Interested to know which version of this tube is the most popular as a replacement or rolled tube...
the Philips 5R4GYS that appears to be exclusive to Upscale Audio at this time.
This is a NOS tube, from the '60's or early '70's I believe. As noted, I have one of these and a fat base Mullard, and I can't say I can tell the difference (the Philips is less expensive). They are a little better than the Matsushita-branded Mullard from the '70's that DaveC mentions above (I have one of those also), and a lot better than current production Sovtek's (comparing an old Mullard to a current Sovtek is a good example of what a good rectifier does for the sound!)Picked up some spare Mullards last week. Glad to see this is still a popular choice.
Have you tried the Upscale Audio Phillips brand?
...Philips 5R4GYS that appears to be exclusive to Upscale Audio at this time.
5R4 is not a direct replacement for 5AR4, it has more voltage drop so it will lower B+ and change the bias. Replacing a 5AR4 with this is doing a whole lot more than changing the sag characteristics...
I've heard it just doesn't work in some applications where the voltage drop will increase with time, not sure why but it was reported on a Dynaco forum. And, I saw parts connexion was selling it for $40 before upscale hyped it and raised prices. Good marketing by them...![]()
Hey Josh
The Japanese i send you are top notch.They are actually based on the GE design,which is amazingly good.
I find Philips and Mullards way over-hyped,not just for the money.
How much did you purchase the Mullards for? I have little hopes they are not second(or third ) hand...
Cheers
Stavros
This comment is not really justified.One of the reasons I dont tend to roll and deviate from what works or I am used to.
This comment is not really justified.
You can roll to see what suits you best. As long as it works, its fair game to try.
Philips GZ34 bakelite and metal base sound different, for example.
(...) You can roll to see what suits you best. As long as it works, its fair game to try.
Philips GZ34 bakelite and metal base sound different, for example.
Meh. For a rectifier tube it doesn't matter that much to me, which is why I asked out of curiosity
Btw, I forgot to add the following: according to some Kondo and tube connoisseurs the rectifiers are after the input tubes the most important valves, that is apart from the input tubes the rectifiers influence the (quality of the) sound the most. That means that in the view of these tube experts the recti's are more important that the power tubes like the 300b (Gakuohs) and the 211 valves (Ongaku/Gakuon/Kagura)!
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