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What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

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  • #16
    Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

    curious to hear what you think of the tads once you get them in

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    • #17
      Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

      Originally posted by jeremy View Post
      curious to hear what you think of the tads once you get them in
      Well, for starters, I just learned it's the same tube Ruby offers as the EL84C for a bit less money, haha.
      Last edited by Rex_Rocker; 06-19-2019, 07:37 PM.

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      • #18
        What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

        They claim TADs go through the most rigorous testing and approval process. Don’t know what process Ruby uses to test and weed out poorer quality tubes.

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        • #19
          Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

          I've had good nothing but good experience with Ruby tubes, myself, but I always get them off Doug's Tubes or some third party vendor who further tests them. Hell, they come stock in Diezel amps. Surely they can't be too bad.

          We'll see if the TADs stack up to the hype, though. They're scheduled for delivery today! Woo!
          Last edited by Rex_Rocker; 06-20-2019, 10:27 AM.

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          • #20
            Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

            Well... they sound nice, but saying they sound 6V6-like is a pretty blatant exaggeration.

            They do sound cleaner/clearer than the Sovteks, but the difference is not night and day. They do have a little bit less cloudy mids and a bit more top-end detail, but the low-end is pretty much the same.

            Overall, I like them, but they're not what I expected.

            Here's a small clip. The TADs first, Sovteks second: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9ko86xzcz...ovtek.mp3?dl=0

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            • #21
              Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

              ive never heard a el84 that sounded 6v6 like or vise versa, they have fairly distinct tonal characteristics

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              • #22
                Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                I find it kinda weird that the differences are pretty subtle when going between different EL84's in my EVH, yet on my Krank, there was a MASSIVE difference between power tubes. The Krank does take 6V6's, 5881's, and 6L6's, though. The Krank is cathode biased too. This EVH has an adjustable fixed bias.
                Last edited by Rex_Rocker; 06-20-2019, 08:25 PM.

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                • #23
                  Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                  Cathode bias changes the sound of the tubes because they aren’t operating at their ideal setting.

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                  • #24
                    Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                    Originally posted by Rex_Rocker View Post
                    I find it kinda weird that the differences are pretty subtle when going between different EL84's in my EVH, yet on my Krank, there was a MASSIVE difference between power tubes. The Krank does take 6V6's, 5881's, and 6L6's, though. The Krank is cathode biased too. This EVH has an adjustable fixed bias.
                    It makes sense actually, in the fixed bias you are only hearing the change of 1 tube to another. In the cathode bias the amp will in a sense adjust itself to the tubes, so you are hearing the difference in tubes plus the difference in voltage draws in the circuit.
                    "It keeps you fit - the alcohol, nasty women, sweat on stage, bad food - it's all very good for you." -Bon Scott

                    "Let me put it this way: the 5150 will treat
                    you better than any girlfriend, because it screams louder, it's easier to pick up, and it shuts up when you take your plug out." -Rip Glitter

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                    • #25
                      Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                      Originally posted by beaubrummels View Post
                      Cathode bias changes the sound of the tubes because they aren’t operating at their ideal setting.
                      Fixed bias isnt necessarily ideal either, I dunno maybe ideal is a bad word choice. Cathode bias is less efficient. But depending on your application that might be ideal.

                      The difference in sound is even in just how the biasing systems differ. In a cathode bias system as the signal increases and the tube draws more power, the resistor that is used on the cathode will increase the negative voltage and actually change the bias moment to moment.

                      In contrast in a fixed system there is no resistor, there is a separate circuit to provide the negative voltage this voltage doesnt change moment to moment.

                      This is where the big differences in sound and feel come from.
                      "It keeps you fit - the alcohol, nasty women, sweat on stage, bad food - it's all very good for you." -Bon Scott

                      "Let me put it this way: the 5150 will treat
                      you better than any girlfriend, because it screams louder, it's easier to pick up, and it shuts up when you take your plug out." -Rip Glitter

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                      • #26
                        Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                        Interesting read on cathode vs. fixed biased. Thanks for the replies, dudes!

                        I guess my next step was going to be the Sovtek EL84M, but I kinda feel a bit discouraged by the fact that there's a very minimal difference between the three types of EL84's I've tried so far. I am happy with how the TAD sounds, though, so I guess this experimentation hasn't been worthless.

                        Originally posted by jeremy View Post
                        ive never heard a el84 that sounded 6v6 like or vise versa, they have fairly distinct tonal characteristics
                        Yeah, I was just referring to The Tube Store's review of the TAD EL84. They mention it sounds like a 6V6. It doesn't, like, at all, lol.
                        Last edited by Rex_Rocker; 06-21-2019, 06:33 AM.

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                        • #27
                          Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                          I have heard much more difference when adjusting bias on EL84s than changing brands. I ended up using JJs because they were reliable.

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                          • #28
                            Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                            Originally posted by misterwhizzy View Post
                            I have heard much more difference when adjusting bias on EL84s than changing brands. I ended up using JJs because they were reliable.
                            Reliable is different than "sounds good".
                            Al

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                            • #29
                              Re: What are the cleanest and loudest EL84's?

                              I was recording a test using all three pairs of EL84's I had, and the JJ's blew up, lol. One of them red plated horribly and started going up and down in volume and crackling loudly. TBH, JJ's didn't sound bad, but they were my least favorite of the three I have at hand. They were kinda like their ECC83's: kinda held-back upper mids, emphatic lower mids, and not much extension in the very low end. Not going to be buying JJ's, that's for sure, but that's just me.

                              Anyone have any opinions on the Gold Lion EL84's, or maybe Sovtek EL84M's or Tung Sols?
                              Last edited by Rex_Rocker; 06-22-2019, 07:12 PM.

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