Opinions Please - New Prodduction Sophia EL34ST Coke Bottle
I've used the PSvane black bottles for about 2 years. 3 tube failures out of 8 in a CJ amplifier. I've used lots of el34's for the past 20 years I've owned that amp and the new gold lions are pretty good and essentially about the same cost as a set of vintage winged C's. For my musical tastes & equipment, the PSvane sounded the best but the amp is used as a midrange amplifier only. Twice the tubes caused other amplifier damage when they went but only about $150 each time for repair costs. But if you add that cost into the original purchase price you are talking about a lot especially when you want matched pairs. So you have purchase price plus replacement cost plus repair cost. Had same problems with my son's Audio Research tube amp used for mids with Shuguang Black Treasures. 1 in 4 failed and took down parts as usually the case with audio research tube failures. Once again, they did sound the best when working. The trouble is nobody stands behind tube reliability especially if you are looking at getting 3 years or so out of them. My friend says the tube manufacturers should all stand behind their "great midrange" claims with a 1 year unconditional money back guarantee. How nice would that be? That would help the reliability issue quite a bit & would sure help us tube amplifier owners when it's time to re-tube. |
@jond @zadfrak Thanks zadfrak for your contributions. Although it doesn't really address the SophiaEL34, I included a link (listed below) that provided you have not previously seen it; you may find interesting/helpful http://wallofsound.ca/audioreviews/tubes/el34-tube-comparison-with-tubes-supplied-by-www-thetubestor... |
