What is the best 6SN7 driver tube?

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. 

The addition of a couple NOS Sylvania GTA 6SN7 tubes really made my Schiit Freya+ perform beautifully. It doesn't seem to matter what tubes are in the buffer stage. I think I have Tungsol or Electro Harmonix. A Chinese brand Shuguang have sounded very good in the Freya. These things are tall and have a "Belted" shape for lack of a better term. My Sylvanias were $100 for a pair.