Hey
Now that the price of EF86 is towering 😱, are there some who have tried to replace the EF86 with EF184 or EF95/6AK5 or 5654?
Yes, I know that the pin connections / sockets are different.
Benny
Now that the price of EF86 is towering 😱, are there some who have tried to replace the EF86 with EF184 or EF95/6AK5 or 5654?
Yes, I know that the pin connections / sockets are different.
Benny
Hi,
After testing, I have found the 6EJ7/EF184 to be very close in electrical performance and sonics.
My simple tests held true for pentode, triode and SRPP topologies.
Cheers!
After testing, I have found the 6EJ7/EF184 to be very close in electrical performance and sonics.
My simple tests held true for pentode, triode and SRPP topologies.
Cheers!
I don't know how much Brimar 6BR7s cost these days but they were definitely designed as rivals to the Mullard EF86 (with a different pin-out, of course). There is also the 6BS7 which is the same but with the grid taken to a top-cap for even lower noise operation.
Hello, I build a version of Darling Amp (1626 SE Triode Amp) and I use EF184 triode straped as driver. The sound is very good, much more tha my RH807 (local feedbak).
6AU6 has been suggested to me, haven't tried it yet (i have lots of EF86, but even more 6AU6)
dave
dave
E80F and EF804 are good substitutes but may not be any less expensive, just
less popular... Different pinout on the EF804 at least
Now that the price of EF86 is towering , are there some who have tried to replace the EF86 with EF184 or EF95/6AK5 or 5654?
Get some loctal sockets and go EF40 (the EF86 predecessor with virtually identical specs) at a fraction of the price.
Get some loctal sockets and go EF40 (the EF86 predecessor with virtually identical specs) at a fraction of the price.
Ummmm... not loctal, it's that weird minature thing (B8A).
Cool thing is Shuguang is making sockets for them again, yay! 🙂
Cheers!
B8a is called "rimlock" because of that little boss on the valve base which "locked" into a corresponding depression on the "rim" of the base. Not particularly weird in the 1940s.
Mea Culpa. Not enough coffee. The Shuguang sockets are great, however they don't have the rim into which the boss locks (making it possible to mis-align the tube) and won't take tubes which have a central spigot (eg 6l19).
I wonder if the price of all those great rimlock tubes is going to start taking off now?
Shhhhhh, let's say we hate the tube... to confuse the "Tube Pricing Commitee" lurking about 😉
Cheers!
EF184, EF95, EF80 [etc..etc] can substitute the EF86 only after the whole circuit has been redesigned.
Simply, the EF86 is usually designed to run about 1 to 3mA (where it offers a slope of about 2mA/V). EF95 likes 6 to 8mA, while EF80, EF184 and legions of other IF-type pentodes of same class prefer 10mA at least. and their slopes are much higher, too.
Trying to run these IF-pentodes at low current makes them sound much worse than they are capable of, IMHO. And that is no surprise - just look at the low-current part of the curves.
The 6BR7 mentioned by Barretter is a fine substitute though, especially if you find some Brimar "Trustworthy" series parts. Other than rewiring the socket, only a small adjustment for sound is needed.
Since these are already getting expensive, too then I would vote for Wavebourn's 6J32 Russian: 6ж32. They seem to be made by Svetlana recently, maybe they are still, and often labelled EF86. I don't have any to compare the sound to, but at least they are suitable for existing amps out there - which the others are not!
Simply, the EF86 is usually designed to run about 1 to 3mA (where it offers a slope of about 2mA/V). EF95 likes 6 to 8mA, while EF80, EF184 and legions of other IF-type pentodes of same class prefer 10mA at least. and their slopes are much higher, too.
Trying to run these IF-pentodes at low current makes them sound much worse than they are capable of, IMHO. And that is no surprise - just look at the low-current part of the curves.
The 6BR7 mentioned by Barretter is a fine substitute though, especially if you find some Brimar "Trustworthy" series parts. Other than rewiring the socket, only a small adjustment for sound is needed.
Since these are already getting expensive, too then I would vote for Wavebourn's 6J32 Russian: 6ж32. They seem to be made by Svetlana recently, maybe they are still, and often labelled EF86. I don't have any to compare the sound to, but at least they are suitable for existing amps out there - which the others are not!
Yes, the 6J32 looks extremely similar to what Mullard used to brand as an EF86 in their later days.
What about EF36/EF37/EF37A?
Octal predecessor to the minature EF86.
IMO, the red paint coated coke bottle shaped version is sexy.
Need a top cap and is a octal valve.
Raymond
Octal predecessor to the minature EF86.
IMO, the red paint coated coke bottle shaped version is sexy.
Need a top cap and is a octal valve.
Raymond
Did you ever looked into the E80F ? direct audiophile replacement for EF86, only use doubel heater current so check your power supply. They sound great in Amps like Quad II just keep in mind that they are longer in size then a normal EF86
http://www.hifitubes.nl/catalog/adv...sid=b7ad66e790de35028f7a48b2a92c9844&x=8&y=11
http://www.hifitubes.nl/catalog/adv...sid=b7ad66e790de35028f7a48b2a92c9844&x=8&y=11
How could you not try a 6AU6? I must have hundreds of these removed from TV sets. We used to throw them at trucks when we were kids.
SHHHHHH, dont mention Loktals must be some new far east thing but they ARE buying em all up.
Cheers Matt.
Cheers Matt.
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Just too many projects in the queue... i probably don't have hundreds but at least a 100... and i got some of them cryoed.
dave
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