Home Tubes Asylum

Questions about tubes and gear that glows. FAQ

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Tubes Asylum ]
[ Alert Moderator ]

My EL34 to 6CA7 story....

Jack thanks for your comment on the 6CA7. Here's the long story on how I was introduced to them over 10 years ago.

I owned a pair of very hefty Manley Neo-Classic 250 monoblocks that took 10 EL34 tubes each and I felt it was time to retube them. After the EL34 retube some of their plates started glowing red and ended up popping a handful 10-Ohm cathode resistors. Manley offered to take the amps in for repair free of charge but I really didn't want to ship these beasts at 80-Lbs ea boxed. Manley service [Paul in AZ I think] was kind enough to send me a batch of replacement resistors, a schematic, and more EL34 tubes.

I replaced the resistors and the tubes but a few resistors popped again as some of the tube plates glowed red. Paul commented that they've been having problems with EL34 tubes and said that it seems some of the manufacturers "lost the recipe" for making them reliable - funny comment but he then suggested I give up on EL34's for a while and try 6CA7 tubes instead.

I ended up buying 20 6CA7-EH [10 per monoblock] and never had a problem again. I eventually sold the amps as I wanted something much more compact. That led to my Class D journey but that's another story.

Manley Neo-Classic 250 Repair on my makeshift workbench in our previous home:




Edits: 03/04/23
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  VH Audio  

Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups
FAQ

Post a Message!

 Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]