea bay. Of course when I got them they were not DL92 but CV820. At first I was pissed, but then I relaxed and took a closer look at the tubes. What I found inside the boxes were tubes labeled 3S4 and CV820. So, I tried them, first thing I noticed was very little micro-phonics, and I mean very little. They sounded good, but I didn't get a good listen to them as my wife Jean came home, and we started dinner.

As soon as I get more listening time I'll send further updates.

Cheers,
Alan

[bundee1]

Any updates on sources and sound?

[booangler]

Bundee1,

I haven't had any time to sit and listen to my different tubes. Plus I am still waiting on the mullards and Brimars. I might have some time this coming weekend.

Alan

[machinehead]

Gents, any feedback on the different tubes yet?  Just finished my quickie with Delco tubes.  Sound it good, some microphonics, and would like to try some different stuff, love to hear what yall have to say.

[machinehead]

Did anyone find better sound quality other than less microphonics with other brands of tubes?  I know one guy on the net
seems to be selling a brand as premium for $12.99 a tube and states that it goes in the Quickie....

[NotBen]

I have had a Quickie for five months (now with the PJCCS) and have tried a bunch of different tubes. I have at least 40 total and they were thoroughly tested before I bought them. I am running it right now with a CD player >Quickie>Fisher SA100>Fostex FF165K Horns with Gallo TR1 powered sub crossed around 80hz.
All of them are microphonic, but some more than others. However, none of them really howl or squeal like it would in a guitar amp (and I have had some squealers in my Marshall combo). I did pickup some Herbie's dampers and I think they help a little. I have come to believe that there is no huge difference between microphonics and manufacturer because they all have them, but maybe the RCA have a little less than others. I may even get the guitar amp dampers from Herbie's and add those so both tubes have two dampers each.

RCA 1940's - very well defined bass, clear mids and silky treble, one of the most balanced tubes; wide soundstage. Microphonics 3 out 10.
Raytheon VT-174 -  similar bass and mids, smooth treble with a tiny bit of roll off; warmest tube, liquid, Very wide soundstage. Micro 5/10
Tung Sol - 1950's - huge bass, subdued mids and tons of treble but slightly edgy; average soundstage. Microphonics 6/10
RCA 1960's - Strong bass (more than Ray, less than TS), clear mids, very nice treble (less than TS, more than Ray) Very liquid; average soundstage. Microphonics 4/10
Sylvania 1950's - nice clear bass and low mids, liquid mid and highs, a very sweet sound; wide soundstage. Microphonics 6/10
Sylvania 1960's - didn't get to these yet, will update when or if I try them.
GE  - deep bass and plenty of treble like the 50's Tung Sol but with better midrange, a very wide frequency range; a little smeared overall compared to the Sylvania. Very wide soundstage. Microphonics 5/10
Tung Sol 1960's - deep bass, improved midrange and sweeter treble than 50's and overall smoother without the edge; average soundstage. Microphonics 6/10 (an improvement over the 50's TS)

Right now I like the RCA's and Raytheon the best with the 50's Sylvania and 60's Tung Sol next.
I still am not sure if there were any actually made in Europe. If there are, I would like to try them. Cheers!

[machinehead]

NotBen, awesome analysis, thank you very much, where did you get the '40's RCAs?

[machinehead]

NotBen,  this guy has some Mullards, but he is in Austrailia, I emailed and asked about cost of shipping.

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/~valventube/tubes0a2-5z4.html

[Dr. Toobz]

I've ordered some Amprex tubes from the 60's and Raytheons, and will post my findings (compared to the stock GE tubes) once they arrive.

[machinehead]

$15 shipping to the US

[NotBen]

The 40's RCA's came from a retired Air Force gentleman as well as some of the Sylvania, but the others came from a handful of different tube dealers.
My descriptions are very basic, I know, as I am used to describing tone in guitar amps, but if anyone wants further clarification about any of the tubes, just ask and I will try; one things I am pretty good at hearing is frequency and instrument separation (liquidity and depth) which I think comes from trying to find better note separation in a guitar amp.

One thing I have to say is the Quickie is a killer little preamp -- I love it.

[bundee1]

How do you tell the difference between 50's and 60's Sylvania tubes? Are the boxes different?

[NotBen]

The 60's Sylvania came in their original white military boxes with dates and have date codes on the glass in green printing and green Sylvania labels. The 50's came in the black and yellow Sylvania boxes with Yellow Sylvania printing on the glass and the dealer identified them as 50's. The getters, plates and micas look similar, I will have to check with a magnifying glass to see if I can ID any differences. The 50's didn't have any date codes so I am completely trusting the dealer for these.
I will try out the 60's and report back since those are much easier to ID.

[bundee1]

How are you rating microphonics? higher = better?