EL 34


I have recently had the urge to stock on NOS tubes to tide me over in the future given the growing scarcity of NOS.
I favor the sounds of the EL34 but do not have the funds to purchase Mullard NOS.
So, my question is what is the next best midrange sound in NOS EL34?
Siemens ( and if so what era ) vs Tesla vs Amperex?  Any others to consider?
Thanks
MP
mpomerantz

Showing 1 response by jjss49

in my experience

ranked by overall sq (including midrange beauty) - we are talking old stock tubes here, not the new/modern day russian/czech/chinese tubes

best
gold lion gec genalex kt77 (uk made)

close/next best
mullard/amperex el34 (uk or dutch made)
matsushita el34 (seam top) - (japan made using mullard tooling)

close/next best
svetlana sed winged c - russian old stock st petersburg plant
tesla yugo el34 brown base yellow print

not as close, next best
philips/national east german thin bottle dimple top el34
yugo ei fat bottle 6ca7

amps i have/have had in which i developed this ranking - vac pa90c, air tight atm-3, primaluna hp prem dialogue, linear tube audio zotl40 reference, marantz 8b, cj prem 11a xs