Hi to everyone.
Today dead one my output tube - 6П14П (6P14P USSR). Made by 1985 year.
I decided to buy a pair of these tubes as a replacement.
Which one is the best in terms of sound, what manufacturer, year, series?
Mullard? Tungsram? Tesla? GE? RCA? Telefunken?
Thanks for your`s response.
Today dead one my output tube - 6П14П (6P14P USSR). Made by 1985 year.
I decided to buy a pair of these tubes as a replacement.
Which one is the best in terms of sound, what manufacturer, year, series?
Mullard? Tungsram? Tesla? GE? RCA? Telefunken?
Thanks for your`s response.
I do not know if this would be off any help, but maybe worth a quick read of each of the summary comments gives some clue to the sound, at least from a guitarists viewpoint. If they are suitable for low distortion high fidelity amps they sometimes mention that they are good in a Leak or dynaco amp.
https://www.watfordvalves.com/products.asp?search=el84
I thought that the NOS 6P14P's were known for their long life? If that is what you are after a modern replacement may not last as long and the older NOS valves carry a price premium as you can see. I do not know who makes the Harma Retro valve but that might be one possibility along with the Psvane for modern valves?
Please note that you could probably get a a quad of these 6P14P from a local eBay supplier for the price of buying one valve here in the UK.
https://www.watfordvalves.com/products.asp?search=el84
I thought that the NOS 6P14P's were known for their long life? If that is what you are after a modern replacement may not last as long and the older NOS valves carry a price premium as you can see. I do not know who makes the Harma Retro valve but that might be one possibility along with the Psvane for modern valves?
Please note that you could probably get a a quad of these 6P14P from a local eBay supplier for the price of buying one valve here in the UK.
The pictures are low quality, but those Harma tubes look like russian 6P14P to me.
The question 'which sounds best' is always a tricky one: depends on the application, amp, music style, personal preference...
Home audio or guitar amp?
The question 'which sounds best' is always a tricky one: depends on the application, amp, music style, personal preference...
Home audio or guitar amp?
What is you budget? Some of the brands you mentioned are getting very expensive nowadays. Then if you are looking for NOS, do you have a requirement for matched tubes? That can be a challenge with NOS unless you buy extra ones and match yourself.
Some of the top quality Russian examples are starting to become expensive, but 6П14П-ER mentioned by @grataku is probably the highest quality version currently available. Here is an interesting discussion of the Russian EL84 variants.
Some of the top quality Russian examples are starting to become expensive, but 6П14П-ER mentioned by @grataku is probably the highest quality version currently available. Here is an interesting discussion of the Russian EL84 variants.
Sovtek EL84M. The M is important, this is a 6P14P-EV, which is pretty famous for lasting long, handle a lot of punishment.
You might as well ask which is the best looking version of the EL84
No way. Only sound. I find it disgusting when sound equipment is chosen based on appearance. It is sound equipment, it should be chosen based on sound alone, choose a woman based on appearance, or a painting for the room. I encounter this too often.
TAD (tube amp doctor) sells pretty good tubes. I'd stick with the russian extended reliability version. That's what I have in my tubelab SPP.
I tried: Sovtek EL84, JJ and chinese on EL84SE amp (with 5751 input and UL output)
My preference is Sovtek.
My preference is Sovtek.
Any changes in sound does not depend on the tube but on an imperfect amplifier. Any EL84 compliant tube will sound as any other el84 complaint tube in a correct designed amp.
Since this is the DIY forum I’ll also throw out the possibility of using the 6gk6 as well. Internet lore would have you believe that they are the same tube as the 6bq5/el84 on a different base. Dennis Had thinks they are actually a higher quality construction, at least the RCA ones. In any case, they tend to be less expensive, the other voltage variants even more so.
Class A. Single End. Driver - 6П1П. I bought it many years ago and I can't remember anymore.