Aric Audio Super 2A3 owners - favorite tubes?

Alexberger and Mmcgill829,

Thanks for the updates, I'm feeling a bit more confident in the Linlai E-6SN7s....but most reviews are really positive.

I was torn between the Ken Rad VT-231 Black glass and the CBS-Hytron 5692, and they virtually the same price.....but excited to hear they compete with the Ken Rads.....that's exciting

The only bummer for me is that the Super 2a3 amp from aric has the 6SL7 and 6SN7 tubes too close together to accommodate these larger tubes. I'd love to experiment with using the linlai tubes in the amp as well. I could get away with replacing just one, though, so I may get 2 matched pairs when I order more and keep two for the amp - one for use and one for backup. Worst comes to worst and it doesn't work as well in my amp, I'll just have an extra set for my pre-amp and be set for the forseeable future. Never hurts to have extra tubes around.

I'll be getting some KR 2A3s in the near future and am interested in seeing how they compare to the EMLs.

mmcgill829

I read that some users have used a tube extender, basically a second tube socket; to offset them.....allowing them to clear each other. Not sure if that would work for the 2A3 amp though

@vthokie83 The problem is they are aligned right in front of each other rather than side to side, so its a front/back distance that is the issue and it's quite close. I'm not sure I'd want to put anything but standard sized tubes there from a cooling perspective. It would really need to be either significantly higher or offset by a couple inches.

I'm still using the bad boy 6SN7 tube there, plus a fairly expensive NOS RCA 6SL7/5691 red base that was something like $200 for just the one. I may swap the 6SN7 for a linlai just to test, but that's probably it I think! The NOS 5691 is pretty excellent.

Worth a shot, best of luck. I may come back here in a couple of months once I've had a chance to try the tubes