Metropoulos Forum

I have a customer needing a quad of 6550's for his 1982 Marshall 2203. Would any of you take a chance on these?

http://tubedepot.com/sv-6550c-2nd.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No other =C= available in this size, from any of my normal suppliers at this time.

I tried a pair of the EL34 seconds, and they appeared to be brand new. 6ma apart, which is fine by me.
I just ordered another pair.

Give it a shot, they'll take them back and credit your account if you're not happy.

OnTheFritz wrote:I tried a pair of the EL34 seconds, and they appeared to be brand new. 6ma apart, which is fine by me.
I just ordered another pair.

Give it a shot, they'll take them back and credit your account if you're not happy.

My only concern is with reliability, how long have you had the pair? Have you check them since, to see if they have drifted any further?

Rob Hull at Tube Depot told me they are tubes sent back by stereo amp makers for being outside of their requirements. Re-tested when they get back to Tube Depot. For $20.00 I'll get a pair of 34's.

C'mon guys! I was keeping these a secret since I assume that they aren't in great supply, but who knows.

Mars Hall wrote:

OnTheFritz wrote:I tried a pair of the EL34 seconds, and they appeared to be brand new. 6ma apart, which is fine by me.
I just ordered another pair.

Give it a shot, they'll take them back and credit your account if you're not happy.

My only concern is with reliability, how long have you had the pair? Have you check them since, to see if they have drifted any further?

I used the pair while burning in an amp that was listed for a week on ebay. I probably logged 20 hours on them, and they were stable and sounded great.
Still have the tubes, as I put new (not seconds) in the amp when I shipped it.
I'm ampless at present, so I can't add anything more in regards to longevity, but I wouldn't hesitate one bit.

You have 10 days, if they're toast, send them back and apply your funds towards brand new ones.

Installed them, other than having a dud, which the Tube Depot rectified immediately, the tubes sound great. I never thought I would like the sound of 6550's, these were flat out awesome tubes.

I had always believed they would be very clean, lots of headroom. The amp sounded very gainy, even at lower volumes.

Mars Hall wrote:I never thought I would like the sound of 6550's, these were flat out awesome tubes.

I had always believed they would be very clean, lots of headroom. The amp sounded very gainy, even at lower volumes.

How cold/hot did you bias them?