EL34 Lovers?

That's an interesting question Pubul. I to have been told with my modded JH 50 that most other tubes besided my current JJ's will sound mushy, slow, or lack detail. This will probably not stop me from trying some out though as i ascribe to "in your system to your ears" theory. Plus learning about how my system reacts to differing changes is good to know as well!

I would enjoy though an answer to your question if anyone is willing to expand.

Both circuit and tube determine the sound of a particular component as well as internal components. A circuit can indeed be optimized for a particular tube's characteristics. Does it mean no other tube of the same type will work? Probably not. Could it cause problems? Maybe but not likely. Will you change the circuit? not likely. Will you change the tubes to try to improve the sonics of the circuit? YOU BETCHA!

If you change tubes and nothing else resulting in a change in the sonic signature of the component then it has to be the sonic character of the tube causing the change.

Whether that change is positive or negative is determined by your ears alone. The tweaky nature of this hobby means I am going to try all avenues to extract the sound I most desire from a system. Tube rolling is one of the easiest and most easily reversed ways to do that.

For your peace of mind you may want to compare tube specs between JJ EL34L and other EL34's to find if there is a signifcant difference in the tube voltages and outputs. If there is not then you may be missing some music that is available to you with a tube change.

A quick search on the web seems to point out the only difference in specs between a standard JJ EL34 and the JJ E34L (there designation) is the ability of the E34L to handle a larger plate voltage on grid 1. (-13.5V to -16.5V compared to the standard EL34 -10.0V to -13.5V) All other specs are the same.

Significant? Don't know enough about tube grids or the circuit in your Sonum to say yes or no. Perhaps others can.

Ralph

I am told that the importance of the L versus the standard is that in my circuit it is produce better bass presence compared with other EL34s (more solid and tuneful - the amp is suprisingly good in the bass department). The amp also runs Class A to 22 watts (it is a 30 watt amp with a pair of EL34s)and I think the voltage spec you mention has something to do with that, but I am talking way above my head now. When I spoke with the designer I was eager to discuss a bunch of NOS options for the EL34, 12AX7, and 6922 slots - he said he tried most of them (a lot of them anyway)and he still felt the JJ in his circuit would be hard to beat - I certainly understand why he would not want NOS EL34s as the standard tube. I am going to ask if any harm is done in trying the EL34 simply based on the plate voltage handling differences.

JJ Kt-77's are killer tubes that can be swapped in place of any EL-34. They are basically a "Super El-34" IMHO as they have a better electron flow construction than any EL-34 (because they were designed to do many things better electrically than 34's comparably). When I compared them to NOS Svetlanas (cryo'd too), Triple point matched Electro Harmonics, cryo'd JJ EL-34L's, NOS Mullard XF-2's....the KT-77's prevailed above all. These tubes are much more linear top to bottom, more transparent, better focused sound stage with better bass definition and cleaner treble to boot! They had me discover something I wasn't even aware of when I compared them to all the other el-34s. The 34's all have what I would call a "pasty" high end (to varying degrees mind you, the Mullards being the least offensive here) that I wasn't aware of until I substituted the KT-77s during comparisons, where the 77's highs where clean as a whistle! The only downside the 77's have sonically is that they are not as bloomy or romantic in the midrange as some of the 34's. That is a coloration IMHO but I can see how it may help some systems sound more involving. What more can I say, I love these new 77's that were just brought to market a little more than a year ago.

Pubul,You will be very happy with the music reference rm-9se.I have the rm-9 mk 1 and just put a new octet of el 34 winged c,I could not be more pleased.My system sounds better than ever.Troy