EH 6CA7

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cpfeife44

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I was interested in these and was wondering if anyone has tried them. I ordered a pair and will express my opinion when they come in. They are a better pin match to an EL34 than the KT77 is.
 
The EH 6CA7s are some of my favorite power tubes. I have not tried them in my TC50 yet, as I don't want to void my warranty. However, I have tried them in my Mark V, and I really enjoyed what those did for that amp. But, I have a matched sextet of 6CA7s on hand to try them when I am ready. I also got a pair of Gold Lion KT77s as another person here has said they are stellar in the TC50.
 
:shock: Mesa certified NOS =c= :shock: I am in on that one. Placed an order as soon as I saw this post. Thanks for the tip Authorized Boogie!!!

KT77 sounded killer in the TC-50. I am willing to bet a true 6CA7 would be similar. The SED =C= EL34 that I am using in my Royal Atlantic were ok in the TC-50. I cannot believe the level of grind I am getting in the Royal. Not so with the TC-50. I thought the KT77 were more ideal. Actually the Mesa NOS Siemens EL34 were spectacular. I will have to install them back into the TC-50 when the Mesa STR442s arrive so I can compare. Since I got my TC-50 back from Mesa repair, I have not used any other tubes other than the Mesa brand. Probably because I got the TC-100 and lost interest in the TC-50.

The EL34/6CA7 is a misnomer regarding the SED =C= tubes. The =C= EL34 is made based on the Mullard EL34 power pentode deisgn, in other words it uses screens to control current flow. A true 6CA7 would have beam forming plates vs the additional screens, in othere words a true 6CA7 would be known as Beam Forming Tetrode. The SED =C= is only a power pendtode. The EHX 6CA7 or Gold Lion KT77 are of this form. The KT format does not have any holes in the plates and are said to be kink less or flat.
 
My Mesa tube order arrived today. I did not expect any deliveries on Good Friday but a good day it has become. I did not install them right away as I had been tinkering with the RA100 combo (installed the Celestion Crème 90W Alnicos again to give them another chance also need to break them in, totally different topic). Anyways I figured that the =C= EL34 would sound awesome in the TC-100. I love those tubes in the Royal Atlantic head that I run with an OS Recto 412. What I like about the tubes is the 3D characteristics when they are driven hard. What is most impressive with the Royal is how the clean channel with a high gain setting sounded with the power soak enabled. Oh yeah that just puts a smile on my face. The Mesa stock tube (rebranded EHX EL34) just seemed to have a sterile tone to it with the power soak feature. Well, I could have tried those SED =C= EL34 in the TC-100 but did not bother. I did run a pair of them in the TC-50 and was not overly impressed. Probably because there is more head room with the TC-50, yes I said more head room or at least that is how I perceive the tone difference. The Mesa NOS Siemens EL34 STR 450's do sound great in that particular amp. Sill I like the stock EL34 tube just as much. Back again to the TC-100, the saturated tone of that amp sounds great with the stock STR417 but the amp just sounds incredible with the STR442. OMG, that smile may not come off my face for a while. I was somewhat expecting similar response I got with the TC-50, but no, they sound even better. You have to tease me with the =C= now I want more. :p I was ready to close that chapter and move on. Awesome tubes for the TC-100. So far that has got to be the best combination yet. Come to think of it, if the TC-100 sounds similar to the Rectifier amps with the stock tubes, the SED =C= Mesa STR442 brings that flavor in but much closer to the grunt of the JP-2C when using CH3 on the TC-100. Yes! I am hearing the same type of three dimensional characteristics in the TC-100 with the power soak turned on. Not sterile at all. Big thanks to Authorized Boogie for this announcement. If you want that hard to get tone from your TC-100 I would definitely recommend a quad of these tubes. (or should I not recommend them and buy as many sets as I can....debating that thought :roll: ) I was impressed with the TC-100 right out of the box as is, now I am in love with it. :shock: They are the real deal. I think it is great that Mesa did not clean off the original printing on the glass. They just printed over the logo. Some have the mesa logo on top of the =C= and some were not printed over the =c= logo. Awesome tube. I may nor may not try a pair in the TC-50, I much prefer the KT77 or the NOS Siemens tube. May have to try the 6CA7 I have but can wait.

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I just ordered a pair for the TC50. For the price and the free shipping, I knew I couldn't let this pass by me before they run out, lol! I would hate myself if I at least didn't try them once. If I don't care for the results, I have plenty of other amps I can try them in.
 
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