Tube War

[twich54]

Dave -

There are several incarnations of 6H30s as far as I know. EH was supposed to produce a gold-pin version. I don't know if it actually was ever shipped. BAT versions are supposed to be "selected" stock. I bought a few Sovteks about a year ago, just in case. I've yet to listen to them in my preamp, although I tried them in my ARC VT 100 III with no change in the sound of that amp. If I'm not mistaken, ARC also charges about $50 a tube for replacements.

I'm curious as to the level of 6H30 that The Tube Depot sell for $19.95, it's labeled as a Sovetk 6H30Pi, I remeber looking at either Dougs Tubes.com or Charlie Kittleson's site (Vacuum Tube Valley) and they seemed to sell various versions, gold pin, etc.

Hopefully Robin's thoughts come to fruission and other mfg join the fray !!

 

[aliveatfive]

aliveatfive, Dave and amey01

It seems that the Svetlana Tube Company in Russia will be adding all sorts of newly manufactured tubes to their line-up, let us hope, they concider adding the 6H30 or a new and improved version of the 6H30 tube a least... The Svetlana Tube Company is in the process of expanding and adding new tubes to their tube line all the time. Svetlana seems to be the preiminent tube company in Russia from what I've been able to find, lately - researching on line...

Robin

Can't seem to find any 'net info on Svetlana that is related to 6H30 tubes. BTW, Svetlana in the US is now called "Winged c." I think the previous distributor (probably Mike Matthews) had a dispute with the manufacturer, who now has other arrangements for distribution. How were you able to locate that info?

 

[aliveatfive]

I'm curious as to the level of 6H30 that The Tube Depot sell for $19.95, it's labeled as a Sovetk 6H30Pi, I remeber looking at either Dougs Tubes.com or Charlie Kittleson's site (Vacuum Tube Valley) and they seemed to sell various versions, gold pin, etc.

Hopefully Robin's thoughts come to fruission and other mfg join the fray !!

Dave

I have a bunch of those 20 buck 6H30s and they all seem to be fine. Those are the ones I'm using in my VT100 III. I wonder what the ones in my new ARC PH 7 look like? I didn't take a careful look when I installed them about 6 weeks ago. As I recall, however, they did not draw attention to themselves. (They're in the power supply anyway.)

 

[Robin]

Svetlana Information...

Robin

Can't seem to find any 'net info on Svetlana that is related to 6H30 tubes. BTW, Svetlana in the US is now called "Winged c." I think the previous distributor (probably Mike Matthews) had a dispute with the manufacturer, who now has other arrangements for distribution. How were you able to locate that info?

aliveatfive,

This was the very informative article I found most recently:

http://koti.mbnet.fi/siliconf/JukkaTolonen/ga/v&tnews/svetlana.html

In this article they discuss other tubes and some that Svetlana has announced they will begin manufacturing in the near future... I just hope that they consider the 6H30 tube as well.

 

[twich54]

Good , interesting article !!

Thanks Robin !!

 

[aliveatfive]

Robin

Interesting article. I wonder if Russian factories have to abide by patent law? I wonder if the 6H30 is patented? The factory that now makes them was once part of the communist regime. The ones that are in my BAT preamp are not labelled Sovtek. They say 6H30 and then some Cyrillic writing which I do not understand.

 

[Robin]

Svetlana Tube Inovations...

Robin

Interesting article. I wonder if Russian factories have to abide by patent law? I wonder if the 6H30 is patented? The factory that now makes them was once part of the communist regime. The ones that are in my BAT preamp are not labelled Sovtek. They say 6H30 and then some Cyrillic writing which I do not understand.

aliveatfive and Dave,

It is my hope that the Svetlana company will make a slightly modified/improved version of the 6H30 tube, give it another designation number like "6H30A" and offer it as a replacement for the 6H30. I believe Svetlana has done this before, with other tubes but I can't say which ones. as I don't know enough about the different tubes yet to say for certin. I was thinking, aliveatfive, you might want to call the phone numbers to ask them directly if Svetlana has any plans to manufacture the 6H30 or a acceptable replacement/improvement tube...

 

[aliveatfive]

aliveatfive and Dave,

It is my hope that the Svetlana company will make a slightly modified/improved version of the 6H30 tube, give it another designation number like "6H30A" and offer it as a replacement for the 6H30. I believe Svetlana has done this before, with other tubes but I can't say which ones. as I don't know enough about the different tubes yet to say for certin. I was thinking, aliveatfive, you might want to call the phone numbers to ask them directly if Svetlana has any plans to manufacture the 6H30 or a acceptable replacement/improvement tube...

I'm wondering if the reports of Sovtek's death are somewhat overstated. I just ordered 8 replacement 6H30s (Cryoed, too!) from tubeman.com (in Florida). There seems to be no trouble as far as delivering my order is concerned. This gives me about 16 new 6H30s in my collection. Probably good for the next 5 years.

 

[Robin]

I'm Wondering as well...

I'm wondering if the reports of Sovtek's death are somewhat overstated. I just ordered 8 replacement 6H30s (Cryoed, too!) from tubeman.com (in Florida). There seems to be no trouble as far as delivering my order is concerned. This gives me about 16 new 6H30s in my collection. Probably good for the next 5 years.

aliveatfive,

I hope reports of Sovtek's demise are overstated as well. How long does a 6H30 tube last in you system? In addition, how many do you use in your gear at one time? So you replace them at a rate of about three a year, correct?

 

[aliveatfive]

aliveatfive,

I hope reports of Sovtek's demise are overstated as well. How long does a 6H30 tube last in you system? In addition, how many do you use in your gear at one time? So you replace them at a rate of about three a year, correct?

Robin -

BAT and ARC claim that 6H30s last for a considerable amount of time - possibly 4 - 5 years. My BAT VK 51SE preamp uses 8 of them, my ARC VT100 III uses 4 of them, and my ARC PH 7 uses 3 of them (in the power supply.) That's a total of 15 that I'm using simultaneously. The tubes in the amp are almost new, the phono pre is brand new. The only questionable tubes are the ones in the pre. These get a lot of use because I run my home theatre and tv audio through that preamp almost all of the time. I don't notice any problems with the audio, but possibly new tubes might even change the sound for the better.

 

[twich54]

I'm wondering if the reports of Sovtek's death are somewhat overstated. I just ordered 8 replacement 6H30s (Cryoed, too!) from tubeman.com (in Florida). There seems to be no trouble as far as delivering my order is concerned. This gives me about 16 new 6H30s in my collection. Probably good for the next 5 years.

good afternoon ! What has been your experience with tubeman.com I'm curious since some of the suppliers I've dealt with in the past do not have the 6H30.

Thanks !

 

[Robin]

Fifteen - 6H30's

Robin -

BAT and ARC claim that 6H30s last for a considerable amount of time - possibly 4 - 5 years. My BAT VK 51SE preamp uses 8 of them, my ARC VT100 III uses 4 of them, and my ARC PH 7 uses 3 of them (in the power supply.) That's a total of 15 that I'm using simultaneously. The tubes in the amp are almost new, the phono pre is brand new. The only questionable tubes are the ones in the pre. These get a lot of use because I run my home theatre and tv audio through that preamp almost all of the time. I don't notice any problems with the audio, but possibly new tubes might even change the sound for the better.

aliveatfive,

It is a good thing you have acquired a collection of 16 replacement/back-up 6H30 tubes. Also, what are "Cryoed" tubes? I have read that 'The Tube Man' has a great reputation for quality hard-to-find tubes as well...

 

[jfm]

My BAT VK 51SE preamp uses 8 of them, my ARC VT100 III uses 4 of them, and my ARC PH 7 uses 3 of them (in the power supply.) That's a total of 15 that I'm using simultaneously.

just curious - how hot does a 6H30 get?

and...are you thinking of exchanging the BAT preamp with an ARC in the future? (also curious about how you like the sound of your BAT vs. an ARC preamp)

 

[aliveatfive]

aliveatfive,

It is a good thing you have acquired a collection of 16 replacement/back-up 6H30 tubes. Also, what are "Cryoed" tubes? I have read that 'The Tube Man' has a great reputation for quality hard-to-find tubes as well...

Robin -

1: Cryoed tubes are supposedly frozen (in nitrogen?) and then slowly brought back to normal temperature. Some claim that this improves the sound, others claim that it's just snake oil. When I get them, I'll try them and post my findings. They (cryoed ones) were about 5 bucks apiece more than usual.

2. The only experience I had with tubeman.com is: I ordered a set of replacement 6550 ValveArt tubes (Chinese) from him for my amp and they arrived promptly in perfect condition. I've yet to try them because it means re-biasing the amp and I'm too lazy to do this right now.

 

[aliveatfive]

just curious - how hot does a 6H30 get?

and...are you thinking of exchanging the BAT preamp with an ARC in the future? (also curious about how you like the sound of your BAT vs. an ARC preamp)

Eight 6H30s run pretty darn hot. The REF 3 runs just 4 of them, but has a 6H30 (I believe) and a 6550 in the power supply. The last ARC tubed preamp that I had was an LS 22 and I did not like it. The BAT is the best preamp that I've ever owned. My thoughts are a new power amp would come first, although that's not in the near future.

 

[jfm]

thanks for your reply. haven't found many favorable comments about the LS22 either.

 

[twich54]

thanks for your reply. haven't found many favorable comments about the LS22 either.

AHHHHHHHHH......... now just go out and tempt yourself with the LS-26, it got me , hook, line and sinker !!