LampizatOr Golden Atlantic + TRP

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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The Brimar, it'ss a killer tube. So far, I consider the Brimar on par with the U50 in my system. It's warmer and more engaging, still has great see throughness. It's definitely more refined than the U50 as well. Refined in the sense that it does delicacy and nuance better. For the price, it's the best buy of all tubes.

Which Brimar tube is this?
 

Golum

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adamaley

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What is also VERY important, is with what Output tubes the recti is combined ;)

There can be synergies that are sometimes unexpected:
For example according to Fabio does the Taka recti tame the outstanding new production Genalex KT77 Gold Lions and form an excellent Team in his System :cool:

My impressions are all while using the RK PX25. I agree, that's critical information.
 
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dminches

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I just went through my big box of rectifiers and here's what I found:

rectifiers.jpg

I think they are, left to right: Brimar 5Z4GY, Haltron 5R4GY, STC 5R4GY/CV 717, WE 422A, GEC CV 575.

Not sure if they are all ok in my Big 7 MK2.
 
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adamaley

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Hi, may I ask what brand is the 422a?
Thanks

It's a Western Electric 422a as seen fourth in the suspect lineup in @dminches post following yours. His is the grey plate version, which some claim is better than the black plate version, which I have. To the right of the 422a is a GEC U52 aka. CV 575, which can come rebranded in many forms.
 

Golum

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I'm eager to hear what your findings are during your shootout. It'll be great news for us all if either of the current production rectis match up to the out of production legends.

Speaking of the U50, I bought two more U50/5Y3Gs that appeared visually similar on eBay to the Marconi variant I have. One is a National Union 5Y3G and the other is a General Electric 5Y3G. At first glance, they look the same, but differ from each other. For one, the Marconi, the smallest recitifer tube I had for the Lampi (no potato masher, SS rectis here), dwarfs the two newcomers. The Marconi and the National Union have the exact same plate structure, and mica, but the National Union has a pan getter. This in addition to the smaller bottle size makes a comparison worth it. The General Electric has a Round top mica, mica supporting rods, three holed plates (rather than the four of the other two) with the topmost holes on both sides blocked by the mica supports. It has a D-getter like the Marconi though. I'll find time to compare all three - it'll be interesting to know if the Marconi is just the swan in the bunch or if one of the other two are preferable. View attachment 57474
Looking fw for this comparison as I’m looking into those but mainly i find Osram and GEC versions...
 
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Monsterzero

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Jul 10, 2019
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Can anyone confirm one way or the other if the GZ32 can be used in the TRP? Fred alluded to the fact that it might not be compatible,but he wasnt sure. GZ34 as well??
 

Golum

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Can anyone confirm one way or the other if the GZ32 can be used in the TRP? Fred alluded to the fact that it might not be compatible,but he wasnt sure. GZ34 as well??
GZ34 i have Phillips Mini Watts several NOS pcs ie plug and enjoy...
I don’t like about them, as they are small and thus dissipation area small, they get burning hot...tried them few times but nothing special..
 
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Golum

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I'm eager to hear what your findings are during your shootout. It'll be great news for us all if either of the current production rectis match up to the out of production legends.

Speaking of the U50, I bought two more U50/5Y3Gs that appeared visually similar on eBay to the Marconi variant I have. One is a National Union 5Y3G and the other is a General Electric 5Y3G. At first glance, they look the same, but differ from each other. For one, the Marconi, the smallest recitifer tube I had for the Lampi (no potato masher, SS rectis here), dwarfs the two newcomers. The Marconi and the National Union have the exact same plate structure, and mica, but the National Union has a pan getter. This in addition to the smaller bottle size makes a comparison worth it. The General Electric has a Round top mica, mica supporting rods, three holed plates (rather than the four of the other two) with the topmost holes on both sides blocked by the mica supports. It has a D-getter like the Marconi though. I'll find time to compare all three - it'll be interesting to know if the Marconi is just the swan in the bunch or if one of the other two are preferable. View attachment 57474
@adamaley did you by chance tried those different ones and is there any difference? I managed to sneak today one GEC U50 for cool price but have no idea how does it compare to your stash of U50s...
Lets see anyhow...
 

Zero000

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Jul 28, 2014
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My eBay Marconi U50 is having trouble even arriving. In conflict with the seller now.
 

Golum

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Finally I had time to sit and do some tube rolling in TRP with always great company of @wisnon . In general we rolled few output tube options and later i did the comparison also with two recties and tmr i plan to roll same output tubes with Elrog recti. Conclusion can be summed up as follows:
PSvane Acme 274b:
GEC KT66 - Airy, transparent, dynamic, great staging/layering, super palpable, tight deep LF, everything in balans, phenomenal mids
Genelex KT77 - digging deeper, more Fw presentation, fun, engaging, mids on par with GEC, nicely extened top. I would say great option for a bit lean back system
RCA 6l6 - laid back tube, much slower than previous/less dynamic, still all information is there. In general i would say i prefer Brimar version of the same tube

KR 5u4g RK:
RCA 6l6 - huh - not a good match, dark, slow, lifeless; too much LF which sounds not controlled at all and overpowering mids and hights - in general don’t bother. But maybe could work in overly bright systems which are bass shy on other note
Genelex KT77 - niceeee; on par as with PSvane recti, vivid, colorful, dynamic, great extension both ways, layering, separation, staging, details. Great bloody tube. Matches well with both recties
GEC KT66 - More body than with 77, a bit lost that tightness of LF as with ACME. Rest I would say on the level as with ACME.

Will be continued...
0FD5CD49-21FA-4AB5-ACC0-AFAA0685F109.jpeg 9DFBD06A-F910-43A1-A896-78D7900EE766.jpeg 8E407DD2-1073-43EC-AF3B-232C5A321B53.jpeg
 

wisnon

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Dec 12, 2011
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I just went through my big box of rectifiers and here's what I found:

View attachment 57483

I think they are, left to right: Brimar 5Z4GY, Haltron 5R4GY, STC 5R4GY/CV 717, WE 422A, GEC CV 575.

Not sure if they are all ok in my Big 7 MK2.
Killer rectis David. The STV is a footscray. I sense the hand of Shawn Fox in that collection. lol
 

wisnon

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Dec 12, 2011
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Can anyone confirm one way or the other if the GZ32 can be used in the TRP? Fred alluded to the fact that it might not be compatible,but he wasnt sure. GZ34 as well??
gz34 for sure...its a 5v recti.

i think gz32 is a 4v recti. not sure if it works...but it did in a big 7.
 

christoph

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Dec 11, 2015
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PSvane Acme 274b:
RCA 6l6 - laid back tube, much slower than previous/less dynamic, still all information is there. In general i would say i prefer Brimar version of the same tube

KR 5u4g RK:
RCA 6l6 - huh - not a good match, dark, slow, lifeless; too much LF which sounds not controlled at all and overpowering mids and hights - in general don’t bother. But maybe could work in overly bright systems which are bass shy on other note

Good that I already have a pair of the Brimar 6L6, thanks to a very nice person :cool:
Dammit, but is was worth a shot with those RCA 6L6 :(
Maybe they will magically work in my system :rolleyes:
 

adamaley

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Apr 15, 2016
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Minnetonka, MN
@adamaley did you by chance tried those different ones and is there any difference? I managed to sneak today one GEC U50 for cool price but have no idea how does it compare to your stash of U50s...
Lets see anyhow...
I tried the National Union and it wasn't similar in sound to the U50. I'm currently listening to the General Electric 5Y3G and I really like what I am hearing. It is also not similar to the U50, but I'm really enjoying it, and this is compared to the heavy hitters. Still need to give it time.
 

dminches

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Oct 22, 2011
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Killer rectis David. The STV is a footscray. I sense the hand of Shawn Fox in that collection. lol

Yup. Definitely the STC.
 

adamaley

Well-Known Member
Apr 15, 2016
580
541
228
Minnetonka, MN
Finally I had time to sit and do some tube rolling in TRP with always great company of @wisnon . In general we rolled few output tube options and later i did the comparison also with two recties and tmr i plan to roll same output tubes with Elrog recti. Conclusion can be summed up as follows:
PSvane Acme 274b:
GEC KT66 - Airy, transparent, dynamic, great staging/layering, super palpable, tight deep LF, everything in balans, phenomenal mids
Genelex KT77 - digging deeper, more Fw presentation, fun, engaging, mids on par with GEC, nicely extened top. I would say great option for a bit lean back system
RCA 6l6 - laid back tube, much slower than previous/less dynamic, still all information is there. In general i would say i prefer Brimar version of the same tube

KR 5u4g RK:
RCA 6l6 - huh - not a good match, dark, slow, lifeless; too much LF which sounds not controlled at all and overpowering mids and hights - in general don’t bother. But maybe could work in overly bright systems which are bass shy on other note
Genelex KT77 - niceeee; on par as with PSvane recti, vivid, colorful, dynamic, great extension both ways, layering, separation, staging, details. Great bloody tube. Matches well with both recties
GEC KT66 - More body than with 77, a bit lost that tightness of LF as with ACME. Rest I would say on the level as with ACME.

Will be continued...
View attachment 57958 View attachment 57954 View attachment 57955

Looking forward to the follow-up and consensus at the end of this. Thanks for finding the time.
 
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