lets talk el84s.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: lets talk el84s.

I've looked into this my self. If you've already tried Sovtek and JJ then the only other options that come to mind are Electro Harmonix and Tung Sol. I prefer the Tung Sols over EHX and they're brighter than JJ's. I have some in my Friedman amp. You can also get Shuguang EL84's for about $16 for a matched pair. Shuguang is one of the top manufacturers of preamp tubes. Shuguang is not the same as the cheap Chinese tubes. They're high quality and used by many top boutique builders. Then there's Valve Art who makes affordable but good quality power tubes. You can also get Mullard EL84's. Take your pick man.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: lets talk el84s.

Valve Art are a Hong Kong based company that select/rebrand Shuguangs. They don't manufacture.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: lets talk el84s.

Valve Art are a Hong Kong based company that select/rebrand Shuguangs. They don't manufacture.

Ok so they don't make them. Thanks for pointing that out Poindexter. Either way, like Ruby and TAD, etc..., re-branding doesn't equate to exactly the same thing. Ruby, TAD, GT, ARS, etc... all rebrand but there's a reason why companies prefer any of the re-branded products. In any case, they're another choice on the market.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: lets talk el84s.

Sure & that's why I prefer to get the Valve Art stuff myself. A lot of the 'Shuguang's' off ebay are leftovers tubes from Ruby/TAD/Valve Art's selection process (ie ..the rejects)


...did'nt mean to be petty...just stating the fact/clarifying that they're not manufacturers.

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: lets talk el84s.

It's cool man. I was being playful. I can understand why there might be a need to clarify that because I agree that labels are used to loosely and Ebay is saturated with ripoffs. From my understanding, and correct me if I'm wrong, there were two Chinese manufacturers; Shuguang and I forget the other. Shuguang made the good Chinese tubes, and the other were cheap tubes, but Shuguang eventually kind of took over... or was it that there were two parts of the same company and Shuguang was the good part? I don't remember. All I know is that Shuguang makes some of the best tubes.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: lets talk el84s.

Not sure myself. I've come across a company called 'Beijing Shuguang' ..not sure if that's to differentiate themselves from the other Shuguang though....then there's 'Sino' (their logo is a bunch of shooting stars). There seem to be at least a couple of manufacturers out of China. The Shuguang/Ruby/Tad/Valveart stuff is great though. I especially like their 12AX7-B's & EL34B's. The KT66's are pretty well regarded too. The Shuguang (Ruby) EL84's were a bit too bright for my tastes..