@mulveling I went to Kevin’s site and did not see a video where he talks about 6H30s. Would you kindly share the link?
It’s not from a video. It’s Kevin’s written description under his sales page for Sovtek 6H30 tubes:
There are two types of 6H30 tubes currently being produced. The Sovtek brand which have the chrome pins (listed here), and the Electro Harmonix Gold pin. They are the same tube from the same factory. Don’t get your panties in a bunch over which is better, as the gold plating is laid over the chrome plating. They are both terrific. What is most important is how they test
I’ve been buying 6H30 tubes from Upscale for years, both kinds, and that description has been up for a while. If anything the gold pins make the sound slightly warmer by a fraction of a percent, but it’s really splitting hairs. So, Kevin is right-on on this one.
i am lost all of a sudden
op was asking for 6h30 equivalents for a pathos unit
how come we are talking about 12ax7’s now?
It looks like OP also has an input slot that uses 12ax7. I don’t know if it’s in the same Pathos unit or elsewhere. I really like that mix - 6H30 for clean line stage (or driver) slots, and 12ax7 for MM phono stage gain. That affords both lots of rolling opportunities and some classic tube sound via 12ax7, while imparting some of the great clarity & linearity of the 6H30. 12ax7 can also be a great input tube, but it can impart a LOT of gain.
The Mazda silver plate 12ax7 indeed has a bit of extra "zing" on top, but it’s not analytical nor sterile like a lot of tubes with a hot top end. It has a beautiful, liquid midrange and incredible bass. Gobs of detail and dynamics. Clarity for days (maybe so the French could call in their surrender loud and clear? 😂). But you DO need to avoid the 5751 variant of this tube - that’s just outright BRIGHT! Ugh, I got suckered into buying that one.