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Re: Why assume the Russians have no talent?

Posted by shermanr@prw.net on August 23, 2006 at 13:54:06

In Reply to: Why assume the Russians have no talent? posted by Gusser on August 23, 2006 at 09:39:41:

Some russian tubes will improve the performance of older equipment, other's will just turn red and fail. Some Russian tubes have quality control issues, as do many other products. It's just part of the game of mass production and discarding tubes that don't pass the initial tests.

For instance the 1970's Russian Radio-Lampa 6P14EB will simply smoke any 7189 tube with outstanding results. Some designers in the old days would ignnore tube manuals and design based on duty-cycle as related to the maximum specifications. Why the Mullard 5-20 designers 'idle' the EL34's at 25 watts plate dissipation is still a mystery to me. Where will the plate find the power to make music?

Some Russian power tubes will act like any other typical tube. Some run hot, and some cold. A few Russian power tubes will not bias properly and turn red after only a few minutes. The recent Russian Sovtek 7199 is NOT a 7199 and will not work in 70% of 'classic' 7199 circuits. It will just sit there and Hummmmmmm.

It's always best to explain to tube dealers exactly what the specific requirements are and what equipment the tubes will be operated within, that way the dealer can sell the correct tube for the application, or at least improve the odds that the tube will be stable under load.

Some Russian, NOS and Chinese tubes will draw excessive screen currents in certain topologies. A handfull of tube dealers will test for excessive screen current draw, and tubes with obvious manufacturing defects, mis-aligned screens, etc. are discarded. The KT-90 is a great example of how a great tube has hit rock-bottom.

With tubes I find that it's very hard to generalize.

Still are lot's of un-answered questions in a world that continues to lament the closing of Telefunken, Genalex, Amperex and Valvo among others.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

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