Best EL34 ?

I tried Sylvania. Soft, lush (nicely) sounding. The best experience I had was with military grade telefunken. Mine came in a standard gray box with the tele logo & the (german?) army order No on it. Very good resolution, good transient attack, had to drive them hard for higher listening levels, as I remember.

However, isn't the sonic result dependant to a certain degree on amp topology ? My experience was with a Jadis and later a Klimo Linnet pair. Maybe not applicable to other brands.

After just getting a unbelievable quad of Mullard fat base EL34s I now deem them number 1. The set I had was clearly on their last legs, but still far better then anything current. This new quad look and test like new...and I am blown away. The Amperex double d getter 34 has lost the title. Anybody who's looking for premium 34s contact me, the Amperex's are on the block.

Longplate>How are they different? What did you pay for the fat bases? I'm actually looking for the Amperex double-D's. I heard they are the most dynamic. I've heard great things of the fat bases as well. Thanks MikE

My favourite it a humble modern tube by EI, the fat bottle 6CA7 - back in production thankfully.
I find them a big step towards neutrality, most 34's are too "sweet" for my taste, ultimately cloying. I find KT88's etc too much the other way, though I could live with them.

To me the EI fat bottles are a nice compromise. Very musical, but still with baggs of detail and a FAR more "kick-but" bottom end, where I find most 34's a bit soft.
They are also very long lived and almost impossible to kill. I had a coupling capacator go short while I was out of the room, when I came in the whole plate was bright red! The glass has discouloured, but blow me, it still worked and almost biased up as well!
After replacing the capacator it kept going for some months untill I could afford a new octet of them.
That does not imply that I have a cheap system, just that I frequently max out my credit card to improve it, pay the card off, then do it again.
I now carry spares and yes, I have used various nos 34's including Mullard, Amperex and Telles.
Just personal taste - I will swear by telle flat plate AX7's and bugle boy AT7's (and have just melted my card cornering a lifetime supply) - but try the EI's - I don't rate them as "guitarist's tubes" - I love em!