The absolute best 6SL7 is the Mullard ECC35 CV569 brown base which are rare as hen's teeth. Fortunately, there are the Tung Sol black glass 6SU7 GTYs which sound just as good and can be found if you look. Both are NOS. Both can last 10,000 hours. They sound terrific - very natural.
6sn7 or 6sl7
I have an Almarro A318-B and would like to swap out one of the preamp tubes, but I cannot decide which one would have the greatest affect on the sound. The Almarro uses a 6sl7 as the input tube and the 6sn7 as an "anode follower" (I'm not sure what that is?). I can only afford to do one now, so hence my dilemma. I have three different 6sn7's at the moment with the following characteristics: RCA 6SN7-GTB that has a detailed but lush presentation; Electro-Harmonix that has a very detailed and airy sound, but is a little flat and edgy, and last is the stock Russian 6H8C that images very well but has limited frequency extension. I have only used the stock Russian 6sl7 (6H9C) with all of these because that is the only one I have.
Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!
Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thanks!!