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Tung-Sol Reissue 6SN7 vs EH 6SN7 - Differences

I ordered a matched pair of the new Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB tubes being made in Russia for my Supratek Chenin preamp and have been listening to them versus the stock 6SN7EH tubes. The Tung-Sols sound a bit fuller in tone than the EH, while retaining the bass and treble extension of the EH - in short, I prefer the Tung-Sols.
Before listening, I examined the two tubes very closely side-by-side, and could not see any differences in construction other than the fact that the Tung-Sol has a black plate and the EH has a gray plate. I was expecting them to sound identical, but I noticed the fuller tone of the Tung-Sol right away. I decided to contact New Sensor and ask them what the difference between these tubes really was.
They answered my email within an hour or so, as follows:

"The Tung-Sol 6SN7 has internal differences. The internal geometry is different and the grids are gold plated."

If we take them at their word, the Tung-Sols are not merely re-badged EHs as has been suggested by some. Thoughts? Anyone else have the same listening impressions as me?
ait
larryken
537 posts
 
if you want to blow your mind...try some NOS Sylvania 6SN7W's ....you'll think you bought a new amp (a better one to boot)
Larry
ait OP
480 posts
 
I know - that's what I keep hearing. I'm just trying to find what I like in the current-production world first - NOS is expensive and you never know what you're actually getting from the seller. I'm sure I'll succumb to the NOS bug sooner or later.
By the way, I actually like the dynamics of the 6SN7EH a lot, it just sounds bright/harsh in the highs in my system. The Tung-Sol eliminates some of that brightness, while retaining the dynamics; at least it does in my system.
I also tried the Chinese Sino/Shuguang 6SN7. It is much warmer than the EH or the TS, but the whole presentation is less focused and the dynamics are nowhere near as good. Too big of a tradeoff in my opinion.
dgarretson
2,599 posts
 
It's good there are now two kinds of high-quality 6SN7s from New Sensor within a few dollars of each other. I have NOS Raytheon & Sylvania chrome tops to compare to EH 6SN7 & yes the NOS are better. But the EH are quite good. In many instances the considerable expenditure of rolling NOS tubes might be more wisely committed to circuitry mods that produce greater returns than tube rolling.
ait OP
480 posts
 
One thing I forgot to mention - it seems that the TS like to be driven a little harder than the EH. When I first swapped in the TS, they sounded light in the bass and lower mids. The Chenin is very adjustable, though, so I moved the gain switches behind the 6SN7s from low to medium, and turned down the master level control on the back of the pre one notch - voila, the bass and mids were at least as good as the EH now, with the highs still much more accurate, and the volume control still had the same range. Gotta love flexibility!
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