Any one have luck with EL84 tubes?  I bought some Tunsgram  from UpScale audio and the sound was muffled and barely audible. I have a Taboo 4 and was trying some tube rolling but perhaps a different manufacturer may be better. Any thoughts?

Joman,

It’s great that you have that high an opinion of the Cryotone EL84. It makes me really anxious to see what their treated 6P15P will sound like. I sure hope that they will choose to make them part of their inventory.

Best,

Geno

Joman did you get the same volume levels from the cryotone el84 as the 6p15p that comes with the Decware amps?

Are the Wathen EL84 tubes just straight drop ins? or do they need some kind of adaptor?

FWIW/FWI here is a post from another thread re: commonly seen UFO power tubes:

Quote:

One update: the SV83 was developed before the Svetlana brand became American. There are vintage ones out there that differ a bit from the 6P15 tubes by other Russian factories, IMO they sound good and are worth checking out. . . they are harder to find this decade than last.

Yes, SV83 is a 6P15P but they seem to be one factory's version and labeled by Svetlana with an SV83 nomenclature. Ask Steve. His Revision A to the original Zen amp was from EL84 to the Russian Svetlana SV83. Long before Svetlana was a name bought by an American company. It's true. There is info out there on the web. Apparently most were made at the Xpo-pul factory.

Although they may be technically just a 6P15 given a different name, they sound significantly different to me than the other 6P15P that I have bought since Steve stopped using them, which were likely from other factories. I actually think they sound pretty darned good. I have about ten pairs still.

I myself don't prefer any EL84--they don't sound as good to me in these amps; I've never tried the Cryotone because I'm not a fan of their tubes I've tried. I don't believe EL84 can utilize the CCE mod which makes a positive difference in my systems.

I am fuzzy too but thought the big logo was the earlier version.

I agree with Lon here, I much prefer the 6p15p to EL84 in my UFO. I have found across many brands that the 6p15p is more neutral across the spectrum and better balanced. The 84 tends to have a small low end bump that can be appealing on some tracks but very unnatural and inflated on others. Unlike Lon, I eventually settled on the Cryotone tubes though, I just find them for lack of a better term to be more vivid.

Regarding the bump in the bass with the Cryotone El84's.  I'm reluctant to post this as it could be misinterpreted and/or misunderstood, but here it is...

When I first installed the Cryotone EL84WC I noticed that "bump".  At the time I had my ZR2 and the Omega Vintage 8's.  I found that there was smearing of the low end.  So I tried adjusting the level that the ZR2 was set at and I kept getting down to unity before I liked what I was hearing at the bass level.

Next I set the ZR2 at my typical setting and started to by pass the the setting.  Three people were listening and all preferred the ZR2 bypassed.  They noted that there was a little less weight but the bass was now more resolving and tuneful.

Then came the Chord Qutest and the M Scaler.  Now all the weight was back and the bass was just as impactful as with the ZR2 if not more so, but far more resolving, transients are far more evident and the bass is very tuneful.

I ended selling the ZR2 because with the changes it was no longer needed.  Prior to the changes and additions I was running Omega S3HOXRS.  Incredibly fast and resolving but with these speakers I needed the ZR2.

My subjective conclusion was that some systems will need the ZR2 and I still feel that it is an excellent component.  However at some point with some systems it may add too much.  In that case the Cryotone 6P15PEV may be a better mach.

This experience is what lead me to go the direction I am going in now which includes a larger OB speaker with two 15" drivers.  I now have the room for those.

To be clear, I am not saying that the ZR2 is not a good component.  I am saying that it is all system and room dependent and of coarse were all going to have different "tastes" in what we want to hear.

Just in case you're not sure about how I feel about Decware components and what I am saying, in part the new direction will likely include two UFO25's and possibly a ZBit.

Good find Lon, thanks for sharing. I have several of the first in my collection, why I keep them around I don’t know. I haven’t seen the second.
What is your dislike for Cryotone? Reading older posts you tried the 5670? I generally don’t like that tube either but I did use a quarter of WE 396a in my primary amp before discovering Cryotone tubes.

My mistake. I don’t know why I thought it was the 5670. In all my years of tubes I’ve never used the 6sn7. I do have a soft spot for old tubes. Time will tell the longevity of the Cryotones and the added value. It seems the latest popularity of tubes has driven up prices where quality NOS rivals the cost of the Cryotones, which are easier to acquire. As with everything there is a good amount of personal preference based on compounded interactions of music types gear and room qualities.
It’s really great that we all can find happiness through our own experiences.

I use SV83’s and like them. I’m not looking forward to the day they need replaced.

I didn’t see it mentioned, using El84’s negates the hazen grid or Christmas Comes Early (CCE) mod, doesn’t it?