Your Fav EL34 and why?

The best ever EL34's in my opinion is a toss up between Genelex KT77 and Mullard EL34 (XF1 or XF2).

Lots of other NOS varieties were made and many of those are better than current production.

Of current production my favorite is Tesla E34L, and then probably the Wing C. All EL34's sound different, so depending on your amp, bias point, associated (input) tubes and other factors, there is an unending debate as to what might be your favorite.

I will say that beyond all other factors, the Mullard is probably the best EL34 that was ever made, if judged only by it's durability and longevity. There are thousands of Dynaco amps that are still in service with their ORIGINAL Mullard EL34's, factory installed 42 years ago (still test perfect and still running strong).

Thousands of other Dynaco's have been stripped of their original Mullard EL34's and then resold with brand new Russian tubes :^).

Wonder what they do with all those old original Mullard tubes? They wouldn't be selling them at Ebay or using them in their OWN high end gear :^?

I do appreciate it much. The EL34's application is bias dependant? Huh.

Yes indeed.

For instance, the bias point of EL34 tubes run in triode compared to Tetrode can be different. The bias point of Mullard EL34 tubes in the Tube Research GT400 (yes, it works-been there-done that) is different than a Dynaco Stereo 70 and different than the Wolcott Presence 220.

And as I said, input tubes for all three of these amps (and input design circuit) are all very different too.

The bias for the Dynaco Stereo 70 is quite low (about 1.56 VDC) compared to more modern amps and perhaps the reason so many EL34 Mullards have survived for 40 years. That and the fact Dynaco produced about 250,000 of these before they were discontinued, means we had a rather large supply to begin with.

Here is a link to different voltages and bias points the EL34 can be set up for. This was for popular guitar amps but the principal is the same.

http://www.diyguitarist.com/Images/BiasChart-EL34.jpg

Well Jim, it turns out the same new production tube (and available for cheap price) is the same one I recommended earlier in this thread. The Tesla E34L.

Gary Dodd lives about 15 minutes from me and has told me face to face on more than one occasion that the Tesla was his favorite too.

This is in line with my own experiences. I had four Dodd mono blocks on my Dali Megalines and listened with both Mullard and Tesla. The Tesla is a great match for the Dodd amps. I still prefer Mullard EL34 but you can follow whatever makes you happy and fits your need. Just making suggestions as you requested.

If you want an explanation of why and how bias can effect the sound of tubes give Gary a call. He understands this very well. He is a very bright designer.

You ask for suggestions and I made a few.

Sorry the link to JPEG of tube bias data is not clear enough for you to view. It's OK on my screen.

Not surprised by 1markr comments.

Although Gary recommended the JJ Tesla E34L, the SED is the second tube I mentioned in my post, almost identical ideas about what's good.

I have not heard the new JJ KT77's, they are probably excellent, perhaps Gary has tested them by now and can offer an opinion.

The original KT77 Genelex is the best sounding and best built. I have them in my Aesthetix Io but they are not a practical choice for the Dodd amps, due to the quantity required and cost.