What is the best 6SN7 driver tube?

    I say let's revive this thread; there are more people now than ever looking for the best sounding 6SN7 tube and now there are more choices than ever with so many Chinese companies now making tubes and tube amplifiers.  Psvane, Shuguang, and Linlai are all Chinese companies making very good tubes. I'm using a  Shuguang CV181-Z tube for my 6SN7 tube and a NOS RCA 5691 tube for my 6SL7 tube and they sound very good together, The Shuguang is softer and a little laid back while the RCA 5691 is warmer and more forward sounding so they complement each other nicely.  The Shuguang is really a 6SN7 tube labeled as a  CV181 tube and it draws the same heater current of 600ma as a 6SN7 tube and not the higher 950ma heater current that the old Mullard CV181. The RCA 5691 does have a heater current of 600ma which is higher than the 300ma of the 6SL7 tube so you need to make sure your transformer can handle the extra current. My Chinese made RFTLYS A5 tube amplifier has pretty beefy transformers and it doesn't seem to have any problem using the 5691 tubes in place of the 6SL7 tubes. The transformer is only getting slightly warmer than before; it is not hot you can leave your hand on it for as long as you want.

For those of you that are into NOS tubes, I've discovered a treasure trove of information that is still available on line.

All 20 issues of the Vacuum Tube Magazine are available on line in .pdf format and can be downloaded for free.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0414/vacuum_tube_valley.htm

I found a listening test done on many 6SN7 tubes back in 1999 on page 9 of issue #11 which gave each tube a numerical score.

The top six scoring tubes were:

The Mullard CV181 (ST shaped 1952)    score 97

Sylvania 6SN7W (metal base ring, top getter early 1940s)   score 97

Raytheon 6SN7WGT (brown base 1950s)  score 96

Sylvania VT-231 (bottom getter WWII era)  score 95

Sylvania 6SN7GT (top getter, black base early tri-plate 1950s)  score 95

GE 6SN7GTA (1953)  score 94

https://web.archive.org/web/20131122141643/http://www.jumpjet.info/Pioneering-Wireless/eMagazines/VTV/VTV11.pdf

I think this is a good thread to resurrect. There are other threads on this topic on Audiogon where it was explored quite enthusiastically in the last few years. They are worth seeking out.

I have obsessed and researched and bought and rolled many varieties of 6SN7 tubes in my Supratek Cortese preamp. It is an addiction.

I AM NOT AN EXPERT and don’t pretend to advise others about which 6SN7 is *best*. I think it is very system and circuit dependent, not to mention a matter of taste and personal preference. A great circuit with a highly developed parts list will make a lot of tubes sound great. A poor circuit can benefit from tubes where the characteristics of the tube serve as a remedy to counteract the shortcomings of the circuit design or parts build list.

I seem to recall reading a post in which someone expressed doubts about some of the VTV tube rankings because someone involved in the rankings had a bunch of tubes they wanted to sell. I don’t recall where I read this tidbit. Take it with a grain of salt.

One reason I wanted to chime in on this thread is that whoever came up with the rankings above arrived at different rankings than many of the other rankings on the ’net. The list above makes no mention of Tung Sol round plates, Ken-Rad black glass VT231s or the other highly sought after varieties of this wonderful tube. There are even current/recent production tubes that those with more experience than I have rate very highly. For instance, the no-longer-in-production Shuguang WE6SN7 PLUS tube. Highly sought after, virtually unobtainable since the fire in the Shuguang factory a few years back.

I have not had the pleasure or invested the time or money necessary to try any of the modern Chinese varieties, such as the so-called CV-181, the Linlai or the Psvane. There are some pretty cool looking varieties out there. Today a buddy of mine got a new Supratek preamp that used red-base Psvane 6SN7 tubes. They looked gorgeous with the color scheme of the new Cortese.

Don Sachs uses 6SN7 tubes in his preamp. Not sure what current production variety he is using but for a while he was using the Shuguang WE6SN7 plus tubes.

I think my best advise is to try a few varieties (use socket savers to protect your sockets from wear and tear), roll them, borrow some from a friend, and share your personal results here.

Let’s keep the ball rolling. I hope I have not stepped on anyone’s toes with my comments.

Last summer I picked up a lightly used Aric Audio Motherlode II.  The gentleman I purchased it from,sent it with a pair of Ken Rad black glass VT231’s. I also don’t have much experience with the 6snl7 tubes. However most that I have tried,( some 50’s,60’s RCA’s,Sylvania’s,GE) don’t seem to match what I’m hearing with the KenRads.  I do at some point plan on trying Psvane,and possibly Linlai globe type tubes.

      More impressions/opinions/info, here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-reference-6sn7-thread.117677/

                       and, here:

https://www.audiotubes.com/6sn7.htm

I too have tried many 6sn7 tubes over the years.  My Rogue Metis Magnum pre-amp takes a pair of these tubes.  Currently I'm using Sylvania 6sn7w short bottle black base.  Out of all the tubes I've tried these are my favorite besides the metal base 6sn7w"s.  I own most of the top rated USA tubes on the VTV shoot out list.  For the ones I own I would say the ratings and descriptions of the tubes are pretty spot on.  I'm lucky that I have a local guy that tests and sell tubes.  I've known him so long that he gave me a pair of metal base Sylv. 6sn7w's to try out.  The black base ones I have now sounded close enough to the metal I didn't buy them.  The best non-expensive tube in my opinion is the GE 6ns7gta.  It does a lot of things right for a relatively low price for an old stock tube.