Tír Na HiFi

The choice of buying valves locally (in Ireland) is very limited. This is what is available here...

Sovtek EL34EH
Marshall EL34
JJ Electronic EL34
TAD EL34B STR
Groove Tubes EL34

Buying online for the really good valves can be expensive with taxes/import duty.

I have used the Sovtek EL34EH and they have been reliable. Does anybody have experience of any of the others listed?

I haven't experience of those, but some of the guitar shops often have some at reasonable prices - I know I got a quad of gold lion reissue KT66 at one point for very reasonable money. I think it was in Xmusic.

Fran

Cyndale wrote: ↑Sun Oct 31, 2021 7:31 pm The choice of buying valves locally (in Ireland) is very limited. This is what is available here...

Sovtek EL34EH
Marshall EL34
JJ Electronic EL34
TAD EL34B STR
Groove Tubes EL34

Buying online for the really good valves can be expensive with taxes/import duty.

I have used the Sovtek EL34EH and they have been reliable. Does anybody have experience of any of the others listed?

I had a reply typed last night but hit something and lost it... here we go again! :)

they do look mainly like guitar amp tubes and while there's no set rules you may find they don't work well in some hifi.

just last week I got tube curious and swapped out a set (4) of KT88s out and put in Tung Sol EL34s. I found them very bright and tiring - not a characteristic they had in my usual amp. Then I remembered a set of JJ Tesla EL34s which I didn't like at all in my usual set up and they sounded pretty good (and are still in place after a week) in this amp.

Reliability of tubes is in the lap of the gods.
How they sound is very much system dependant and down to synergy.

I got the JJ/Tesla EL34s in XMusic for, as Fran says, reasonable money but at first hated them. Now, in a different amp, they sound pretty good. Just turning on my amp now to test them for another few hours!

Ivor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:13 pm

I got the JJ/Tesla EL34s in XMusic for, as Fran says, reasonable money but at first hated them. Now, in a different amp, they sound pretty good. Just turning on my amp now to test them for another few hours!

True to my word ... the things I do for you people.... 😀

Thanks for the responses!

XMusic just have the Marshall EL34
Some Neck Guitars have the JJ Electronics EL34 and the TAD EL34B STR, the JJ Electronics were preferred over the TAD EL34B STR
Waltons have the Groove Tube EL34 - these have got lambasted on some valve/tube forums
Sovtek EL34EH got some favourable comments as well!

Gold Lion KT77 (an equivalent to the EL34) got really good reviews, but none for sale in Ireland that I can see!

None of the hi-fi shops in Dublin seem to stock valves just guitar shops!

Cyndale wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:54 pm
None of the hi-fi shops in Dublin seem to stock valves just guitar shops!

I've hinted a few times to the usual retail suspects that they don't take up much storage space and apart from maybe having to occasionally match pairs or quads they involve very little work. I got an indifferent shrug.

KT88s can be a bit more dynamic or lively than EL34s so consider your speakers and taste in music. EL34s in my limited experience are more musical and easier to live with.

Ivor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 7:50 pm

Cyndale wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:54 pm
None of the hi-fi shops in Dublin seem to stock valves just guitar shops!

I've hinted a few times to the usual retail suspects that they don't take up much storage space and apart from maybe having to occasionally match pairs or quads they involve very little work. I got an indifferent shrug.

KT88s can be a bit more dynamic or lively than EL34s so consider your speakers and taste in music. EL34s in my limited experience are more musical and easier to live with.

I am using two Croft Series 4S amplifiers... they can take either EL34s or 6550s, Glenn Croft's own preference is for the EL34s to be used. I had been using General Electric 6550s in it, until I found out that was his preference and when I switched I agree.

I will keep scouring the Web and see what people's thoughts on the EL34s I can buy easily here!

It might be worth digging around too - probably there are only one or maybe 2 factories making these and just branding them as Marshall or whatever. Knowing that might allow you to get a better deal.


It would be worth broadening your search out across the EU - for example these ones from Reichelt. 84 plus shipping for 4. I have no idea if they are any good.

https://www.reichelt.de/elektronenroehr ... os_1&nbc=1

Ivor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:31 pm

Ivor wrote: ↑Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:13 pm

I got the JJ/Tesla EL34s in XMusic for, as Fran says, reasonable money but at first hated them. Now, in a different amp, they sound pretty good. Just turning on my amp now to test them for another few hours!

True to my word ... the things I do for you people.... 😀

20211101_141830.jpg

Does your valve amplifier have auto or manual biasing? The Croft Series 4S has manual biasing for each valve. The EL34 setting is 60mV and the 6550 is 80mV. Biasing has a huge effect on sound quality!

Cyndale wrote: ↑Tue Nov 02, 2021 11:19 am
Does your valve amplifier have auto or manual biasing? The Croft Series 4S has manual biasing for each valve. The EL34 setting is 60mV and the 6550 is 80mV. Biasing has a huge effect on sound quality!

Manual biasing, Its a Chinese R8 Willsenton and designed to take either EL34s or KT88s - there's a switch beside the mains socket to choose which you which to use. I also have an Airtight which really only likes EL34s but again is manual. I prefer manual biasing if only for peace of mind, after changing tubes I would check and adjust adjust for a couple of days afterwards.