EL34 differences in air & stage depth?

To all who replied...Thanks for your input. For various reasons (not just cost)...I decided to go with SED Winged C EL34s. If these don't get the job done, I'll give further consideration to the Siemens NOS option. What I've leared that complicated that choice is the range of "Siemens" NOS tubes out there.

I found this link, enlightening:
http://www.tube-classics.de/TC/Tubes/AudioTubes.htm

Right now I´m listening to a Harma EL34 quad in my Leben 660P amp and they are fantastic and they are cheap. You can find them in Watford Valves from UK.

I second the Electro Harmonixes are very good too.

BTW, I´ve been trying other Harma tubes (KT-66, E34L, 5881) and they are great.

Greetings from Spain.

Daniel

Jesusa0

The Harma E34L appears to be a house brand of Watford Valves, likely a JJ Tesla E34L based on construction and shape. The price at Watford Valves is 14.77 pounds (about $23.50 each US Dollar).

For those of us in the USA this tube is available from dealers here for $17.50 or less. I'm not challenging your choice of tubes, just offering choices for Audiogon members in the USA.

I used Tesla E34L tubes in my Wolcott amps back when I owned them. It is indeed a great tube, better than many discussed here but in my opinion not as good as Wing C.

As I mentioned already, the best choice is used or new old stock Mullard, Siemens or Telefunken.

Ghosthouse, that site in Germany is the property of Karsten Schmidt. I've been dealing with him for many years. His tubes are exactly as represented and he stands behind his product.

Jesus - Thanks for your input...it may help others considering EL34 tube changes.

Albert - The Classic Tubes site helped me further appreciate the ways in which "not all NOS is created equal". After reviewing the info there, I felt more confident simply getting current production tubes. From your comments and those of many others, the Winged Cs seemed like the way to go for current production.

They arrived yesterday and I have about 20 hours on them (over and above Doug's burn in hours). They've made a big difference in my system. There is much more air and 3-dimensionality. Plenty of power and impact. Bass is deep, and well-defined. Couldn't be happier. Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Ghosthouse, your comment "Couldn't be happier" is what really matters.

I have 160 Wing C 6550 on order right now. I think that speaks volumes about how much I respect Wing C.

Then again, 160 authentic NOS KT88 Genelex are unaffordable and probably would take forever to locate. EL 34 Mullard are not that rare and expensive but will be someday.

In other words, enjoy 'em while you can :^).