EL34: Ruby-STR vs Winged C

[Giga]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a H&K Duotone head which has the Ruby tubes in it. This is a rather bright amp so I went reading EL34 reviews. Some say the Winged C's have more velvety like, maybe more subdued highs (which would suit me obviously).

Is there anyone with firsthand experience that could confirm or deny this ?

Thanks !

Giga.

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

I dig both. The str's are a little looser and may have a touch more bottom but the highs are definably different, same with the mids. The winged C's seem to have more of a sweet mid and highs where as the str's are a little more abrasive...

 

[nbarts]

I would say that Rudys have more biting tops. Winged Cs sound all around more musical to me & the mids are so much better. That said I don't know if the difference is enough to make your amp feel less bright to you., it probably isn't.

Maybe different speakers?

 

[Giga]

I would say that Rudys have more biting tops. Winged Cs sound all around more musical to me & the mids are so much better. That said I don't know if the difference is enough to make your amp feel less bright to you., it probably isn't.

Maybe different speakers?

Yeah, I'm working on that too. The cab I was testing with has G12H30's in it which have a rather penetrating sizzly top-end to my ears. I think I want to try some G1265's but other tubes are more easily available I guess.

Thanks for your input !

Giga

 

[steve_k]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a H&K Duotone head which has the Ruby tubes in it. This is a rather bright amp so I went reading EL34 reviews. Some say the Winged C's have more velvety like, maybe more subdued highs (which would suit me obviously).

Is there anyone with firsthand experience that could confirm or deny this ?

Thanks !

Giga.

I can definitely confirm for you that the Ruby's are much more brighter than SED's. Personally, I can't stand Ruby's (in 34's anyway). They have some EL34BHT's that are supposed to be a little better rounded. I have yet to find a 34 that will beat an SED, but that is for what I play. I go through loads of tubes and tweaking too on the high gain amps. I have SED's in both Diezels, and the Ubershcall and they kick out loads of bottom, mid if you want them and enough top end to do what you need to do.

Steve

 

[hunter]

I put a quad of Ruby EL34 BHTs in my Ecstasy and they sound great, very balanced and a nice punch and tone. They have less spectacular upper mids cut than =C=s, but I like them!

I just replaced a quad of STRs in my Triamp with Mullard RI EL34s, which lifted the sound of the amp significantly. The Mullards were boring in the XTC though.

 

[Greazygeo]

I don't find the Ruby's brighter really. They sound more like a cross between a 6l6 and small bottle 6ca7 to me. More hi fi I guess. The Winged C sounds like an EL34.

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

I don't find the Ruby's brighter really. They sound more like a cross between a 6l6 and small bottle 6ca7 to me. More hi fi I guess. The Winged C sounds like an EL34.

+1 i agree

 

[Giga]

I put a quad of Ruby EL34 BHTs in my Ecstasy and they sound great, very balanced and a nice punch and tone. They have less spectacular upper mids cut than =C=s, but I like them!

I just replaced a quad of STRs in my Triamp with Mullard RI EL34s, which lifted the sound of the amp significantly. The Mullards were boring in the XTC though.

Hey, I just watched your Youtube vid from the thread about the Triamp. was that with or without the Mullard RI's in it ?
What do you mean by "lifted the sound" ? What happened tonally ?

giga.

 

[Giga]

Ruby? Are you talking about the Chinese EL34B made in China? If so, I understand that they are to be even across the sound spectrum...no piercing highs or pronounced mids or big bottom. I think the Winged C's are aggressive...and have a mid push to them. I like both.

Haha, yeah short after my post I realized they are actually TAD's but I'm almost sure it's the exact same tube: Chinese El34B-STR... Anyway, you do have a different assessment (is this the right word here?) about these tubes than most have. In what kind of amps have you heard them ?

Thanks

Giga

 

[hunter]

I put a quad of Ruby EL34 BHTs in my Ecstasy and they sound great, very balanced and a nice punch and tone. They have less spectacular upper mids cut than =C=s, but I like them!

I just replaced a quad of STRs in my Triamp with Mullard RI EL34s, which lifted the sound of the amp significantly. The Mullards were boring in the XTC though.

Hey, I just watched your Youtube vid from the thread about the Triamp. was that with or without the Mullard RI's in it ?
What do you mean by "lifted the sound" ? What happened tonally ?

giga.

The clip is with the Mullards in. Sound became more smooth and organic as well as more balanced across the frequency range.

 

[Variable]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a H&K Duotone head which has the Ruby tubes in it. This is a rather bright amp so I went reading EL34 reviews. Some say the Winged C's have more velvety like, maybe more subdued highs (which would suit me obviously).

Is there anyone with firsthand experience that could confirm or deny this ?

Thanks !

Giga.

I can confirm this. The Ruby EL34B-STR has a much more glassy, hi-fi kind of top end. I swapped them out for some Winged C EL34s, which are more "traditional" sounding for EL34s IMHO. The Ruby actually reminds me of a 6L6 with more of a midrange focus and less scoop. Not sure how I feel about the Winged C EL34 so far, though. To me they sound less transparent than the EL34B-STR.

You might want to try JJ ECC83 tubes in the preamp as well, as those are very dark and will definitely help tame the high-end.

 

[jkdsteve]

I dig both. The str's are a little looser and may have a touch more bottom but the highs are definably different, same with the mids. The winged C's seem to have more of a sweet mid and highs where as the str's are a little more abrasive...

This description nailed it for me.