Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

@rah50  Thank you for the clarification. Helps clear the air. And tks for highlighting  the socket savers you use. Have sent you a PM. Appreciate your feedback. 

@decooney, this is actually the first tube I’ve ever had this issue with.   When you mentioned it,I remember I read this on Brent Jessee’s website,and I also remember hearing about tapping the tube to dislodge the cathode material somewhere else on the interwebs.  However,if you never had posted that,it never would have jogged my memory.  It took three separate tappings to get rid of the issue. ( I had noise, shut system down,tapped both tubes. Waited a couple minutes, popped them back in, fired everything up, rinse and repeat.  I also left the tubes out for a few days,and got re acquainted with the blue globe Psvanes.  I’m at about 15 hours of noise free enjoyment of the Linlai’s.  So far,everything seems to be back on track.

@rah50  Hi Rah. Unfortunately my PM didnt go through I think. Do you own a Schiit Freya+ and if you do, may I know how you find the Linlais with Freya+. Any other tubes you match the Linlais with?  Currently am using the Sylavania chrome top 6sn7 GTBs(yellow labels) along with the stock JJs. Plan to use the Linlais on gains and Sylvanias on buffer to get a better feel. The Sylvanias are being burnt in.  They do sound good.

Plus points are slightly warmer tones- non fatiguing, great clarity, sweet and smooth highs, good holographic feel with some depth in midrange. Things can be improved at least in my system are the soundstage which is there but not as wide and bass which is fairly decent.  Hoping with the burn in, it opens up more and  hoping the Linlais will add to the sonic delivery along with the Sylvanias.

As for the socket savers you highlighted, do they fit well with the Freya + and Linlais, as it could be fully seated. I  was concerned that adding another layer may affect sound quality but some of the respondents here feel otherwise. So am gonna experiment with sockets and am looking for a good one to get. Hope the ones you highlighted fits the bill. There is a black and gold version of these sockets I think with the gold ones being slightly pricier.

Thanks for your help. Appreciate it.

@ram18 Hi Ram: I do have a Freya+ but I don't have a lot of tube experience with it. I bought it without tubes and other than having 4 Elites in it, I initially had Elites in the gain stage and Psvane UK 6SN7's in the buffer. This sounded terrific but I was liking the Elites so much I got another pair for the buffer. The result was certainly worth the cost, much better soundstage, especially depth. Much better low end in quality and quantity, really just significantly better all around and that was immediately obvious even with zero hours on them. The Psvanes UK's are supposed to be pretty decent tubes and I still only have about 35 hours on the buffer stage pair of Elites. I'm really happy with my system at the moment, incredibly musical. As to the socket savers I recommended, I can't tell if they effect the sound, I hear varying reports about their usage in the forums. I have another brand which I don't like as much, way too tight. Didn't see the gold pin version, not sure it really helps or not. I can't imagine that the goodness the Elites bring would be negated enough to ditch them for a tube that doesn't need the savers. Hth, Bob

@rah50 Hi Bob, thanks for the insightful impressions and congrats on your purchase. Well since you own a Freya + it helps getting some accurate feedback.  I have been looking at these  E Linlai 6sn7s and there have been really good postive responses on this forum and others. Only thing, most have said it requires 100 hours of burn in or so.  Glad to hear at 35 hours you are seeing positive results. The PSVanes are no slouch either but I guess based on reviews and your experience, the Linlais edge it.

I like the the fact that the Linlais bring across better soundstage and better low ends (both quantity and quality) overall which is currently missing in my Sylvanias. Just to ask,  do you find the Linlais transparent? Reason being my  Sylvanias  while detailed, give a slight warm feel which has helped tone down my Klipsch slightly bright presentation. So hoping for the Linlai- Sylvania combo not to be too warm. 

Thanks for the info about the socket savers.  And as you say, good to invest in a good set of tubes with the sockets as it could bring more benefits without. Now am gonna try the socket savers for the Linlais. Currently, am thinking of matching Sylvanias on the buffer with Linlais on the gain. And if the Linlais are gonna score really well, may just get quad Linlais for my Freya + like you have done. Schiit apparently recommends all quads being of the same tube make.  So may go down that road.

Thanks for your insights and appreciate your views.