[Badas]

  Perhaps a couple of you guys have been very unlucky with 6SN7's and lucky with 6C8G's/6F8G's or I've been lucky with 6SN7's and unlucky with 6C8G's/6F8G's? I'll have to try a few more, but the 6C8G's and 6F8G's I've tried have been the worst driver tubes I've tried in my amp. Noisy, humming and sensitive (microphonic).

Maybe it is the outside wire on the adapter picking up noise? That can happen.
 
When I turn on my remote control lights the tubes go noisy. When I turn them off they go 100% quiet.

 

[ken6217]

  Where is everyone getting their 6C8G and 6F8G adapters from?  Ebay?  Is there a supplier in the USA that offers the adapters?

Woo sells them.

 

[Badas]

  Where is everyone getting their 6C8G and 6F8G adapters from?  Ebay?  Is there a supplier in the USA that offers the adapters?

Glenn,
 
http://www.head-fi.org/u/158007/2359glenn
 
I've got two sets (4 tubes) of NU 6F8G NOS, NIB that I'm going to sell. I paid US$100 a set. Anyone interested PM me. I will pay freight. Tested in my amp and they are dead quiet.

 

[ken6217]

  For what it's worth, I've never gotten screwed on a tube deal on ebay. Most tube sellers have sold many, many tubes on ebay, and are much cheaper than other places. It is a little bit of a hassle, but I doubt it actually takes any more time than contacting someone and asking about their stock.

+1
 
I have bought a lot of drivers from Ebay fror quite a few sources and got exactly what I ordered.
 
Most of these dealers have had hundreds or thousands of excellent ratings. This is there business. It doesn't behoove them to screw someone.

 

[jerick70]

  For what it's worth, I've never gotten screwed on a tube deal on ebay. Most tube sellers have sold many, many tubes on ebay, and are much cheaper than other places. It is a little bit of a hassle, but I doubt it actually takes any more time than contacting someone and asking about their stock.

 
Another satisfied Ebay valve purchaser here.  You tend to get much better pricing too.  You have to be quick though!  The best deals go FAST.....

 

[phase0]

  Thanks all, 
 
I have only 1 extra pair of drivers, these being RCA 6SN7's that I bought matched from George Lens when I got my EML power and rectifier tubes.  I read or quickly glanced over all the posts #2000 to present on this thread.
 
As my amp is a WA5-LE, I understand that the 6C8Gs and 6F8Gs (except NU) are the ones to go for.  Also C3Gs more recently got good reviews but they are metal shrouded so that is a minus in terms of looks but have great clarity from several posts.  All this means that I have a message into Woo for 6C8G/6F8G to 6SN7 and C3G to 6SN7 adapters.
 
I've in the US and since I'm new to tubes, am more willing to pay a premium for tubes that have been tested with some back up in terms of guarantee rather than taking my chances on Ebay.  I've bought from Brent Jesse and am thinking of using Andy at Vintage Tube services.  Any other dealer that people trust with a good selection of tubes?

 
NU 6C8G work great in my WA5. The NU 6F8G are hit and miss. I ordered some and one was noisy so I sent them back. Some of the tube dealers have website presence as well as eBay stores. VivaTubes is an example. I had some bad luck on eBay with some bad 6SN7s but was able to return them no hassle (other than the effort to repack and go through the return process). I've obtained a lot of good tubes from there. It just seems to be that most of it gets listed there.
 
Oh yeah and I got my 6F8G to 6SN7 adapters from Woo, but a couple folks here said Glenn is the best (I've never bought anything from Glenn).

 

[leftside]

I have a set of adapters from eBay and also from a seller on here (made by Glenn). I originally thought the problem was the adapter, but I experienced the same problem with both adapters. I've heard similar problems from other people (via google), but you guys rate them so highly that I'll try and seek out a couple of other pairs of these tubes.

 

[phase0]

  Perhaps a couple of you guys have been very unlucky with 6SN7's and lucky with 6C8G's/6F8G's or I've been lucky with 6SN7's and unlucky with 6C8G's/6F8G's? I'll have to try a few more, but the 6C8G's and 6F8G's I've tried have been the worst driver tubes I've tried in my amp. Noisy, humming and sensitive (microphonic).

 
Yea the NU 6C8G are definitely sensitive. I solved the problem by getting a stand for the WA5 and moving off of my desk. Until then the vibrations from typing were an issue. I've had some noise issues too but it seems that DeOxit solves the noise problem. Again the only seemingly incompatibility I've run into is the NU 6F8G and even there someone was able to find a couple that worked in the WA5. IIRC someone said they work great in the WA22.

 

[Badas]

   
Yea the NU 6C8G are definitely sensitive. I solved the problem by getting a stand for the WA5 and moving off of my desk. Until then the vibrations from typing were an issue. I've had some noise issues too but it seems that DeOxit solves the noise problem. Again the only seemingly incompatibility I've run into is the NU 6F8G and even there someone was able to find a couple that worked in the WA5. IIRC someone said they work great in the WA22.

NU 6F8G work great in the WA22 and WA6 (with 6SN7 adapters). Not so great in the WA5.

 

[leftside]

Anyone here use different tubes for different types of music? I really didn't want to go down this path... But I had some mint NIB Mullard ECC31's arrive on Friday and I've been trying them out today. I really like them for music such as Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie and Ministry, but prefer the Osram B65's for music such as Portishead and Massive Attack, blues or classical.

 

[reeltime]

 
I agree with that statement. The worst 6F type I heard was the Sylvania 6F8G and that was better than the best 6SN7 type I heard.
I've also got a RCA 6F8G with the same plates as the 6SN7 type and it sounds way ahead.
TSRP 6SN7 is suppose to be superb but goes for a fortune ($600-$800 a set). I use the TSRP 6C8G and it is suppose to have the same sound for a fraction of the price for a 6SN7 type.

I bought a pair of TSRP 6SN7s and they're magic.  Best driver I've heard in the WA5.  And they were $550, pretty much in line with what you're saying.  

 

[reeltime]

 
+1
 
I have bought a lot of drivers from Ebay fror quite a few sources and got exactly what I ordered.
 
Most of these dealers have had hundreds or thousands of excellent ratings. This is there business. It doesn't behoove them to screw someone.

Two keys to purchasing quality on eBay:
 
1) Seller has a lot of positive reviews.  I won't touch any seller under 300 transactions at 100% or 1000 transactions or more at 99% positive.
 
2) Seller's past transactions include similar items.
 
Those two factors have never resulted in a negative situation.  
 
I have strayed from these rules on occasion, with mixed results.   Some good, some bad.

 

[thecrow]

Plus returns accepted is a good indicator

 

[artemart]

I am new to tube amplifiers so I am hoping this question will not sound dump.
 
I know that WA5-LE does not need matching rectifier tubes and it needs matching power tubes.
What about driver tubes do they need to be match?

 

[Badas]

I am new to tube amplifiers so I am hoping this question will not sound dump.

I know that WA5-LE does not need matching rectifier tubes and it needs matching power tubes.
What about driver tubes do they need to be match?

Dude. All tubes need to be matching in construction. If you are talking about test results then the general rule of thumb is within about 10% matched. I've gone further than that with fine results.