6L6WGC/5881 Tube choices for Amp


Dear Friends,
I have a small system in my office which punches out 40 Watts (sounds like 80 really) in pentode configuration.

I currently have the stock tubes on em - not bad, but i feel with the power tube change, things can go really sweet.

I have no knowledge on Tubes, Frankly on Ebay a quad matched pair
can range from 400-900.00 i do not know if its worth it to spend that
kind of money.

However,i am keen on changing the ECC83 to Brimar NOS.

Any help i can get is really appreciated!
thegoodarcher
I recently bought a Synthesis Shine and have been dying to get it up and running but my turntable is in the shop and the audio rack I ordered has not yet come in. It sounds like you love yours!
I bought mine off of Ebay so I don't have the original manual, is biasing done manually? I will probably have it looked at by a professional before I get it going since this is my first venture into tube amps and I have a lot to learn.
Largemouthass,
YOU WILL LOVE THE SHINE!
The only draw back is the biasing is done manually, best setting is 40mv.
It also works beautifully with the Brio Phonostage if you can find it on eBay
and has wonderful synergy.

To be absolutely honest without mentioning any names the Shine clearly defeated a 250 watt integrated amplifier from a leading manufacturer, this manufacturer for this particular model had got 6 awards from Absolute Sound,HifiChoice and other publication and the Shine is relatively unknown out of Europe.

I decided then that i need this baby!

The transformers are "wound" in house and everything is made by hand,
the real output of this amp i would say is equivalent to 80 - 40 tube wattage doesnt do this justice, its such a musical amplifier!

Regarding the Output tubes Synthesis says that the preferred the sovteks because they could withstand higher "plate voltage" and played uninterruptedly without any leak because the power and output transformer is very close to the tube, they recommend to keep the tube cage on as it can act as a "heat shrink" - whilst rolling sensitive tubes...
Dear Frogman,
They just told me that the Sovtek withstand higher plate voltage and sound nice and tubes have long life (probably because the the tube socket is very close to the transformers, other brand's tube crack, leakes?) The stock tubes were 6P3S think which is a 6L6WGC made by Reflector which i believe is NOS quality , the manufacturer said the Sovtek's are better, they thought at that time the reflector ones are better, their honest opinion.

For the Shine i was told a standard 6L6GC will only produce lesser power,
although i do not know what is the difference between a 6L6WG"C" and a 6L6WG"B" ????
Thegoodarcher, I would refer you to your own comment:

****I currently have the stock tubes on em - not bad, but i feel with the
power tube change, things can go really sweet.****

I assume that by "sweet" you mean the sound. I am all for
following the advise of the manufacturer, but I stand by my previous
comments re manufacturer recs, and would add that nothing that they may
have said says anything about which tube sounds better. I am sure that the
Sovteks sound nice in your amp which is why it was chosen; as well as
perhaps "withstand higher plate voltage" which, again, says
nothing about the sound. As I said previously, and in the opinion of many,
the Svetlana "Winged C" is a better sounding tube than the
Sovtek in many applications (and more expensive); it clearly was better in
mine. Maybe not in yours.

A couple of things that are confusing and possibly misleading re what the
manufacturer said: Sovteks are tubes manufactured by Reflector and
branded Sovtek; same tube. I have little doubt that all of the mentioned
tubes will work fine in your amp. Which one will sound better only you will
be able to decide by trying them. Remember the manufacturer may want
the last bit of ruggedness at the expense of the last bit of sound. IMO.
Good luck.

valve.com/russtube.html>http://www.ominous-valve.com/russtube.html
Dear Frogman,
Thank you so much how much do you think a Winged C Svetlana
quad will run me for? - and where can i get it? are the 6L6WGC or just 6L6GC?