Tube substitutes for Dirty Shirley DS40

[bste328]

What brands/type of tubes I am able to put into my DS40 without doing any mods? I want to experiment some different brands/type without the need to bring the head to my tech (I can adjust the bias by myself)..

Any idea?? suggestions??

PS: I'm talking about power tubes

 

[marshall2553]

I've only tried Tung Sol reissue 5881's and Sovtek 5881WXT's in mine. They both sound great, though the Tung Sol's didn't last very long. I'm thinking they just weren't designed to handle the plate voltage of the DS. Other than 6L6's, are they any other tube types that will bias correctly in the amp?

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Honestly I would stay with what's in there. I voiced the whole amp around those tubes.

 

[marshall2553]

Honestly I would stay with what's in there. I voiced the whole amp around those tubes.

Hi Dave, which 5881's are you shipping these with now? I see some that aren't recommended for plate voltages over 400, I think my DS was around 475 last time I checked.

 

[RACKSYSTEMS]

Standard Sovtek 5881/6l6 with no base on them.. not issue for voltage. I bias them to 40ma

 

[Nigel]

Dave,

Have you noticed the old early 80's and before 6P3S-E's are superior in sound to the modern Sovteks?

I got some that I assume were relabeled "Sovtek 5881" in the same ink (silver/gray) in an amp lately and they are night and day different than the modern black ink Sovteks. I took some photos to note the differences. The one on the right looks structurally IDENTICAL to older 6P3S-E's.

See below, and as you know the base is meaningless:

It made the difference between meh and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD RAWK. Getters are different, tig vs slot/tab construction, different color plates. The HiFi guise get cray cray about these...and with good reason. The old Russkie stuff is a level up.

 

[Nigel]