Linlai E 6sn7 tubes

@rah50 

 

On a slightly different topic:

Has anyone tried tube rings on the Global E-6SN7's?

I have no experience with tube rings, so just asking if we might hear an improvement.

Tube dampers are used to tighten up the resonances produced by a tube. A damper can help suppress the ringing sound from a slightly microphonic tube, once the tube has become fully microphonic nothing will help. Dampers will also tighten up a booming bass.

The reason I used them in one of my setups was when I had components with exposed tubes, audio rack on side wall, and the speaker dispersion was hitting the tubed components causing vibration.

Thanks @ram18 . The difference between the E-6SN7 horizontal logo and the Grant Fidelity Global Elite is still a mystery to me. There must be more than a different logo and different base. Specs may be different due to plate current and maybe emissions or different getter elements.

I wouldn't doubt if they are the same tube, maybe screened a little better from Grant Fidelity. If they truly are different, then why doesn't Linlai just say what the difference is inside the tube. All I know is my elite 6sl7 tubes sound better than my old favorite 1940's ken rad 6sl7 tubes, they even beat the ken rads in bass detail and impact, but the jury is still out on longevity.

@invalid 

It's great to hear about the performance of your Elite tubes. And to beat out 1940's Ken Rads especially in the bass is a big deal. I swapped out my E-6SN7 for a Ken Rad black glass and instantly had deep extension and full-bodied sound.

A couple of us have contacted Linlai factory and Grant Fidelity regarding a difference in tubes and both sidestepped the question. Linlai's answer is to only buy from their dealer, Grant Fidelity. Their warning about unauthorized dealers on Ebay is clear enough. But GF would only comment on the 2 types of 6SN7's they sell.

Based on the results of your Elites, and the poor performance of my horizontal lettered E-6SN7 in Audio Note and Atma-sphere components, I believe there are two different types of tubes. Just about any other 6SN7 inserted into my Audio Note preamp produces deep bass.

The grid structure between the two Linlai's may appear to be the same, but there must be something different internally. 

@hollykumi Hi . I own a Schiit Freya + as well. Just wish to ask what tubes you felt matched well with the amp in terms of sound quality from your perspective. My speakers are Klipsch 6000f RP  by the way.