Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

The Linlai’s arrived today.  I’ll let them reach room temperature,then the burn in begins.  More to come…….

I now have about seven hours of play time.  I sat and listened for 5 minutes after the first 1/2 hr. My first impressions were exactly what I was told to expect,dark, no sparkle. I also noticed a very narrow soundstage.  I’ve been running mid 60’s GE 6SN7 GTB for the last month or so. Prior to the GE’s, I was running a pair of Brent Jessee KenRad vt231 black glass. The KenRads have been my reference tubes thus far.( I’ll be putting them back in after proper burn in of the Linlai’s) 

      I just sat down to have a listen,and the darkness is starting to fade,and the soundstage is becoming wider and deeper.  They are starting to show promise. 
 

    Ray

I agree with @atmasphere that Sophia should be avoided. My experience with their customer support has been terrible.

My Linlai tubes arrived just recently, haven't had time to try them yet.

Thanks to @rocray for bringing these to my attention.

Just ordered two for the Don Sachs Model 2 linestage. If they sound as good as expected, I’ll order two more for the remaining spots. Looking forward to hearing these.

Does the size of the glass affect sound in any way? If a company puts their normal size tube guts into larger glass, will it automatically perform better?

Thanks,

aldnorab

@vinylvalet,and @aldnorab, I’ve been told they need 100hrs of burn in. Please post your impressions here. I’m at about 55 hours. I m on vacation,so I’ve been running them 12-14 hrs a day. I haven’t done any analytical listening,but they are definitely filling in from first listen.

     @aldnorab, I’ve read in advertising copy about the shape of the glass affecting sound. I would have to defer that question to those more knowledgeable than myself.