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SED Winged C el34. Help

I am tube rolling my Manley Snappers. I have heard many good things about the Winged C's. I have a few questions.
Are they reliable? I bought JJ el34's and the were like hand grenades in my amps. They blew and took out the tweeters and the woofers in my speakers! Ouch.
So I went to the EH 6ca7 at Manley's suggestion and they
have been reliable. However I would like to try the winged C's, but not at the expense of my speakers.
Also, where do I buy them. I saw a thread that said not to get the Svetlana version so I want to make sure I get the right tube. I have shopped at Tube Depot before but they don't sell them. Upscale Audio does but I have seen them for less at other dealers. Can you reccomend a good dealer?
I would also like to hear from those with experience with these tubes as to whether I can expect an upgrade over the 6ca7's.
Thank you, Scott.
abbeydog

Showing 1 response by newbee

newbee
4,751 posts
 
Another vote for the SED EL34. I started using them in the mid 90's and have yet to have a major failure (short,etc) but some have naturally died of age. Very reliable and a nice tone as well. I still have the old St Petersburg Svetlana as well as the new SED from St Petersburg. I've noted no changes tonally speaking or construction wise.

BTW, I've had a lot of major failures from other tube types as well as some other EL34's (Tesla E34L's) in various amps and have had to replace fuses and resistors in the amps but I have never blown a tweeter. That is scary! Is this particular to your Snappers? Can it be prevented?
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