6SN7 variants circa 2019 - tone, longevity, reliability, value

Thanks for those additional brush Strokes in your picture. Helps to provide some context for your recommendation.

 ALL,
Thanks for sharing.

Noromance,
Which other 6SN7s have you tried?
Thanks

Excellent point about *where* the 6SN7 is installed and its intended function.

I'm using the 6SN7s in my Supratek Cortese preamp. It comes with Russian (Foton, I believe?) 6H8C tubes. There are multiple threads around regarding the Supratek preamps and even one for tube-rolling, but it does not address the modern Chinese tubes. More than one Supratek owner has come around and returned to the stock tubes.

But you know how it is - tube rolling is a bit of an addiction!

Guys - thanks for all the info you are sharing. I think this thread is very useful, because many of the other discussions regarding 6SN7 tubes out on the web trace their origin back 10 or 15 years, and many of the vintage tubes preferred are now extremely expensive. 

Also, at that time there were far fewer Chinese variants on the market.

FWIW, I'm currently using a pair of Russian 6H8Cs from the Novosibirsk factory. I'd describe them as very balanced throughout the spectrum. I'd describe them as neutral and transparent. I've been burning them in for a couple of months now and I think they sound very good. They replaced (not because I expect them to be better, but simply because I am curious) a pair of black glass Ken-Rad VT-231s. 

I'm hoping this thread will provide a handy reference and place to share experience with this wonderful tube variant.  

" You’ll find countless forum threads on various sites dating back to early to mid 2000s when good NOS 6SN7s were more readily available, more affordable. And, more recent debates the past ten plus years on various rebranded Chinese, Czhec, and Russian tubes. After trying some unobtanium quads of 6SN7 NOS, a few different re-issues, and some higher end boutique Chinese stuff made for resellers... 

.. The more you’ll read the more confusing it gets..."

Yup.

Mr. decooney - 

Thanks for posting. Nice to see you here...

Yes, I've read through those countless threads and concur with your comments. The challenge I find is that, because of their age, some of those threads have become very large and I find it tiring to read each and every post. And the Chinese tubes seem to have evolved significantly over the last decade and the earlier criticisms are no longer accurate. As some of the comments on this thread show, it appears that some folks are finding some of the new Chinese tubes to be worthy. The purpose of this thread is to provide a place in which those who are interested in this topic can post their experience.
The whole system dependency thing is really really true. I have no dissatisfaction with my current system. But I am curious about the other tubes out there. Seems like it will take several years before I fully explore this. The current pair I'm running - the Russian tubes - were the highest-measuring, most closely matched pair I've ever seen. And they were also the cheapest. Whether they've changed as they've burned in or whether my hearing/perceptions have adapted to their sound I can't say. The system sounds great!

Thanks again - ALL - for sharing your experience on this thread. 

Here's a thought, intended to help others who might read this thread in the future - it might be helpful if we list the equipment and system setup we're running the tubes in -

Here's my summary;
6SN7s are in my Supratek Cortese, into a Quad 909 SS power amp and Quad ESL 2805 speakers. Soundstaging is superb, instrumental tonalities and the human voice are rendered in a realistic, true-to-my-life-experience-and-ears way. Timbres are neither euphonic or thin (excessively trebly). Leading edges and note decay seem spot-on.

I'm interested in hearing any follow-up impressions from any of the folks who've posted on this thread... Sometimes tubes change over time.

Thanks

@noromance 

Thanks for posting your update. And thanks for the link to the tnt-audio review. I hadn't seen that.

It has been almost three years since I started this thread. And a year and a half since the last update by @atmasphere . Time flies! Now Grant Fidelity no longer carries the Shuguang tubes and has moved on to the Linlais.  Wow. Who'd a thunk there'd be all these changes in the world?

Anybody else want to share their thoughts? Thanks - in advance - to any who do...

@noromance 

Wow. You're right! I'm kind of surprised that they do. $399/pair. Yikes!

Anybody 'round here compared the Shuguang tubes to the Linlais?