EL34 & 6L6 characteristics

Thanks for the info Musicrazy .

Just an update while listening to the Mesa 6L6 GC 430 ...
I called Mesa today and they are claiming Sodek In Russia as the manufacturer of these particular tubes . It seems that each iteration of the 4x0 designation , 430 in my case , denotes a different manufacturer .
These tested out near the top of the scale so I am thinking that they are unused . They did open up a little after about 6 hours of initial use . The Mesa's seem to do everything , extension , detail and separation a little bit better than the EH's but are lacking in enjoyment/musicality .
As my wife puts it "they don't have any sparkle or make you want to get up and dance like the EH 6L6's did ! These Mesa's are for sitting back and relaxing." I have noticed that on the CD Clapton & JJ Cale I can hear two distinct voices singing , something that I have not heard with the EH 6L6's or the EH EL34's .
I will give these Mesa's some more burn in time and then try the Ruby EL34L's (Shuguang).

Happy Tunes.

Just an update to this thread .
After having tried some more variants ie. the reddish/brown
based Shuguang EL34's and the Black Treasure 6CA7's , the BT 6CA7's are the winner ! They embody most of the traits that I was seeking . Air when it is present , defined bass , really nice midrange with just enough warmth and the best definition that I have heard from any power tube . Referencing the above definition of the voice separation , not only do I get the best delineation between the voices but now I can also hear JJ Cale missing his que and coming in late ! This is with the stock Shuguang input and driver tubes !
The only thing that I am missing is some sparkle and top end extension . I am hoping to find these with some small tube rolling .
Thank you all for your help with my quest .

What small tubes does t use?

Ryriken66 ;
It uses 12AU7's .

Hi Saki, I'm not sure this will help but I'll go ahead and share.

I've been in this hobby for decades and owned many different amps, both tube and SS. My first stereo was a Dynakit ST-70 with EL-34s and later I had a Marantz 8B, followed by a MR RM-9. So I had many hours enjoying the midrange of EL-34s.

About six months ago I decided to try tubes again with some new (Janszen) speakers and found a clean pair of Manley Snapper amps. The chassis for these identifies EL-34 output tubes but my pair came with EH 6CA7s. When I contacted Manley about the tubes I was told the Snappers were introduced with EL-34s but then reliability issues popped up. So they switched production to the EH 6CA7s. Currently they found the EH EL34 reliability to be good so are again using them for production.

My EH 6CA7s test strong so I decided to continue with them and only roll in other types when it comes time for replacement. But I will say I delighted with the Manleys/6CA7. They provide everything I remember from the midrange magic with EL-34s. But they add low end extension and control, along with great detail and clarity (accurate instrumental tonalities) and surprising attack and dynamics.

But my point is from my own considerations and reading all the replies here I think we cannot simply judge a given tube in isolation. It must be considered in the context of the amp it drives (as others suggested here), the complementary tubes in that given amp, the characteristics of the speakers being driven, and of course personal taste. So with that hopefully the comments here can help to provide guidelines. But like every component in our respective systems, ultimately we must find out for ourselves.

PS - I also read warnings about reliability with JJ EL-34s so I hope latest production corrects that.