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Message started by Tooppy on 12/31/22 at 16:52:07

Title: Tube for UFO
Post by Tooppy on 12/31/22 at 16:52:07

Anyone has tried the Svetlana SV83 ?

Title: Re: Tube for UFO
Post by CAJames on 12/31/22 at 17:13:37

Quote:

Posted by: Tooppy Posted on: Today at 16:52:07

Anyone has tried the Svetlana SV83 ?

Unfortunately that isn't a yes or no question. Svetlana rebrands 6P15P type tubes (either "plain" 6P15P or 6P15P-EV or 6P15P-ER) and sells them as SV83. So one persons Svetlana SV83 could be (and probably is) very different from another's. My experience with buying Russian 6P15P type tubes is it is a crap shoot, some sound really good, others not so much with pretty much no rhyme or reason to it. FWIW they also test all over the map.

Back in the "good old days" (before the war) you could buy these tubes in quantity from the motherland for a few bucks each so it was a relatively small investment if you wanted to try out different tubes. Now that is no longer the case. I don't necessarily have anything against Svetlana, but if you want my advice it would be this:

If you just want new tubes for your UFO without any worry or hassle buy them from Decware. If you want to sample what other SV83/6P15Ps sound like I would buy them from ebay. They are still cheaper than Svetlana (as far as I can tell) and generally you know at least what version of 6P15P tube you are buying. But this just JMO/FWIW/YMMV.

P.S. There are many discussions of 6P15P/SV83 tubes in the various UFO fora as well as the Replacement Tube forum.

Title: Re: Tube for UFO
Post by JOMAN on 12/31/22 at 19:57:30

I had the original Svetlana SV83 in my SE84UFO2. I doubt that you'll be able to find these now. One telling aspect of the originals was the logo size, according to the information that I was able get. As CA James pointed out, the ones available now are the re branded type from various factories, if you can get those now. I've been out of it for a while and can't say for sure.

In the SE84UFO2 I preferred the original SV83 tubes. In my UFO25 that changed and for quite a while it was the 6P15PEV that came with it, no contest, until I tried the CryoTone EL84-WC after Steves original comments on his experience with these.

I tried various EL84's in both amps and never liked any until the I tried the CryoTone EL84-WC. These do not sound like any other El84. Even with the circuitry advantage that the 6P15PEV have, I still prefer the Cryotone EL84-WC. I was offered the processed 6P15PEV to try but graciously declined as, for me there's no going back.

You may want to consider trying a pair as it's a no risk trial.

Title: Re: Tube for UFO
Post by Tony on 12/31/22 at 21:51:35

I was going to place this comment elsewhere, but if I can piggyback on JOMAN's point, it seems to fit here.

This year was one for tube rolling and experimentation for me. I have discovered favorites and a few others that could have been more remarkable. I liked the CryoTones in my system best when all was said and done. Others I found comparable were Genalex Gold Lion KT77 power tubes and 75C1 voltage regulator.

It took me some months to get here with this current set of tubes, but with the help of the folks at Wathen, I feel settled in for now. I went slow so I could ensure I could hear improvements with each tube pair purchased. I was encouraged by Don's offer that should I not hear an improvement; I could return that tube pair. The 5AR4-WC were the last two tubes added. As with the other CryoTone tubes that preceded them, they improved perceived sound quality and listening enjoyment.

I did have one unfortunate event while tube rolling; I blew out one of the 5AR4s. I was curious about what happened, attributing it to user error. I mentioned this to Don, and in the absence of any identifiable cause on my part, he offered to replace the tube free of charge. Since I needed a matched pair, I bought one, and he added the second. The surviving single 5AR4 went to the preamp. I didn't expect that, but I certainly appreciated it.

So here at year's end, if I had to make CryoTone tube purchases over again with what I know now, I would do it - only faster.

Title: Re: Tube for UFO
Post by Leonardo Warner on 02/08/23 at 06:52:18

In the SE84UFO2, I found that I got the best results from the original SV83 tubes. That was different in my UFO25, and for a good portion of the time it was the 6P15PEV that came with it—there was no competition—until I tried the CryoTone EL84-WC, which I did after reading Steve's initial comments on his experience with these.

I put a number of different EL84s through both amps, but I never found one that I liked until I tried the CryoTone EL84-WC. These El84s do not have the same sound as any of the others.