WTB: Tubes! (Mostly for SW51+)

This is a somewhat odd request.

I don't know a whole lot about tubes, and I'm purchasing a Shortest Way 51+ from Zampotech, who is kindly including me in the second batch. This will be my first real tube amp.

I want to try tube rolling, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the vast variety of tubes. So here's how this is going to work: you introduce me to a tube you think is good and will work well with this amp, and, if you're convincing, I'll buy it, assuming it's not over $100 dollars and I'm able to find some corroboration of your claims about the tube elsewhere. I'll also pay for shipping.

I hope this will not only be a good way for some people to sell off tubes they don't need anymore (and a good way for me to get them!) but also a nice learning opportunity for myself, who is just getting into the tube world.

 

They're like $15 matched on Vivatubes. Just look for Mullard or Amperex. Having tried a few, they're more alike than different especially next to the stock pair, and it's not worth getting too worked up over it because it sounds pretty good with Western or Russian tubes.

 

EDIT: famish99 said it more succintly than I did.

You shouldn't jump into tube-rolling with the SW51+. It sounds pretty good with the stock tubes, and given that this is your first tube amp, you should spend some time familiarising yourself with the amp's signature, otherwise any small changes from tube-rolling would be exaggerated. I bought a bunch of stock tubes myself from a Russian site, not because I think it's the best, but because I haven't felt a need to tube-roll, it was the cheapest option for longevity, and also because headphones are lower on the list than speakers for me.

That said, the EF184/ 6EJ7 tubes are quite inexpensive; the last I looked Vivatubes were selling pairs at $24-50, while Brent Jessee's sells single tubes for $4-5, although he doesn't state which brands he carries, so if you're careful and disciplined you won't spend kilobucks rolling tubes for a $300 amp. I might have gotten a few myself but I wasn't willing to pay at least $50 to ship them out of US to satisfy my curiosity for a few minutes.

 

Thanks a lot for the advice, folks. I'll get to know the sound of this thing first before jumping on tubes, and when I do I'll look for the cheaper stuff.

 

I'll be getting a SW51+ also, looking for backup tubes more than replacement tubes just in case I lose a tube or something. Anyone can comment on these ? I see they have "mesh plate" my tube knowledge isn't much besides on Liquid Platinum and Valhalla 2.

https://www.vivatubes.com/tests-nos...-austria-6ej7-eft184-mesh-plate-vacuum-tubes/

https://www.vivatubes.com/tests-nos-matched-pair-siemens-germany-6ej7-mesh-plate-o-get-vacuum-tubes/

 

Not those tubes specifically, but I have a pair of Zenith mesh plate tubes. Compared to stock they have a slightly deeper and wider stage with more mid bass (stock tubes bass on high gain is a little more then Zenith's bass on low gain) but bass is not as defined as stock. The Zeniths have something (might be refereed too as bloom?) about the mid range and highs that emphasizes vocals more and makes instruments and vocals more euphonic then stock. Zeniths additional depth helped layering a little bit to my ears because individual images had more space to expand. To my ears, stock has better slam, macro and micro dynamics, and detail. One isn't a large improvement over another imo.

 

My take on this: SW51 is using TV tubes produced during what was practically the apex of tube development. So tubes from different producers will sound very similar except you got some defective. So this is not the amp to experiment with rolling.