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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: Nick Culbreth on March 03, 2005, 08:27:49 PM
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I've been sick this afternoon so I decided today would be the perfect time to put together a tube picture guide that some of us discussed in another thread. Here are the pictures I've got so far, I think I have a couple more but this is pretty much all I've got. For the sake of organization I'd really like it if we could keep this free of any banter and just have pictures. If anyone else has anything to add, feel free to do so. :)
Edit: I came across a tube factory code list, it's pretty useful to help find out where the tube was made. The two bottom pictures are examples of the factory code, note the delta on each tube indicating they were made at the Heerlen Holland plant. Not sure if anyone was interested but I thought I'd pass it along just incase.
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Amperex Bugleboy 6DJ8
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These are pictures for the Amperex Orange Globe 12AU7A tubes with the halo getters.
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This tube was made in the late 1950's by Mazda in France and branded Cifte.
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These are pictures of the RCA cleartop 12AU7 with the side getter. These were rebranded for Conn organs.
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These were made in the 1980's in East Germany.
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These were made in the USA, I'm not sure about the era.
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These were made in Holland in the 1960's. This tube has a dimpled getter dish, which can be seen in the third picture.
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This is a current production tube made in Russia.
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This tube was made in West Germany, I believe these predate the smooth plates.
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This tube was made in West Germany, these came after the ribbed plates.
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This is a picture of the diamond mark on the bottom of Telefunken tubes, it's kind of hard to see but it's there.
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This is the Sylvania Gold Brand 5751 with three mica spacers and grey plates. In most cases this can be substituted for a 12AX7, it doesn't have as much gain as the 12AX7 but I've never had a problem using them.
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This is a current production tube made in Russia.
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This is a current production tube made in Slovakia.
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This is a current production tube made in Russia by Svetlana and distrubuted in the US under the label SED. Be warned that New Sensor owns the rights to the Svetlana brand name in the US, so any Svetlana labeled tubes would actually be made by Reflektor who also make Sovtek and Electro Harmonix tubes. These are made in Saint Petersburg and are denoted as flying C logos. Hopefully that isn't too confusing. :)
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These were made in China, they have a slightly fatter bottle than the SEDs.
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These were made in Holland in the late 1960's and the early 1970's. If you compare this to the earlier Amperex Bugleboy 6DJ8 you'll notice this tube lacks a shield and instead of the halo getter it has a dimpled getter dish supported by two metal bars making an A shape, hence the name A Frame.
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This tube was manufactured for the US military by Phillips. Often tubes which were originally manufactured for the military were labeled JAN which the acronym for Joint Army Navy.
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RCA Black Plate 12AU7
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Amperex Holland EF86
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Nice tube pics !
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no camera here, but I found this link today when trying to find some options for 6550s. Lots of pictures and data,
http://www.tubecollector.org/
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Mullard XF4 Single Halo 6CA7/EL34 notice the hole in the guide pin and the date code etched in the glass. This one branded for GE.
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RCA Big Bottle 6CA7/EL34 welded plate version with dual disc getters.
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Mullard 6CA7/EL34 XF2 date code with dual halo getters, widely regarded among the best sounding EL34s produced. Also with hole in guide pin (see above mullard xf4 pic). This one labeled for Dynaco.
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Can someone I.D. the Electro Harmonix EL-34s with dimpled tops ?
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Japanese 6CA7/EL34, this one labeled RCA, also "Made in Gt. Britian". Word on the street is in the 70s when these were produced there was still a pretty big bias against Japanese products. Also, Mullard had set up the tube factory for Matsushita (I think) so these were labeled Gt. Britian. You can tell these Japanese tubes because of the crease in the top of the glass and the lack of a hole in the guide pin. See detail photos.
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Westinghouse "Made In England" 6CA7. Buyer beware, there was a guy selling these things on ebay for a while, they pop up from time to time. Personally I think they sound terrible. Look for the thick halo getter, mica fins, and 8 pins on the bottom with no hole in the guide pin. Plates are a little darker gray than then mullards.
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Mullard XF5 Double D getter ;D Brown Base, welded plates. "Made in Holland" I only have one of these, so no comments on sound.
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German Made "Siemans" 6CA7/EL34 notice the slimmer glass envelope, single halo getter. This one labeled for International Servicemaster. No hole in guide pin on these and all 8 pins present, crimped pates.
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Mullard "Shield" logo 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier, the holy grail of GZ34s. Again, these have the guide pin holes and etched date codes common to Mullard tubes.
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Telefunken EL84/6BQ5, like other TFK tubes, this has the <> between the pins on the bottom.
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Mullard XF2 Single Halo with welded plates. This one labeled for Amprex with the orange "world" logo.
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This Tungsol 6SN7 dates from 1954. This tube isn't quite as highly regarded as the earlier VT-231 roundplates but they are still very refined with a clear fast sound.
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I'm not sure on the exact date on this but I believe it dates from the mid 1940s - 1950s. This version has staggered plates and from what I can tell it is identical to the Ken Rad VT-231. Overall this tube doesn't have a ton of warmth but it is fairly clean and has wonderfully extended bass.
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I believe this tube dates from the 1950s but I don't have an exact year. I haven't had a chance to listen to this tube very much so I can't really comment on its sound.
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I'm not exactly sure what year this tube was made but I belive it dates from the mid 1950s. Overall it's a pretty decent tube with a nice warm midrange, though the highs are a bit rolled off.
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This tube dates from 1945-1950. It is the same as the Ken Rad 6SN7GT, the only difference is this tube was manufactured for the US military so it was labeled VT-231 which is the military equivalent of the 6SN7.
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Nick - do you actually own and/or run all these tubes?!?
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This is a current production tube made in Russia. Overall it's a pretty decent tube, it sounds a little bit cold but it is very quiet. This tube would be a good option for high gain applications but wouldn't be as good for tone control.
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Nick - do you actually own and/or run all these tubes?!?
Yes these tubes are all from my personal stash. :)
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Yes these tubes are all from my personal stash. :)
Good God, man!! :o
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This guy is a bit of a mystery to me, it shares a similar structure with the other Sylvania 12AU7A tube I have but the plates are significantly shorter and it has some sort of code under the acid etch. This tube has a D shaped getter which can be seen in the second picture. I only have one of these right now so I can't really comment on the sound until I track down a mate for it.
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Good God, man!! :o
I like to keep my options open. :)
Really I don't have a ton of tubes, just a few of each variety I need. As far as I'm concerned it's easier to roll in different tubes than it is to buy new gear when you get tired of the sound.
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Good God, man!! :o
I like to keep my options open. :)
Really I don't have a ton of tubes, just a few of each variety I need. As far as I'm concerned it's easier to roll in different tubes than it is to buy new gear when you get tired of the sound.
You have a lot of tubes, man. Thanks for sharing the info.
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This Tung-Sol 5687 is the black plate version with an O-shaped getter. This one is labelled United Electronic.
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This Tung-Sol is the bronze plate version with the O-shaped getter. Unfortunately this label is a bit worn off and can't be seen in the photos. To my ears this version is a touch warmer sounding than the black plate/O-getter variety.
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The RCA Bronze Plate 5687 is considered by many to be the warmest sounding tube of the 5687 family and after listening to them in my system I'll agree that they sound much warmer than the Tung-Sols. This tube has a liquid sounding midrange and fairly punchy bass but the treble is a bit lacking. At times it can sound a bit hazy and lethargic but overall I think it could be a nice option if you need to add a bit more warmth to your system.
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This tube is an early 6SN7 variety which dates from the early to mid 1940's. This tube has very extended, natural sounding highs, a very musical sounding midrange and a very well definated soundstage. The only real downfall of this tube is that it is a little bass shy.
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This tube is similar to the Tung-Sol Black Plate 5687 with the O-Getter but is a touch more refined. This is probably my favorite tube in entire 5687 family.
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The 7n7 tube variety is a very intersting tube type because it has the exact same specifications as the pricey 6SN7 tube family but has a loctal(pictured below) base instead of the octal base of the 6SN7. From what I've gathered the US military had problems with the longer wires in octal tubes picking up radio signals and loctal tubes were created to address the problem. By getting a loctal tube adapter (like the one below) you can use the 7n7 in place of a 6SN7. The biggest benefit of the 7n7 tube is it's price, you shouldn't have any problems finding quality 7n7 tubes for as little as $10 while top 6SN7 tubes can sell for 10x the price.
This tube was made by National Union sometime between the mid 1940s and 1950 when NU shutdown. This tube is easily recognized by it's tall bottle and gray glass. Given the age this tube is pretty rare but they're excellent tubes if you can find them.
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This Sylvania 7n7 has an internal plate structure similar to the Sylvania 6SN7GT and to my ears it sounds very similar the 6SN7GT at a fraction of the cost.
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This Sylvania 7n7 shares the same internal structure as the Syvania 6SN7GTA. This variety is much more common than the others and if you don't specify which type of 7n7 you're looking for you'll probably end up with this one. It isn't a bad tube but in my system the NU 7n7 and the Sylvania 7n7 with the GT Plates sounded much better.
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I was given this tube by a friend but haven't had the chance to use this tube in my setup. It's supposed to be used as a tuning tube. I found a second pic online of the EM84 in action, looks pretty neat.
You need to click on the second picture to get the full effect.
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The GE Five Star 5687 is a pretty decent sounding tube but in my system it lacks the refinement of the Tung-Sols.
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+T Nick, thats one time consuming task!
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+T Nick, thats one time consuming task!
I like to keep an up to date photographic catalog and an Excel spreadsheet anyway so it doesn't take much extra effort to post the pictures here as well. I'm just glad somebody actually reads the thread. :)
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+T Nick, thats one time consuming task!
I like to keep an up to date photographic catalog and an Excel spreadsheet anyway so it doesn't take much extra effort to post the pictures here as well. I'm just glad somebody actually reads the thread. :)
Did you post this at head-fi? They love stuff like this over there, head-fier "Hirsch" apparently has an entire closet filled with tubes.
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+T Nick, thats one time consuming task!
I like to keep an up to date photographic catalog and an Excel spreadsheet anyway so it doesn't take much extra effort to post the pictures here as well. I'm just glad somebody actually reads the thread. :)
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Plain and simple, tubes are sexy...
I like the thread, thanks Nick.
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Did anyone post the Telefunken AC701 ?
Rarely seen, better heard:
(http://www.geocities.com/nikolic_lj_dragan/Tubes/AC701KTelefunken.jpg)
They live inside the Schoeps 221,Neumann KM53, KM54, KM56, KM64,Tele's ELA M251, AKG C60
Placed inside of a 221:
(http://www.mikrofonbau.de/bilder/1954m221a.jpg)
Must....not...go....to....Brooklyn....to...buy.......the..................pair...............................on.................................eBay !
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggh ! :spin:
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Did anyone post the Telefunken AC701 ?
Rarely seen, better heard:
(http://www.geocities.com/nikolic_lj_dragan/Tubes/AC701KTelefunken.jpg)
They live inside the Schoeps 221,Neumann KM53, KM54, KM56, KM64,Tele's ELA M251, AKG C60
Placed inside of a 221:
(http://www.mikrofonbau.de/bilder/1954m221a.jpg)
Must....not...go....to....Brooklyn....to...buy.......the..................pair...............................on.................................eBay !
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggh ! :spin:
I always wondered what kind of tubes the vintage tube mics used, that looks sweet. :)
I've got a couple more tube pics to resize, I've been slacking. Also if anyone feels the need to share some of their tube pics feel free to do so.
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I was waiting for my friend's flight to come in tonight, so I decided to bust out the boxes of tubes and do a little rolling.
This one is interesting... 12au7a/ECC82 labeled Amperex datestamp 7-50, but definately looks like a newer tube, internal plate structure is quite funky, but sounds nice in the phase splitter position.