EL34: Svetlana or Ei?

You might try Harmonix. I've tried Sovtek, Svetlana, and a few chinese tubes. So far I'm enjoying the Harmonix.

Please excuse my possible incorrectness, but I didn't think Ei produced an EL34. They do make a tube which can be substituted in many circumstances, the 6CA7. In my travels, I have found that the best EL34s these days are from Svetlana and JJ(formerly Tesla and Teslovak). The Svetlana is by far the softest, sweetest, and most warm. The JJ tubes are more strident. If your system tends to brightness, I would recommend the Svetlana. If you have a soft or neutral system, I like JJ. The JJ is the most balanced of the current EL34 to me. JJ also makes another version of the EL34, the E34L. It is more powerful, with better bass response. A very nice sounding tube indeed. My very limited impressions of the 6CA7 were that it was closest to an E34L in sound.

Has anyone heard the svetlana 'mullard copy' el34 ?
Just curious.

By the way, Svetlanas main website has some great information on their tube's characteristics.

Dear Trelja: The 6CA7 is the American number for the EL34. It might be interesting to note that the 6CA7 pentode was manufactured in a metal shell envelope, similar to the metal 6L6 tube; I am not sure, but I think Sylvania was the maker of this tube. The suppressor grid (grid #3, pin #1) was connected to the shell inside the tube. This was around 1960-63. This tube had to run hot as hell!!