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Best 6SN7 for the money?

Tube rolling on my Sonic Frontiers was enough to drive me insane with all the 6DJ8/6922 available out there. I now acquired a BAT VK-150 which uses 8 6SN7 per amp (16 total) and I can't possibly roll them all without going broke.

I have read on Agon discussion forum in the past the two front most tubes are more critical, that still leaves me 4 tubes to roll. I also read about Sylvania 6SN7 being a good NOS for the money, but there are so many different Sylvania out there and I don't know the difference.

So I am turning to the experienced Agon members to tell me which 6SN7 to go for, say about $20 to $30 a piece (or $50 to $60 per match pair). BAT owners, should I waste time and money and swap out other 6SN7 with something slightly better?

Thanks in advance.
semi
yu11375
135 posts
 
Based on my personal experiences with GT, GTA, GTB, W, WGT, WGTA, VT-231 and 5692 by various brands (Sylvania, Raytheon, RCA, Tung-Sol, Ken-Rad and Amperex) on Counterpoint and Atam-sphere equipment, the RCA 6SN7GT/VT 231 tubes with grey glass internal coating do demonstrate very smooth high and satisfactory bass.

Happy Listening.

gbmcleod
396 posts
 
You might think about calling Andy at Vintage Tube Services. He will send you tubes to try out. As far as all the opinions, Andy and I spoke today about these tubes. His "take" is that the Tung-Sols are good, but somewhat lighweight; the Sylvanias have great high end, and are good for the input tubes,but are "lighter" in terms of "body"[i.e., weightiness of presentation], so he suggests "balancing" the driver tube with RCA's. which are richer. I'm getting a package of a mixture of tubes to try out on my Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes. I bought some RCAs, but wasn't sure they were the most transparent, so I'm returning them within the 30-day return privilege period.
kevziek
323 posts
 
My experience also. The RCAs are richer sounding, with more weight. I found using them mixed with other, quicker & lighter tubes can provide a nice result.
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