Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

Hi @rocray Not sure at this juncture, and its because of how these tubes sounded in the first 45 minutes and the next 6 hours brand new. I’m more use to the sound being kinda strange first 2-20 hours on new input tubes like this.

First, I’m wondering if these were pre-burned in 72hrs or something like that. I doubt it, but they almost sounded too good at 6hrs of run-in time last night. So much so, that I don’t want them to change any more, hoping they stay put as-is.

Trying not to pre-judge them yet, they are too new, will try to run them in some more evenings this week and a lot more next weekend. I’m comparing them to my NOS Sylvania 3-hole black plates,  TJ Full Music 6SN7s, and generic TS re-issue 6SN7GTBs as a very wide baseline to compare to. To be fair, I’d need to buy a set of Linlai too, maybe later this year on those. Will do.

@decooney, thanks for your feedback on the Psvanes.  It will be interesting to hear how they stack up once broken in,but I’m guessing you like them very much at this point. 
          I have about 95 hours on the Linlai’s. I’d be pretty shocked if they were to change drastically in the next few hours.  I still haven’t put the KenRads back in,but one thing that these offer up(to my ears) is realism in tone. Stan Getz sounds like he’s right in front of me.  The tone is full bodied,and bass is tight and deep. They also get cymbals right. They have the right “ting” and “splash”. As you can tell,I’m not a writer,or musician.  I’m really looking forward to more folks getting some ear time with these.

           Ray

@rocray Good to hear. And @decooney good to hear that you’re evaluating the Psvanes. I’ll be watching thread with interest.

This thread is causing my "need to increase my backup supply of tubes" addiction to rear its’ ugly head again. 🤨 I don’t need more 6SN7s. I’ve got a pretty good supply. But there’s always that nagging fear of missing out. After all, I never bought any of those so-called WE 6SN7 plus tubes, which were very highly rated, and they became unavailable. Neither did I every buy any of the various versions of the CV-181s, and they’re very highly rated, too. 😕 I’m almost afraid of trying either the Linlais or the Psvanes. If I like them I’ll want another pair as backup. Geez! Not to mention the fact that I also run 300Bs in one of my amps and know there are a lot of good sounding options out there for those, including the Linlai options. 🤔

@markusthenaimnut "...If I like them I’ll want another pair as backup."

Exactly. It does present a unique challenge when we find something you like even "better". Makes a case for us learning to be content with what we have now. Not! LOL :) 

@markusthenaimnut,LOL! It’s a sickness that drives many of us. I was reading some threads on another forum yesterday,and found out Western Electric will be manufacturing 6sn7 tubes that will be officially released in September. No idea about pricing. There is a gentleman over on SH forums that tested a set of preproduction tubes,and said they are very good. I’m hoping to grab a pair if they aren’t out of my budget.