(18 votes, average: 3.78 out of 5)
Loading...“… and was blown to shreds with the absolute clarity and tightnss of the new valves …”
“Mullard EL34 reissue is a surprisingly good sounding vacuum tube. Warm with fairly solid bass.”
3 thoughts on “Mullard EL34 Russia”
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The Mullard EL34 Russia is a rare success story in the world of modern vacuum tubes. Honestly, my expectations were low after testing numerous new production preamp tubes that failed to live up to the hype. However, the reissue Mullard provided a genuine shock to the system. After swapping out a set of classic RCA 6L6GC black plates and spending some time with the Mullards, I found myself making the unthinkable decision to keep the new production glass in the amp over the vintage RCAs.
This is a great sounding tube that delivers a punchy and clean bass, a warm and relaxed mid-range, and a very nice top-end extension. Perhaps the most startling revelation came during a direct comparison with an original Mullard EL34 from the 1960s; the two were VERY, VERY close in character, with the vintage original being only a tiny bit more relaxed. It has been two weeks since these tubes entered my amplifier, and I have absolutely no desire to remove them. It is a relief to finally find a high-quality option from new production stock.
I also compared these tubes to Mullard EL34 with metal base – Metal base tube won clearly – but maybe not a fair comparison since nothing comes close to the metal base Mullards.
Yeah, I have a quad for my P&K Audio Duet 34 integrated. They sound very good but I still use EH 6CA7 quad as the first choice, EHs simply sound more coherent, full-bodied and with more authority.