Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

@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.

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.

@ram18 , a quad of Linlai's may provide more clarity and weight. I'm going to try them in my both my preamp and amp. The reason I recommended the GTBs over other Sylvanias was to take the edge off your speakers and for their deep imaging. Most Sylvania have extended and detailed highs. 

@lowrider57 Thanks for the suggestion. You are spot on about the Sylvania GTBs. They do take off the edges off my speakers and my system's sharpness is not too forward in a good way. The imaging from the GTBs are pretty good too for its price point as you have shared;  its detailed yet provides easy listening.  Vocals involve the listener.  However, soundstage width and bass are not its strong points, though decent.  Now I need to experiment with the highly regarded Linlais:)

Email from Linlai yesterday: No outbound shipping for consumer orders due to Covid restrictions in China. Order is forwarded for fulfillment from overseas distributor – expected shipping time in Mid June. If you don’t accept this deferred shipping, you may contact us to cancel your order. Thanks.