EL34 Tubes for Conrad-Johnson MV-55

On the EL34: Mullards, but you'll pay bucks for them, especially if you need a matched set.

On 6SN7's: get a matched pair of NOS Sylvania or Ken-Rad JAN VT231's, military equivalents of 6SN7, circa 1945, about $90-110 on ebay. Black glass versions are best but are about $120 if you can find them.

If you are interested, I have a good seller for the VT231's in Australia (not me).

Thanks for the advise.
I think I'll try the svets as the mullards are tempting but not at their going price. This is my second system so I like to keep the price down.

Steve

Steve, you might also want to consider a 6CA7, either from G.E. (hard to find and expensive) or Ei. A matched quad of the Ei's will run you about $70.00 on eBay. One nice bonus on the Ei 6CA7's is they produce a bit more power than an EL34, at least in my VTL monoblocks.

Hi,

This is what I like for the MV55:

1) Mullard Long plate 12AX7
Sylvania 6SN7W short bottle

2) GE 5751 tri mica
STC Brimar CV1988 black glass

3) Amperex Bugle Boy 12AX7
RCA VT-231

I'm using JJ E34L blue glass. Tube rolling the 12AX7 and the 6SN7 changes the sound more than the EL34. I prefer the JJ E34L to Svetlana for a more airy and less harsh highs.

Regards

Thanks for all the advice. Looks like I'll have my hands full trying to track these tubes down and then comparing them, but that's part of the fun!

Thanks again,
Steve