No adapters required. Great tubes - might provide the "middle ground" between the KT66 and EL51 that some are looking for. No guarantees of course
I was looking into it. Too bad they don't ship to US
LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP
- Thread starter Golum
- Start date
I was looking into it. Too bad they don't ship to US
Also try Martin Billington. Danger alert: you might end up spending a lot of money!
Billington Export: UK supplier of electronic tubes and valves
Billington Export Ltd. The UK's leading electronic valve and tube wholesaler and retailer.
web211.secure-secure.co.uk
You can tell Martin the guy from Vancouver/Canada sent you. We got to know each other very well over the years
I received RFT EL34 tubes from a friend and they are amazing. The synergy really takes off. I thought some of the others tubes were very similar but I definitely hear an improvement with these and the Shuguang GZ 480 rectifier.
Would you mind posting pics and I'll help identify them? They made many different variations from 1950 - 1980's.
Sorry I should have specified - one more pic showing the getters at the top
This tube says "RSD". RSD were a West German rebrander of tubes from various manufacturers including RFT from East Germany. Also Russian tubes, and later Chinese tubes. These do look like RFT, although the '91' date code (1991) is throwing me.
Are there 3 or 4 holes on the sides of the plates?
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Is this better?Sorry I should have specified - one more pic showing the getters at the top
This tube says "RSD". RSD were a West German rebrander of tubes from various manufacturers including RFT from East Germany. Also Russian tubes, and later Chinese tubes. These do look like RFT, although the '91' date code (1991) is throwing me.
Are there 3 or 4 holes on the sides of the plates? 4
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Holes are sometimes a way to identify models or model years, but be aware that correlating the number of holes with sound quality, as often comes up with 6SN7 and its variants, is often false according to those who've actually compared. In the case of the 6SN7's, for example, the three-hole reputation for Sylvania "bad boys" was apparently the result of an eBay seller's posts on a forum or two, in order to drive up prices. Same apparently goes for some claims about round plates being better than flat plates (Tung-Sol)
We’re just identifying what the tubes are and hopefully a rough idea of where and when they were made.
I do believe you have one of the last ever RFT tubes produced. Most guides say they were produced until the late 1980's, but it looks like that one is from 1991. It has exactly the same construction as the 1980's tubes, but with a slightly later 1991 date code.
It's under the "EL" on one of your first photos. All you need to know about EL34's (and a whole bunch more info such as historical info about the various manufacturers such as Phillips and Telefunken). I read it over Christmas:
But remember RSD were a rebrander and didn't actually manufacture tubes. RSD tubes with 1990's date codes are usually Chinese or Russian tubes.
Perhaps RSD had a batch of RFT tubes from the late 80's and added the date codes and RSD branding on the tubes just before selling. Probably too much info for most folks on here who are probably only interesting in how the tubes sound! My apologies for being a history and tube nerd
No apologies necessary. Important info for tube buying.
What I discovered yesterday was that switching power cords went a long way towards eliminating the deleterious effects I had attributed to the EL51s. I’ve been using a full loom of PS Audio AC-12’s for a few years, but recently picked three used WyWires Palladians to check out, which I’d been told would maintain the modest warmth of the AC-12 while adding greater clarity (they do, both). In playing around with different locations for the WyWires, it wasn’t until they went onto the Oppo, TRP and Supratek preamp yesterday that I hit the jackpot — a smooth, relaxed, balanced sound and more consistently present midrange (e.g., female singers), without the shoutiness or seeming effects of the Tesla’s greater power. It’s a good reminder that the best solution to SQ problems introduced in changing tubes may lie in adjustments elsewhere (synergy).
Follow up: The above was written using a 596 in the TRP and a now burned in Brimar 5RGY in the Chardonnay preamp. I've since received a 1948 Philco 5U4G, which I found (inexpensively) after Dr. Steve Williams, who has his own system thread on these forums (Doctor's Orders-Part Two...), touted the benefits of a 1946 version in his excellent set up. He indicated that it is on warm side, which mine modestly is, as well as having an appealing touch of sweetness. It's now burning (or re-burning) in and has a lot to say for itself, although how smooth is to be seen. Philco tubes were made by Sylvania after the early 1930's, and sometimes had the latter's codes on them, starting around 1950 it seems. However, probably his and mine have the two character Philco code still used in the 1940's, e.g., S8 for some quarter of 1948.
What I discovered yesterday was that switching power cords went a long way towards eliminating the deleterious effects I had attributed to the EL51s. I’ve been using a full loom of PS Audio AC-12’s for a few years, but recently picked three used WyWires Palladians to check out, which I’d been told would maintain the modest warmth of the AC-12 while adding greater clarity (they do, both). In playing around with different locations for the WyWires, it wasn’t until they went onto the Oppo, TRP and Supratek preamp yesterday that I hit the jackpot — a smooth, relaxed, balanced sound and more consistently present midrange (e.g., female singers), without the shoutiness or seeming effects of the Tesla’s greater power. It’s a good reminder that the best solution to SQ problems introduced in changing tubes may lie in adjustments elsewhere (synergy).
Follow up: The above was written using a 596 in the TRP and a now burned in Brimar 5RGY in the Chardonnay preamp. I've since received a 1948 Philco 5U4G, which I found (inexpensively) after Dr. Steve Williams, who has his own system thread on these forums (Doctor's Orders-Part Two...), touted the benefits of a 1946 version in his excellent set up. He indicated that it is on warm side, which mine modestly is, as well as having an appealing touch of sweetness. It's now burning (or re-burning) in and has a lot to say for itself, although how smooth is to be seen. Philco tubes were made by Sylvania after the early 1930's, and sometimes had the latter's codes on them, starting around 1950 it seems. However, probably his and mine have the two character Philco code still used in the 1940's, e.g., S8 for some quarter of 1948.
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No, I enjoy the history lesson.But remember RSD were a rebrander and didn't actually manufacture tubes. RSD tubes with 1990's date codes are usually Chinese or Russian tubes.
Perhaps RSD had a batch of RFT tubes from the late 80's and added the date codes and RSD branding on the tubes just before selling. Probably too much info for most folks on here who are probably only interesting in how the tubes sound! My apologies for being a history and tube nerd
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