5AR4 rectifier tube question
I am sort of shopping for one or more 5AR4s for a Cary SLP05 power supply because I’d like to have at least one spare and because I’d maybe like to roll two or three ad see if I can hear an improvement or vice versa. I make no claims of knowing much about the vacuum tube game; occasionally I get lucky & stumble on something that really works for me. As far as the 5AR4, I did a hit at Uncle Kevin’s site, and there were some that looked interesting (I am thinking of one in particular, it had a Japanese sounding name that started with a ’M’) but when I click on it, all I get is a picture of Uncle Kevin’s screaming face telling me "not to buy tubes" (later, when I finally took time to read, apparently his tube tester is down).
So I started doing hits on Ebay, and oh my gosh! I was inundated with choices and the variation in prices! Which do I stay away from and which should I be interested in? Would a 5AR4 from Bugera also be suitable for what I’d want to use it for? Could a rectifier tube provide a big sonic upgrade if I spent enough money on it? Can I make a sonic upgrade from what I believe (I haven’t opened up the power supply yet) is the stock EH 5AR4 without breaking the bank? I would be totally good with the $50.00 range and picking up 2 or 3 different ones to play with if those with experience thought I could improve the power supply in that range. If I had to I guess I could go more (the $100.00 range) but I probably wouldn’t be buying too many of them, and I was kind of HOPING not to go much over that.
Anyway, thanks in advance for the input; I always consider it part of my education.
The metal base sounds different than the first bakelite "fat base" or any later Mullard 5AR4/GZ34. I found, in the context of my application (a power supply for an Allnic H3000, where the rectifier is the only tube I roll), that the metal base from Holland (actually, a Philips/Miniwatt) has unbelievably good bass and more "punch" (without being in your face), but in my overall system, it doesn’t have finesse of my preferred tube-- the top octaves are simply not as open or airy. The Mullards are a standard good old tube, known for good sound, reliable service and long life. What you’ll usually find in the open market are "pulls"- used tubes that test good. Some of these rectifiers can apparently live almost forever. But finding true never used tubes from WWII and later era is a whole other thing. Andy has been a good source for that. @immatthewj - did you ever look at that Dubstep Girl’s Massive 5AR shoot-out? You will not typically find the WE tube at all. The GEC is available usually as a pull, and tres cher. I found a NIB, never used industrial version in Mumbai with one week shipping. I have a brown base too--branded as Brimar, with original box that I put some miles on. Is there a difference, yeah, but the black base I got from India is fine and a "fresher" tube. The old WWII era double bottom getter RCA is supposed to be the bomb, and not at rarified prices, but it isn’t a straight equivalent to the 5AR4; I have a NIB one, but haven’t tried it. I rolled, I found a good tube and for my system, I’m sticking with it. But I did go through the process, and have a bunch of back-ups, as well as the benefit of trying different things to optimize. Maybe swapping out rectifiers in some gear makes less of a difference, but for me, the rectifier roll was the most important tube in the Allnic. The factory tube was tizzy.
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