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Current production EL34 tubes for vtl mb-125

My power tubes are getting a little long in the tooth, and now that the St. Petersburg factory is no longer putting out new winged c tubes, they are fetching very high "nos" prices - too rich for my blood. Anyone know what vtl is using in these amps as original equipment these days?  Any strong opinions on the difference between the similarly priced Mullard and tung sol reissues, and the newer shuguangs (the normal ones - not the treasures).  I'd really like to keep as close to the winged c sound as possible, without paying $75 for a $25 tube (I need 8 of them, so it starts to add up).  For context - I've tried the genalex kt77 reissue, and they are not for me - well made and neutral, for sure, but maybe just a little "stiff" for my taste. Any informed input would be welcome. Thanks. 
128x128strat1117
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strat1117 OP
46 posts
 
Thanks for all the responses, gentlemen. I agree that the shuguang treasure/psvanes are great, but as I stated in my original post, I'm trying to avoid spending $100/tube. The JJs are certainly on my radar, but I wouldn't know how to choose between el34, e34l, el34ii, kt77 and 6ca7?!

tooblue - I seriously need to update my virtual system. Yes, the mb125s eventually replaced the st150, but there were a few other amps in between. Same for speakers. I replaced the wilsons with quads, but eventually wanted to go back to dynamic speakers, ultimately "settling" on a pair of vandersteen quads. I'd venture that most of the difference between the mb125 and the st150 is due to el34 vs 6550.  BUT ... I HAD to replace my st150, which failed catastrophically in a way that was simply not cost effective to repair - I can't say I did it as a direct upgrade, and there are too many other variables for me to make any reliable comparison.  

Thanks. 
durkn
68 posts
 
Retubed my VTL MB 125 amps with Genalex Gold Lion KT77.
Sounds much better than the EH EL34 that were in them.
strat1117's avatar
strat1117 OP
46 posts
 

New response to an old response to an even older thread - the Gold Lion KT77 ended up being my solution for the MB125’s too. Took forever to loosen up and settle in, but once they did - wow!  Unfortunately, in the current political climate, Russian made tubes are becoming scarce and fetching NOS prices. I just paid ~$135 for a matched and tested pair of Gold Lion 12at7’s for my headphone amp - they sound great, but $67.50 ea. for a ‘new’ production 12at7? Ouch!!!

immatthewj
1,894 posts
 

Oops, I didn’t see that this was a necro thread when I replied.

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