Hi, I've bought some very nice Nos RCA 5Z3 valves, under the impression that they would fit my amp which takes 5Z3-P or 5U4-G as standard, I think I can use them if I buy some 5Z3-5U4-G valve adaptors, has anyone any experience with these? Are they reliable and how do they affect the sound quality?
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
They are so the same that Tunsol listed them on the same data sheet.
https://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/127/5/5Z3.pdf
https://frank.pocnet.net/sheets/127/5/5Z3.pdf
As Mr. Quipple has discovered, they are the same electrically, but use different bases. I would replace the Chinese 8 pin socket with a good quality NOS 4 pin socket. Both the NOS sockets and NOS RCA 5Z3s will improve reliability.
It is a sad fact that Chinese and Russian ST bottle 5U4 "equivalents" are utter trash. Palustris is correct about RCA 5Z3s being a big step up in quality. However, there is a case for the UX4 to Octal adapter. The current production ElectroHarmonix 5U4GB (cylindrical bottle) is quite decent and U.S. made OS 5U4GBs have not yet become stratospheric in price.
As 10 or more years of service per OS 5Z3 is a very reasonable expectation, I'm inclined to agree with the socket replacement suggestion. Holding the number of mechanical connections down never hurts.
As 10 or more years of service per OS 5Z3 is a very reasonable expectation, I'm inclined to agree with the socket replacement suggestion. Holding the number of mechanical connections down never hurts.
Thanks, I suspected that the Nos US valves would be a better bet than the Russian/Chinese ones, but before I change an octal base I wanted to try them through an adaptor (not such n invasive step!), so I was wondering, as there are some on ebay, has anyone any experience in using them?
Hi, Yes, I agree, especially about the amount of connections, however I'm glad to hear about the RCAs spound quality as I can't yet play them.
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