Yes, there are 2 or 3 different styles of 6H30's at this point, the DR and the EB are the only ones I'm familiar with. They are all Russian sourced though, AFAIK. There are no Mullard, Siemens, Telefuken, Amperex (typical highly sought after NOS manufacturers) 6H30's.
I have done some tube rolling, and I find that there is a much larger sonic difference in 6DJ8, 12AX7 and 6SN7 variants then there is in the 6H30 class. Yes, you can spend more money on the DR's, and there is a subtle improvement, certainly not on the scale of going from a Sovtek 6922 to a Amperex 7308 PQ or a Siemen's CCa.
If you want the VERY best 6H30, Victor Khomenko of BAT will sell you some of the oldest NOS 6H30-DR's from the 80's for $300 a tube. I wouldn't recommend it, but some will I'm sure.
Actually John (Jafox), changing tubes is a bit more of a headache for me than changing cables. My ARC Ref 3 has 20 screws on the top plate, and I have to unplug all the interconnects and power cord to move it in and out of the rack to change tubes. Interconnects I can change without a screwdriver, moving a chassis or involving any other cables. :)
Tube rolling in my BAT VK-75SE amp is much easier, but again, not as rewarding as rolling KT88's, 6550's or 300B's.
The Russian tubes (6H30's, 6C33C, etc) tend to have better dynamics, definition and extension then the other types, though they are not quite as full or sweet sounding, IMHO.
The other plus for the Russian types is that replacement tubes tend to cost less.
Cheers,
John
I have done some tube rolling, and I find that there is a much larger sonic difference in 6DJ8, 12AX7 and 6SN7 variants then there is in the 6H30 class. Yes, you can spend more money on the DR's, and there is a subtle improvement, certainly not on the scale of going from a Sovtek 6922 to a Amperex 7308 PQ or a Siemen's CCa.
If you want the VERY best 6H30, Victor Khomenko of BAT will sell you some of the oldest NOS 6H30-DR's from the 80's for $300 a tube. I wouldn't recommend it, but some will I'm sure.
Actually John (Jafox), changing tubes is a bit more of a headache for me than changing cables. My ARC Ref 3 has 20 screws on the top plate, and I have to unplug all the interconnects and power cord to move it in and out of the rack to change tubes. Interconnects I can change without a screwdriver, moving a chassis or involving any other cables. :)
Tube rolling in my BAT VK-75SE amp is much easier, but again, not as rewarding as rolling KT88's, 6550's or 300B's.
The Russian tubes (6H30's, 6C33C, etc) tend to have better dynamics, definition and extension then the other types, though they are not quite as full or sweet sounding, IMHO.
The other plus for the Russian types is that replacement tubes tend to cost less.
Cheers,
John