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Electro-Harmonix 6H30pi Gold vs Sovtek 6H30pi eb

Hi, first, I can't afford 8 of the 6H30 dr's. My preamp tubes are over 4 years old, I almost replaced the preamp, but my BAT VK 51SE is here to stay for awhile (poor me, it's pretty good!)

1)Has anyone compared the Sovtek 6H30's to the Electro-harmonix 6H30's?

2)Several places like thetubestore.com and tubedepot.com offer matching on the Sovtek 6h30's. Does anyone know a supplier that matches 6H30 tubes for Electro-harmonix? I emailed both the above places and they currently don't offer matching for the EH 6H30's.

Thanks in advance!
128x128jfrech

Showing 3 responses by audphile1

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,168 posts
 
I have a set of Sovteks and EH Gold Pins for my BAT VK-51SE. Sovteks are new. I'm waiting for them to break in. They have about 50 hours, which is probably enough but to have a piece of mind I will let them run for a total of 100 hours. So far from what I remember the EH Gold Pins possibly had a bit more bass and just a tad more midrange lushness and also highs were a bit softer. But then again, until I swap them this weekend, I won't know.

Sovtek are fine tubes though. Probably a bit more durable than the EH and less noisy. May be a bit more neutral.

Anyway, I'll report back if you're interested.
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,168 posts
 
I bought Sovteks locally.
EH came from the tubestore
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,168 posts
 
EH Gold Pins are back in. Exactly what I expected - fuller sound, smoother, bit more presence in the bass, more romantic in the midrange. Sovteks are more lively, faster sounding tubes.

All comes down to what you and your system need. I would not say there is a loss of information with the EH Gold Pins. not at all. They're just a bit less analytical than the Sovteks.

If this is the sound you want, I think they're worth the extra few bucks they cost over the Sovteks.
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