[Wes S]

How many hours could you expect tubes to work?

Lots of variables, so can't really put an exact number on it. However, I am hoping to get around 8,000 to 10,000 hours out of my power tubes and rectifiers. As for driver tubes, I believer those should last around 5,000 to 8,000 hours. That being said, this is all just what I have been told and read over the years, but I have actually never gotten to the end of tubes life to confirm that yet.

 

[Aeonyx]

My quad GEC CV6 tubes just arrived, now just waiting for the adapters from @Deyan and I'm good to go.

Can't believe I just ordered these night before last and they arrived in South Carolina from India in less than 48 hours
.

 

[jamato8]

My quad GEC CV6 tubes just arrived, now just waiting for the adapters from @Deyan and I'm good to go.

Can't believe I just ordered these night before last and they arrived in South Carolina from India in less than 48 hours
.

That is really fast! What shipping service did they use? Are they matched?

 

[Aeonyx]

That is really fast! What shipping service did they use? Are they matched?

They are indeed matched. Not sure which shipping service they used, but I was pretty much freaked out at how quickly they arrived lol

 

[krude]

After further rolling of drivers I can compare the stock Tungsols to CV181T2 (in previous post) and now to Sophia 6SL7 top 10%, which are really just a rebrand of hand picked Full Music 6SN7 ... which are no longer made ... more on that in a sec.

So Sophia / Full Music 6SN7 :
- It takes the best parts of Tungsols (rich, deep bass)
- and CV181T2 (air, layering, low level details)

and presents music with those attributes in a coherent and musical way.

It gels beautifully with all my sets and speakers. Just a winner all around when it comes to sound.

This is by far the best driver I tried (haven't tried many though ... and just preparing for the quad Mullards VR135) ... but these have a downside, they are noisy compared to the other 2, signifficantly more so. With Tungsols and CV181T2 my sytem is dead silent with Utopia ... with Sophia it has static noise and also one of the tubes makes faint popping sounds in the background ... so not great, not terrible ... not a deal breaker and definitely a trade off I'm willing to take.

Since these are no longer in production, my set is used with "who knows how many hours" on the clock ... but definitely quite a few. And unfortunately these are known for being unreliable in the long term sadly. Probably that's why they stopped production, even with the Full Music variant being known as a "good choice" for high end sound.

So ... I will probably try to hunt down another set ... or not if the quad blows them away. Will see in a few weeks.

 

[jonchard]

My quad GEC CV6 tubes just arrived, now just waiting for the adapters from @Deyan and I'm good to go.

Can't believe I just ordered these night before last and they arrived in South Carolina from India in less than 48 hours
.

WELL???? Don't keep us waiting ...?! Just bung some wires in .. it'll be fine !!

 

[jonchard]

After further rolling of drivers I can compare the stock Tungsols to CV181T2 (in previous post) and now to Sophia 6SL7 top 10%, which are really just a rebrand of hand picked Full Music 6SN7 ... which are no longer made ... more on that in a sec.

So Sophia / Full Music 6SN7 :
- It takes the best parts of Tungsols (rich, deep bass)
- and CV181T2 (air, layering, low level details)

and presents music with those attributes in a coherent and musical way.

It gels beautifully with all my sets and speakers. Just a winner all around when it comes to sound.

This is by far the best driver I tried (haven't tried many though ... and just preparing for the quad Mullards VR135) ... but these have a downside, they are noisy compared to the other 2, signifficantly more so. With Tungsols and CV181T2 my sytem is dead silent with Utopia ... with Sophia it has static noise and also one of the tubes makes faint popping sounds in the background ... so not great, not terrible ... not a deal breaker and definitely a trade off I'm willing to take.

Since these are no longer in production, my set is used with "who knows how many hours" on the clock ... but definitely quite a few. And unfortunately these are known for being unreliable in the long term sadly. Probably that's why they stopped production, even with the Full Music variant being known as a "good choice" for high end sound.

So ... I will probably try to hunt down another set ... or not if the quad blows them away. Will see in a few weeks.

If you want another set i have a set of CV181T2 with less than 1 weeks use. If anyone wants to try them, make me an offer on PM.

 

[AnyDave]

WELL???? Don't keep us waiting ...?! Just bung some wires in .. it'll be fine !!

Bung is one of the absolute best words I've learned from folks in the UK.

 

[Aeonyx]

WELL???? Don't keep us waiting ...?! Just bung some wires in .. it'll be fine !!

Haha! I'm excited as well. Can't wait for the adapters to arrive. $280 for quad GEC was a no-brainer for me

May grab Mullard CV6 quads soon as well for comparison purposes

 

[jonchard]

Haha! I'm excited as well. Can't wait for the adapters to arrive. $280 for quad GEC was a no-brainer for me

May grab Mullard CV6 quads soon as well for comparison purposes

I love my Mullards ... i have orange print and White. My preference so far are the white print (id say they are similar enough to not really worry). Mine were a very strong set > 3000.

 

[Aeonyx]

I love my Mullards ... i have orange print and White. My preference so far are the white print (id say they are similar enough to not really worry). Mine were a very strong set > 3000.

How do you like CV6 quads compared to 6SN7?

 

[jonchard]

How do you like CV6 quads compared to 6SN7?

Well, i have a pair of Tung Sol Black glass Oval plates. THey used to be my everything. They cost a fortune. Since the mullards, i have tried them once. The mullards are just so right. Tung Sols are great, but Mullards are dynamic, holographic and just dont put a foot wrong. Its still a marvel to me. I have 6f8g, C2CC, 6SN7 and others i have forgotten about. But everytime i switch back to Mullards CV6 from ANY of them, the brain instantly recognises the "rightness". I'm using Susvaras and Elrog ER MO's on Cayin 300bmk2.. Anyone who states that valves are warm and mushy just havent heard this level of right. Its detail is insane, it misses nothing for me. My one critisism is not of the tubes but of the Susvaras. Id love for true 15hz bass feel like i used to get from twin subs and speakers, but there is no headphone that can reproduce that. In the same way no speaker i have experienced bar one maybe that could reproduce the holographic reproduction of this setup. Every single song throws its sound. Every single song shares its recording space, tells you everything about it but never detracts from the song. Its magic. The problem is, use different headphones and different tubes will do different things. Susvara is hard to drive and i think it changes the nature of the tubes. I have a synergy that i enjoy to the max, but i suspect it wont be the same for Utopias or others. And lets be fair, what i like in sound probably isnt what YOU like or look for in sound!! But, its my piece of TOTL and im absolutely taken.

 

[jonchard]

Well, i have a pair of Tung Sol Black glass Oval plates. THey used to be my everything. They cost a fortune. Since the mullards, i have tried them once. The mullards are just so right. Tung Sols are great, but Mullards are dynamic, holographic and just dont put a foot wrong. Its still a marvel to me. I have 6f8g, C2CC, 6SN7 and others i have forgotten about. But everytime i switch back to Mullards CV6 from ANY of them, the brain instantly recognises the "rightness". I'm using Susvaras and Elrog ER MO's on Cayin 300bmk2.. Anyone who states that valves are warm and mushy just havent heard this level of right. Its detail is insane, it misses nothing for me. My one critisism is not of the tubes but of the Susvaras. Id love for true 15hz bass feel like i used to get from twin subs and speakers, but there is no headphone that can reproduce that. In the same way no speaker i have experienced bar one maybe that could reproduce the holographic reproduction of this setup. Every single song throws its sound. Every single song shares its recording space, tells you everything about it but never detracts from the song. Its magic. The problem is, use different headphones and different tubes will do different things. Susvara is hard to drive and i think it changes the nature of the tubes. I have a synergy that i enjoy to the max, but i suspect it wont be the same for Utopias or others. And lets be fair, what i like in sound probably isnt what YOU like or look for in sound!! But, its my piece of TOTL and im absolutely taken.

Try "Fever" by Eva Cassidy. I can smell the club

 

[Aeonyx]

Well, i have a pair of Tung Sol Black glass Oval plates. THey used to be my everything. They cost a fortune. Since the mullards, i have tried them once. The mullards are just so right. Tung Sols are great, but Mullards are dynamic, holographic and just dont put a foot wrong. Its still a marvel to me. I have 6f8g, C2CC, 6SN7 and others i have forgotten about. But everytime i switch back to Mullards CV6 from ANY of them, the brain instantly recognises the "rightness". I'm using Susvaras and Elrog ER MO's on Cayin 300bmk2.. Anyone who states that valves are warm and mushy just havent heard this level of right. Its detail is insane, it misses nothing for me. My one critisism is not of the tubes but of the Susvaras. Id love for true 15hz bass feel like i used to get from twin subs and speakers, but there is no headphone that can reproduce that. In the same way no speaker i have experienced bar one maybe that could reproduce the holographic reproduction of this setup. Every single song throws its sound. Every single song shares its recording space, tells you everything about it but never detracts from the song. Its magic. The problem is, use different headphones and different tubes will do different things. Susvara is hard to drive and i think it changes the nature of the tubes. I have a synergy that i enjoy to the max, but i suspect it wont be the same for Utopias or others. And lets be fair, what i like in sound probably isnt what YOU like or look for in sound!! But, its my piece of TOTL and im absolutely taken.

That's amazing! Are the Mullards the same ones floating around on eBay for $100-$175/set?

Susvara is my daily driver as well. I have a lot of different headphones, but nothing hits me quite like Susvara. The resolution, presentation, everything about is reproduces sound just gels with me.

Can't wait!

 

[jonchard]

That's amazing! Are the Mullards the same ones floating around on eBay for $100-$175/set?

Susvara is my daily driver as well. I have a lot of different headphones, but nothing hits me quite like Susvara. The resolution, presentation, everything about is reproduces sound just gels with me.

Can't wait!

Its the same for me. From top to bottom, Susvara is incredibly well balanced. I get it might not excite those that want pounding bass, nor will it excite those that want a brighter presentation. But for me it hits the perfect blend of balance, poise, refinement and presentation. The CV6 i bought (the really strong ones) were £150! Which is a screaming bargain compared with the Tung Sols. Im happy with them on both Deyans adapters and Mrs X (ebay) versions. Mrs X afford better placing and you can fit the faraday cage back on with small extensions. But with Deyans, the cage will no longer fit. It may or may not matter to you. I bought both so i can easily swap out GEC CV6 / MULLARD CV6 / Kenrad 7193 / Union C2CC as full sets in order to compare. I also have multiple 6SN7 (RCA Brown, Russians, TUngsol, CVT181V2, Sylvania) plus multiples of RCA 6F8G. At some point i need to sell all the others so i can buy more CV6