Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

[Benjy_26]

Hey everyone.

I pulled out the tubes in my Bassman last night. For years, I thought I was running a NOS pair of RCA 6L6's (previous owner put 'em in) in this thing. When I pulled them, I noticed that they are marked as 5881's. What's the difference between these tubes?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LoFiBrian]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

Pretty much power handling...so they have less headroom and earlier breakup and compression than a true 6L6.

pretty much just a lower wattage 6l6...

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

Military grade 6L6 at the end of the day.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

Military grade 6L6 at the end of the day.

the old ones are just that. a high vaccum military 6l6. the new ones are really more like a different version of a 6l6. maybe lower headroom, maybe higher wattage, maybe earlier breakup. i dont think anyone is actually making a real 5881. the new tung sol 5881 are cool tubes but they dont sound like an old 5881

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

Yeah....same with alot of other tubes these days....sad!

 

[jimmy]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

5881's always sounded like really cheesy 6L6 tubes to me.

I'd just get a set of NOS 6L6's, but if you like yer sound, then just stick with the 5881's and save some cash.

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Tell me about 5581's vs. 6L6's.

In a word, 5881's sound "smaller".