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EQUIPMENT FORUMS >> SE34I.5 >> PSVANE EL34PH
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Message started by s3steve on 08/19/20 at 17:21:35

Title: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by s3steve on 08/19/20 at 17:21:35

Well I decided to pull the trigger on these.

I've been contemplating NOS Tesla's or Mullards.

Good NOS Mullards are extremely expensive so it was really between the Tesla's and the PSVANE's. I ordered them from Grant Fidelity so being in Canada delivery should be pretty quick.

Anyone have any experience with these tubes?

Once burned in I give a little review.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by s3steve on 08/24/20 at 14:23:33

Initial review is they sound better the than the best EL34 tubes I have now.
They seem to have more bass then the NOS Winged -C-'s and an extended top end as well. I don't feel they are harsh and they only have about 25 hours on them now. The new build Tung Sol are a lot harsher on top and lack the bottom end of the PAVANES.
Sound stage also seems wider and deeper on the EL34PH.
The other thing I've noticed is these tubes don't seem to clip as soon as any other EL34 tube I've run in this amp. The power meters seem to come up slower too.

Most people like the sound these tubes produce but some say the longevity is the problem. Well time will actually tell in this case!

Grant Fidelity had the tubes at my door in less than 48 hours!
Great service!

At this point I'm very happy with the results.
I'll post again once I get some more hours on them.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by Rivieraranch on 08/25/20 at 00:07:27

Did you buy 4 or just 2?

My problem with Pissvane is that the Chinese want to position themselves as the only game in town. So I won’t support that. They package these tubes as if they were jewelry. Does that cause any concern?

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by will on 08/25/20 at 01:08:58

Thanks Steve,

These sound like nice tubes in all respects. I was under the impression back in the day that Grant Fidelity had a relationship with Psvane with special testing that ensured better quality tubes and therefore longevity? Do you think that is true now? I have a fair bit of time (maybe 700-800 hours) on a quad on Psvane 5881s from Grant that I use in my Torii, and they have been flawless so far. Please keep us informed.

Riviera,

With mostly Chinese and Russian companies making new tubes, and Chinese companies exploring more and more audiophile tubes, though I have not tried any of these but Sophia 274B Aquas and the above, I am really glad they are doing the work myself.

It was years ago, but my 5881s were pretty inexpensive then, comparable to many Russian made power tubes if I recall correctly. As many NOS power tubes edge toward jewelry prices, the pretty packaging many Chinese made products come with are pretty nice to me.... even inexpensive things like USB busses often having nice boxes.

:)

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by s3steve on 08/25/20 at 13:13:48

I only ordered a pair, I asked for a gift box and Grant Fidelity threw it in.
I have a few tubes without a box so this came in handy. Plus they are local so shipping was quick. I'm impressed with the sound with only a few hours on them so it will all come down to longevity.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by Rivieraranch on 08/25/20 at 22:18:36

If they work for you and Cary Grant Fidelity is practically a neighbor why not!

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by will on 08/26/20 at 00:09:13

Sounds really good Steve. It will be good to hear how they sound after 100 or 200 hours.

With just the right other tubes, I was able to get pretty good sound from Winged Cs and Tungsol EL34s, but I was never a big fan of either.

I guess my Winged Cs, having come with my Torii MKIII, were probably new production though. I am thinking that was 10 or so years ago...and this was in a Torii III, which tends to have comparatively big bass compared to Steve's SE34 amps, and with the wrong combination of things it can go thick :(.... But luckily you can usually tune around that.

As I recall, the bass of the Winged Cs was pretty deep, but here it was softer and thicker than I like mid-bass down even with careful tube choices and amp adjustments. In contrast, the upper mids and low highs were clean and relatively fast with pretty good detail complexity and textures. Combining the slower bass (that also leaked into and dulled the mid-mids) with the well detailed/faster upper range, they sounded off-balance here without careful tube work and adjustments.

Also a long time ago, as I recall the Tungsols, the bass was less deep and tighter than the Winged Cs, and higher up, they were less complex and extended, giving them more sense of balance bottom to top. But more rigid sounding through the mids and highs, they tended to sound a little technical and cool to me, requiring some pretty carefully selected finely detailed tubes as compliments to help make the Tungsols more musical for me. But even then, it was like they squeezed too much of their potential micro detail into macro detail, making them harder, while also not allowing enough finer detail and spaciousness for the music to feel as live as I like.

Having tried a number of other EL34s, including remakes of Mullards, Groove tubes, a few China made variants, JJ 6CA7s and NOS Brimar labelled RFTs with short black bases (and probably more I can't recall just now), I moved to KT77s, KT66s, and 6L6 types....807 and 6L6 variants my favorites for a number of years now.

These Psvane EL34s have always seemed costly enough to be high risk to me. But from reports, including your initial impressions, they sound like they have all the right sounds in a really nice balance. Thanks for posting about them.

From your research, what kind of lifespan are people getting from the Grant selected ones?

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by Rivieraranch on 09/05/20 at 17:58:50

I just hate the Pissvane brand and what they do. Nothing will change that.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by s3steve on 09/08/20 at 18:03:21

Will your impressions of the Tung-Sol's is bang on in my opinion!

And I also have new and old Winged -C-'s and you nailed them in there performance too.

Very well said.

Tubes are like red wine to me, it's hard to describe but I know what I like!

I'll do another update soon. I have around 100 hours on them now.

I did just buy some National Union 807 tubes from Ebay ::)

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by will on 09/08/20 at 23:06:20

Thanks for the update Steve. I like your thought on describing tube/system sound being like describing red wine. And like wine, seems for me that if I start to get a handle on what I perceive, and language that describes it, with practice it can get a little more doable. Also for me, honing perception and discernment of perception can make system tuning easier.

I'm looking forward to your further updates on the Psvane EL34s. Also I will be interested in how 807s work there for you. The National Unions I have had have two rectangular bottom getters and ceramic mica spacers. They were quite neutral here, so if those are the ones you got, I think they will be a good test for that tube type. RCAs with the same build sound very close.

Also, if you have not gotten adapters yet, the ones with silver connectors in the adapter caps sound better I think. I like the ceramic caps better too. The plastic adapter caps with silver connectors may sound a little better having more silver contact, but are difficult to adjust for slight variations in the diameter of anode contact projection on the tube top. Also with the plastic adapter caps, the contact fixture is treaded in, and tends to come loose with time, and they are tricky to re-tighten. Doable, but tricky. Whereas the ceramic ones, you can see inside the cap easily and the contact is a flat piece of silver that is "sprung" between notches in the caps, making it easier to adjust the tightness of the contacts if needed.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by Rivieraranch on 09/09/20 at 01:10:31

The older 807s have a metal girdle around the wires going into the bottom. The later RCAs omit this. I like the girdle; a sign of modesty. The WWII 807s are all alike. I suppose the government laid down the specs and all the manufacturers complied.

Title: Re: PSVANE EL34PH
Post by s3steve on 09/09/20 at 15:41:26

Hey Will where are you buying your ceramic adapters?

I have a set but the plastic cap has the gold plated connector and they seem to be of low quality.