EL34s for a Dumble. What is the smoothest and sweetest NOS?

[Tag]

Mine has typical Russian EL34s. What can I get that will be smooth and sweet, with zero harshness? These sound good, but I think it can get a lot better with really good tubes. Thanks in advance for the help!

[David Root]

I'm not a connoisseur of EL34s but I think you might like NOS Siemens RFT EL34s, based on reviews I've seen, not super expensive like the Mullard XFs either. This for example from www.tubestore.com.

NOS Siemens / RFT EL34 - Back when we started doing reviews of EL34 tubes, an old and somewhat tired set of Siemens EL34 was used as the reference standard. To have them available again for what I consider to be a reasonable price is great. These are the real deal. I tested three pair of the NOS tubes with different “perfect pair” matching numbers just to see if there was consistency and I’m happy to report that when biased the same they were very consistent. When I think of German power tubes I think of a big warm sound that doesn’t cause listening fatigue after an hour of playing. Many will say that Telefunken is king but the Siemens brand was always under rated. I ran three different types of EL34 tubes through the Marshall in one night of testing and the Siemens was the only one that required me to reduce the bass response. These tubes are extremely warm sounding and if you have one of those amps that sounds thin at lower volume levels, these should take care of that problem in short order. Midrange response seemed slightly skewed toward the bass side. This is no doubt where the extra warmth is coming from. The high end was smooth and clear without a trace of harshness. Construction is very good with the straight, flat-top bottle that is characteristic of the Siemens EL34 tube. No issues at all with noise and this is likely because of the thick laminated plate structure. You can see how heavy these plated are by examining the four large crimps down each side of the plate. This is a great opportunity to own NOS EL34 tubes without breaking the bank. And based on Siemens track record they should last longer than anything being made today. Home audio, guitar amps and those big old Grundig and Normandy console stereo units will all benefit. Enjoy.

[talbany]

Mullards..X First choice

Amphrex.. Smooth with an aggressive mid range..

My 2 top picks..Seimens not bad either..Ken Fishers fave..

[59Pro]

Hi Tag,
I just took delivery of my Dumble amp from Alexander, which I ordered earlier this year. My amp is a 6V6 amp, my favorite power tube. I supplied NOS tubes and like them a lot. However Alexander told me that he likes JJ tubes and I might wanna try them. Maybe you wanna try them as well, they make EL 34s. Since they are not to expensive it's always worth a try.

[jelle]

The JJ6V6 is a great tube and I'm sure many othres agree upon this. I have found that the JJE34L is too bottom heavy and does not sing well in the mids. My 2 cents,

Jelle

[hbamp]

1: Mullards, 2: Philips, 3: Telefunken, ....................................................
5: Siemens, 6: Tesla ,7: Svetlana Winged "C" SED, JJ's are to harsch.

IMO Philips and Telefunken are the tubes to go for!

[Guitarman18]

59Pro wrote:

I just took delivery of my Dumble amp from Alexander, which I ordered earlier this year. My amp is a 6V6 amp, my favorite power tube.

Hi 59Pro,

Welcome to D' discussions. Can you tell us anything else about your amp, any pictures? Clips? I'm sure many members here would be very interested.

Cheers,

Paul.

[wjdunham]

While we're on the topic of EL34's, I have a hopefully not-too-dumb a question. I have a couple of old set's I'd like to try out. I've not been able to find anything that shows how to arrive at the proper value for the screen grid resistor. It seems like an accepted practice to use 470R for 6L6's and 1K for EL34's, as the EL34 construction causes more current to flow in the screen as the plate voltage drops (no?), but nothing that really shows why a particular value is the "right" one (ie, how to calculate how much voltage drop across the resistor I really need). My question is, will I burn up my EL34's if I leave the 470R resistor in there? Already made the change to connect pin 1 to pin 8.
Thanks,
Bill

[67plexi]

If you can find the Genalex kt-77 in a Quad NOS. not the new ones.
10,000 hour power tubes, double D getter.

[Structo]

Man, I'll bet those cost a bundle!

[Jeffro]

Man, I'll bet those cost a bundle! :Shocked:

Well if you can afford a real Dumble then it should be relatively "cheap" to retube it.

[talbany]

IMHO.. In my travels through this topology I've been able to get the smoothest tone by going with a nice big bottle 6L..Something stout with some headroom.. Like the Sylvania 6L GC... Something that doesn't break up quite as easy.. As most 34's begin to break they can get crunchy on you.. Keep the output section clean and bold and get that smooth preamp breakup that's when it's the smoothest to me...(This is all of coarse how loud you run it as well) If smooth is your main concern and you like to push the output section EL-34's not my first choice for smooth IMHO...
.KT-77 nice tube in these amps JJ makes a decent one...Just watch as they can get noisy and go micro phonic on you as I've had a few go...


Tony

[JD0x0]

i think EL-34's sound smooth and they can stay very clean, theyre used in hifi audio amps.

Ive heard good things about the JJE34L(not el34)

[Funkalicousgroove]

Hi Tag,
I just took delivery of my Dumble amp from Alexander, which I ordered earlier this year. My amp is a 6V6 amp, my favorite power tube. I supplied NOS tubes and like them a lot. However Alexander told me that he likes JJ tubes and I might wanna try them. Maybe you wanna try them as well, they make EL 34s. Since they are not to expensive it's always worth a try.

That's Wonderful news, I have a couple of friends that Paid Alexander for amps years ago and have yet to recieve them, I'll be sure to send them to pay a visit!!

[dr. who]

Hi Tag,
I just took delivery of my Dumble amp from Alexander, which I ordered earlier this year. My amp is a 6V6 amp, my favorite power tube. I supplied NOS tubes and like them a lot. However Alexander told me that he likes JJ tubes and I might wanna try them. Maybe you wanna try them as well, they make EL 34s. Since they are not to expensive it's always worth a try.

Mind if I ask what year you placed your order?