Since February this year, I have stopped writing English articles for 1388.com. My reason behind is as simple as 3N - “No time, “No Strength” and “No Mood”. Sorry, it should be 4N as I have missed out the most important one “No Money”. Money? Yes, money is a big deal to me, and money means a lot to me too. Don’t you know, “No Money, No Talk” is my favourite slogan? Honestly, I have been very busy with my daytime job, which recently requires me to make frequent overseas travels. So, I am working like hell for money sake, just to struggle for a living and also for the survival of my Hi Fi hobbies. (Hey, Joe Lee, no panics man! I am not asking for salary yet! )So what brings me back here to write something free? Well, this was triggered by one email forwarded from Joe Lee to me 2-3 days ago. A threatening email? Oh, no, it was just an email sent by one of 1388.com readers enquiring about a tube (sound valve) 6H30. Sorry I know Very Little I find this enquiry interesting, as 6H30 is a rare tube to me and I know very little about it honestly. For this reason, I would like to let you know what I know about 6H30, and I wish you would let me know what you know about 6H30 too. What? No Money No Talk? Same Or Different Breed The very little information I have, 6H30 tube is a Russian military graded tube designed for high-current low impedance that offers a significant performance improvement over the industry standard 6922 (ECC88, 6JD7 series). Some have claimed that 6H30 is even three-four times better than 6922. For example, 6H30 is estimated to have a service life of approx. 10,000 hours, longer than 6922’s approx. 5,000 hours. I gathered that 6H30 and 6922 are of similar pin configuration and filament voltage, but 6H30 is not a direct replacement for 6922, as 6H30 requires higher filament current, plate voltage, place current and dissipation than 6922. Nowadays the 6H30 tubes are used in Balanced Audio Technology VK-50SE and also in Audio Research LS25MKII. What would happen if the 6922 tubes of an amplifier are replaced directly with 6H30? I don’t know as I never do this before, nor do I have the technical knowledge to answer this. My wild guess is, such replacement might be harmless but the sonic performance would never be better than using 6922, due to the low current and voltage circuit in the amp designed for 6922, it could never be high enough to feed the hungry 6H30. What about the other way round, replacing 6H30 with 6922 in BAT VK-50SE or AR LS25MKII? Very good question, but honestly if I were you, I dare not test this out, specially when my favourable 6922 / ECC88 NOS tube collection consists of Telefunken, Mullard, Amperex, Siemens, and other big brand names.
If you are interested in the technical details and requirements of 6H30, please feel free to pay a visit to the internet website. |
