Current EL34s: EHX vs. Ruby

J

Junk Yard Dog

Well-known member
Just seeing if anyone has tried both and where did you land. I've always used SED's until a few years ago and have now been using Ruby BTSR's. I have EHX in my BE50 and the amp sounds great, but I may still try the Rubys.

Anyone compare the two?

Cheers.
 
Marked for reading others opinions later. I have winged C's now but need some backups.

I used EHX 34's years ago and liked them but I have heard good things about the Ruby's over the past couple of years. With all of the talk about current production EL34 quality issues, this topic peaks my interest.
 
Ive had good luck with the BSTR Rubys so far. They have a slightly more articulate midrange without being harsh, The last set of EHX's I had were a bit harsher in the middle, but had a bit better bottom end, so its kind of a trade off to my ears. Honestly, I dont even take my own take on them to mean thats how the next set will sound, it does seem to vary a bit from set to set. The one thing consistent in swapping around and trying different brands in my Marshalls is that none of them have proven to be dead consistent from set to set. When we had a good supply of SED's, the one thing I loved about them is I pretty much knew what I was gonna get when I got the next set. I'm thinking about the TAD's also for the future, as well as the Mullards, I just had not tried either of them. I wish Laura still came in here, it would be good to get some input from her regarding all of the above. She see's and hears them first hand, as well as some other brands I'm interested in
 
I just looked at the set of EHX's I was speaking of, they were actually 6CA7's, so there's that... Sorry :confused:
Carry on
 
I got a pair of Mullards in a used amp purchase (100W amp with mixed pairs) and stuck them in my 50W Jose and like them a lot in that amp. I usually default to EH EL34. I have used the EH 6CA7 too (that explains the bigger bottom JTyson). Some amps work better with the EH 6CA7 than others. The Chinese seem to be the most durable and sound decent which is why many mfrs use them.
 
I replaced a worn set of SED EL34's with EH EL34's in my Marshall Silver Jubilee and so far as been happy. They don't sound as good as I remember the SED's sounding when they were at full strength, but they do sound good.

I want to try the Mullard EL34 and TAD EL34.
 
EHX EL34 are clones of the RFT EL34. And they sound pretty damn good considering they're like $15 each.

The Ruby BSTR and BHT I've tried seem solid. But a bit bland and bright in a way. Not my first choice for power tubes.

I do like the JJ E34L, though. Not the EL34. But the E34-L.
 
Junk Yard Dog":1tm49pyo said:
critter cam":1tm49pyo said:
I think the regular JJ EL34 sounds better than all of them.
Click to expand...

Cool. What about them do you think is better than the rest. Thanks!
Click to expand...
They have a rich distortion. A lot of bass. And they last a long time. Also the pins are the right size. I had some Rubys that were really hard to fit into my Marshall's sockets. Not only that but they blew a heater fuse after a couple of hours of use. They were nice and tight sounding though. But after the fuse blowing I no longer trust them. The Electro-Harmonix tubes seem to lack bass. And they don't last very long. The JJs to my ears even sound better than the SEDs (original Svetlanas).
 
I'm partial to JJ KT77's, personally. But, an EL34 nibody talks about that I really dig is the Svetlanas. They have a sweet, sweet midrange, very warm. Not harsh. Great crunch in the Marshalls I had.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top