Jamie, your observations on the Bendix 6080WB are similar to mine. I'm constantly torn between the 6080WB and the 5998... for certain music such as rock and electronic music, the 6080WB is clearly superior with its more dynamic sound and punchy bass. With Jazz and vocals, the 5998 trumps it convincingly.
My favourite 2 combinations (using a Beyer T90):
1. TS 5998 + CBS Hytron 5814A for jazz, vocals, acoustic music
2. Bendix 6080WB + Philips E80CC for rock, electronic music.
I am curious to try the Genalex 6AS7G, but the price is prohibitive. How would you describe the Genalex relative to the TS5998 and the Bendix 6080WB?
The Glenalex I had to look it up and found its another name for the CEC/OSRAM/MOV tube A1834 CV2523.
If I could keep only one tube it would be Genalex/GEC
Nick Tam did a ranking of the 6as7g's the full piece from the old site is linked below
This is what he has to say on the GEC
"The "Super Tube", the "Holy Grail" of all 6AS7Gs. The GEC 6AS7G is very balanced in each aspect, good micro detailing and extremely analytical. The soundstage is very spacious, and has lots of air. Layering is very good and is probably the best of all British tubes. The differences between the curved and straight base are near indiscernible, so there’s no need to extra big bucks for the curved brown base in particular."
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The micro detailing is the thing I find most appealing the layering and clarity or the resolution reveals subtle nuances in tone and texture that I find beguiling. The cravat is you need to be in the zone free from distractions and singly focus on the music. With that in mind it only gets plugged in for such occasions rather than general listening. Such occasions often also include a large scotch.
If I am working on the pc then really any of the 6080's I find enjoyable for background listening. The 5998 is close but just not quiet in the same league and I prefer it for general leisure listening. I would say if your using HD650's then stick with the 5998 as the GEC''s finer qualities are rather lost on my HD650's they are just are not resolving enough. Plug in the T1's and its different story.
link
http://the-key.enix.org/~krystal/review-tube-bottlehead.html