Siemens EL 34
I came across Siemens EL 34 tubes for sale at RAM tubes.
My understanding is that these are 1970's tubes manufactured at the old Telefunkin factory.
I have heard conflicting reports of the sonic character of this era Telefunkin tube. On one extreme warm and large sound stage. On the other end, thin and a bit bright.
Has anyone heard that era Siemens/ Telefunkin EL 34?
decoony, no I have not tried them. I'll probably play it as is for 6 mos. or so before I try different outputs. Yes, I've ready somewhere that the Upscale Audio folks recommend KT77's as an upgrade in EL34 based amps. There's a minty pair of AES/Cary six-packs for sale on Ebay and craigslist not too far from my area - have you by chance tried those? Too many output tubes for me but I've heard they're great sounding. |
@decooney I tried Gold Lion KT77's back when I owned a Music Reference RM9 MK2. I preferred Gold Lion KT88's and Siemens EL34's in this amp, as the GL KT77's lacked emotion and just sounded too clean & lean in my experience. YMMV. |
i’m curious, in your comment below, are you referring to modern day production russian made gold lion kt77’s -- or -- the true-blue old stock british gec/mo-valve/genalex gold lion kt77’s? in my experience, i still find the real deal british kt77’s to be the absolute pinnacle of all el34 equivalents, a step above even british mullard or dutch amperex el34’s.... silky smooth yet extended highs, dense yet tactile and delicate midrange with a beautiful spotlighting effect, and terrific control and slam down low (which the mullards lack to a degree) ... |
@jjss49 both the KT77 and KT88's that I have owned are the current re-issues, which I've heard pale in comparison to the originals. |
