Suitable alternat for SED wing = c= ?

Looks like Svetlana Electron Devices had decided to stop producing audio tubes. I did some looking into it as it was rumored on "the tube store" website. At first I thought this was a market ploy to get charge more for tubes. Turns out the factory is not closed or closing, they just decided to pull the plug on manufacture of audio tubes.

Can anyone suggest an alternate to the SED wing = C = 6L6GC. This has become my favorite tube and I just do not want to pay NOS prices since some may be considered "seconds".

I was thinking of 6CA7 or KT77 and run the amp in EL34 bias mode. Tung Sol 7581 came close but did not last very long in the Mark V. Svetlana 6L6GC sound similar but lack that complex harmonics the SED wing =c= provide. I may try a set of 5881 but they are not 30W tubes. In simple terms the Mark V operates at 22.5W per tube, 25W 5881 may just be too low.

I found a way to extent my SED's, integrate them with Tung Sol 7581.

I had a set of 7581 that I thought went bad. Gave them another chance. I do recall them going flat, turns out the PI tube was exhibiting issues. The lightning I though was present in the 7581 is actually occurring in the rectifier tube. So far that is the only tube I have not replaced. Anyway, the Tung 7581 sounds the closest to the SED wing C that I have on hand. They are a bit brighter though. Harmonic content is almost similar. I replaced the outer two tubes with 7581 and have the SED's in the center. Hard to tell the difference between 45W and 90W. Sounds like a complete quad of SED's to me. Perhaps I will get a matched pair of SED's and run them with other tubes. Burn them up 2 at a time and not 4 at a time.

I did compare the Svetlanas to the SEDs. They sounded comparable but lacks the harmonic complexity. I put them in the Mark V in place of the SED's to get a feel if I could get used to them. So far not bad. I would still inquire about other tubes, perhaps there is one that is quite different that I may like better than the SED wing c.

I must be a bad omen or something.. no response,,,, not even a suggestion?

Oh well, :roll: I guess I am on my own on this one.

I decided to get both jj6Ca7 and TAD 6L6GC-STR (look similar to SED's with the dual getter but that is where it ends).
If I end up liking either of them, the company will stop making it for sure.

I also ordered three mallard reissue 12ax7 to give a try. Many seem to rave about them so why not try them.
I cannot find any more Fane speakers in the US. At least I got one and it kicks *** in the Mark IV combo, I actually like it better than the EV. A side note: the Mark IV sounds better with the Svetlana 6L6GC tubes (made by Reflektor plant, not by SED even though the glass has the S logo along with Svetlana Electron Devices below it, not the same tube as the SED) than they do in the Mark V. I tried to pair up two SED's with the Svetlana, sounded okay but having all 4 SED tubes sounded the best. I wonder if the EL34 bias would work with the 6L6GC tubes. I recall reading about the TAD's in Recto's sounding better that way. I doubt I will ever try it as I do not want to replace the Mark V.

bandit2013 said:

Looks like Svetlana Electron Devices had decided to stop producing audio tubes. I did some looking into it as it was rumored on "the tube store" website. At first I thought this was a market ploy to get charge more for tubes. Turns out the factory is not closed or closing, they just decided to pull the plug on manufacture of audio tubes.

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bandit - can you post a link to the article on the production stoppage?

I believe you, just want to read up on it. I may need to horde!

Thanks

Might help in here : http://www.stereophile.com/news/022304svetlana/

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t32158/

If the link does not work, copy this to your browser: www.music-electronics-forum.com/t32158

The author : km6xz, look at what he has to say. He can be considered an insider somewhat.

I saw the notice on "the tube store" website. At first I though yeah right, that is BS. well that was until I tried to get to the truth and looked at many different forums and such, still was not convince until I found the above link. It may be true, not really sure. Not many e-stores have indicated SED may be getting out of Audio tube manufacturing. Just an FYI, I hope it is just a rumor.

That sux mate ! Hope another company will make them now !

It seems strange that they would just fold up shop. I deal with trademarks and the stereophile article doesn't say anything about shutting down production, it just mentions that they can no longer produce tubes under the Svetlana name. Even though the guy from Russia says they have "halted production of glass tubes and is selling off little remaining stock" that is also typical of a trademark dispute. They can no longer produce tubes branded with the name "Svetlana", but they can legally make the same exact vacuum tube branded as "Winged C". If it were a patent lawsuit, that would be different. Trademarks are are primarily used for Branding to let consumers know that they are buying a product associated with that Trademark, which could reflect quality, lifestyle, etc. SED stands for Svetlana Electron Devices and the word "Svetlana" written on the tube and on the packaging is causing the problem.

You can make 2 guitars; both can have the same shape, mahogany bodies with a maple top, 2 humbucker pickups. Brand one with the name Gibson LP and the other as some unheard of name and they will not command the same price. You pay for the name because it holds some inherent value.

Doing a little research, I found this website: http://www.wingedc.com/

I think my theory holds water and our friends at Tube Depot that say they are "fairly certain" are either wrong or misleading in an attempt to drive up the prices on all of the those tone junkies who think that their amp will never sound this good again.

The articles posted at the top of this thread were from February and March of 2013. The wingedc.com website was registered in May of 2013, most likely in an attempt to dispel rumors. You can still buy the same exact tubes. Just don't buy them from tube depot. If they are lying about it it's messed up. If they would lie about this, they are probably lying about not buying the second quality tubes too.

knotts said:

The wingedc.com website was registered in May of 2013

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I stand corrected on this. It was registered on May 13, 2003. I still hope I'm right. Another thread suggests it may be limited to KT-88's. Time will tell.

http://www.rig-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=132619

Thanx mate , appreciated .

I am not trying to start a rumor, that was done long ago. I do want to know what is truth and what is not. Time will reveal what is yet to come as far as manufacture of the SED audio tubes. Since the company is not closing, just production has ceased on the audio tubes. That may start again or perhaps it is the end of a great product.

Back in February of this year I attempted to buy two matched pairs from Doug's tubes. He did not have a matched quad. I placed the order and got an email response from him the following day. He reported that the SED tubes he had were not as good quality wise as the one's he used to carry. He referred me to the GT6L62-R which were SED relabeled by Groove Tubes which were NOS due to date of construction. They are identical to SED except for the GT logo. If they are not SED tubes I really want to find out what tubes they are since they sound amazing. The quad cost me $160.00, that is cheap considering what it would cost for current available tubes assuming they are not second quality rejects.

It is tempting to take the risk from "the tube store" but yet I question are you getting the best quality or was Dough correct when the stated the quality has not lived up to expectations. He was referring to what he had in stock at the moment. That was enough for me not to dig deep in my pockets to get another set of SED's. Instead, I bought two quads of other tubes, along with a few other preamp and Rectifier.

Tubes are not like a box of chocolates, you know exactly what you are going to get when you open the box, it is the condition or quality that is questionable, does it sound good or does it eat fuses when you plug it in?

This rumour is an almost annual thing now...

Just because they don't make KT88s anymore doesn't mean they'll cease production.

To answer the thread's original question, I talked to my tech when I was retubing my 2:90 and he said that TungSol 6L6s are very close to Winged C's. As for EL34s, I am kind of leaning towards EH based on what a few users have said on the JVM forum.

ThanKx fellas , a great place to get info here .

knotts said:

The articles posted at the top of this thread were from February and March of 2013. The wingedc.com website was registered in May of 2013, most likely in an attempt to dispel rumors. You can still buy the same exact tubes. Just don't buy them from tube depot. If they are lying about it it's messed up. If they would lie about this, they are probably lying about not buying the second quality tubes too.

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Funny you should say this. I contacted the Tube Depot yesterday and they said they have not heard about them ceasing production. I also asked them if their current stock contains any factory seconds and they said, no. I then forwarded them this link to comment on...

http://www.sedtubes.com/sed_news.html

It was late in the day, so I'm still waiting to hear back on that one. That said, I've been purchasing from the Tube Depot for years & have always been happy with the service and selection of tubes, but time will tell.

I'll keep you posted on the response.

knotts said:

I think my theory holds water and our friends at Tube Depot that say they are "fairly certain" are either wrong or misleading in an attempt to drive up the prices on all of the those tone junkies who think that their amp will never sound this good again.

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Do you mean the TUBE STORE and not TUBE DEPOT, b/c the Tube Store is the one that is saying they are going out of business, not Tube Depot.

Thanks

While thetubestore has great tubes and great customer service, their website is full of errors and misinformation. For example, to say that GT "simply re-label tubes" is not quite the whole truth, there's much more to it than a "simple" relabel, and GT has exclusive tubes made for them that are not relabeled at all.

swbo101 is correct. Tube store and not tube depot. Sorry for the confusion. Long days don't help the accuracy of my posts.

I looked up the company that registered the SED website and it's a company based in the UK and different from the one is Arizona. Not sure what that means but it's conflicting. Curious to hear what tube depot says.

I emailed the 2 companies associated with the wingedc.com website. I'll keep you posted if I hear back.

I contacted the distributor who works with Tube Depot and they say SED has not closed and is not planning to. They are just out sourcing raw materials.