| These are our current stock lines. As we build up the business, you can be sure we will add more. Feel free to ask for things we don't stock. We can always add them to our next order for you! Remember we're not big enough to be VAT registered so what you see is what you pay. |
 If you want an EL34, there is plenty of choice. It's a valve which still sells well, so it's
a valve that lots of manufacturers still make. However, we have selected the electro-harmonix version as the best one
made today. Many cheap EL34s have suffered from reliability troubles, and also a nasty brash sound. The electro-harmonix
version has neither of these problems. It's got a detailed sound, with good dynamics and slam, and of all the modern things
we think it's the best. Yes, we are aware that the Russians also make a version of an EL34 branded Mullard, but on listening
to them, we thought they were very much the same as these electro-harmonix, but much more expensive. That sounds like a
bad deal to us.Musicians who use these in guitar amplifiers will be more concerned about how they handle being over- driven. Well, they give a very similar sort of response to the original Mullards. What's more they can handle the high voltages often found in guitar amplifiers without flashing over and making fools of themselves. If you want to make a lovely, dirty, Punk Rock sort of sound, these will do it if you thrash them good and hard! If you have an amplifier which uses EL34 and has always sounded a bit hard, brash, and "electronic", whether that's a HiFi or a guitar amp, we would suggest that you try the 6CA7 which we also stock. The 6CA7 is a beam tetrode, whereas the EL34 is a pentode, and the tetrodes make a more refined sound which can be a real revelation in a slightly brash amplifier. Price: £10.58 each. EL34 is sold in matched pairs, quads, or octets. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 If you want an EL84, this is the one to have. The
Russians make two main versions of the EL84. This is the better quality version, branded electro-harmonix. We stock
it in the electro-harmonix version because the numbering and branding on the Sovtek version is frequently scruffy and
makes the valves look like cheap tat. Of all the modern EL84s, this is the only version that pulls a decent amount
of anode current and has a decent amount of mutual conductance. It can handle the same voltages as the original Mullard
too, without the flashovers which seem to be so common with most of the modern EL84s. As an EL84 is a fairly low-power
device, it is usual for amplifier designers to run them pretty much at the maximum permitted voltages and currents in
order to get a decent output power. This in turn means that if you're not going to fit a decent EL84, your amplifier is
likely to suffer quite badly.This version of the EL84 has a nice sound, with good bass control, good detail, and a very expressive mid-band. It does not have the same sonic signature as the original Mullards. We think it sounds a bit more modern. It's a bit less bloomy in the mid-band, and the bass control is tighter. One thing to remember with the Russian EL84 is that it sounds great for the first hour after turn-on, and after that it sounds fantastic. Don't judge it until you've warmed it up properly! Price: £7.96 each. EL84 is sold in matched pairs, quads, or octets. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 If your amplifier has a valve rectifier, never
take the rectifier valve for granted. The fact that your power supply is around the right voltage is no reason to assume
that the rectifier valve is perfect. What happens when the output valves draw a peak of current? If the rectifier is
past its prime, the voltage coming from it will drop as the current peaks. This leaves the output valves with a lower
voltage power supply to run from for a split second. The audible result is soft, waffly bass which lacks control, and in
bad cases, you can hear the bass "chopping up" the treble. The solution is very simple. Make sure your rectifier valve
is in good order, with low impedance, supplying current peaks with ease.There are not many rectifier valves in current production, and of the 5U4G variety, this is the best, lowest impedance version, which gives the best bass control. It is not as good looking as the old 5U4G valves with the coke-bottle shape, but it does work very well. The 5U4GB was an uprated later version of the 5U4G, so whether your amplifier specifies 5U4G or 5U4GB, this is the valve we suggest. Price: £10.58 each. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 It's a remarkable thing is a 6CA7! It allows you
to perform a very neat trick. If you have an amplifier which was designed to use an EL34, and it has always sounded a
bit hard and brash, you need to get some 6CA7s for it. The 6CA7 is a beam tetrode, like a 6L6 is, not a pentode, like
an EL34. While pentodes often sound a bit brash and bright, beam tetrodes usually have a more smooth and balanced but
still detailed presentation. This version of the 6CA7 is basically the electrode structure of a 6L6GC (hence the large
diameter bottle) but with the grids re-worked to give the same mutual conductance as an EL34. The difference you can
make with a set of these is amazing. We often fit them in place of EL34s in hifi and guitar amps, and most people love
them. (But if you want to make a dirty British Punk sound with your guitar amp, forget these and stick to EL34!) They
sound very nearly as good as 5881 does, and they have the huge advantage of being a plug-in replacement for EL34.Price: £11.34 each. 6CA7 is sold in matched pairs, quads, or octets. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 For years, we used to say that nobody was still
making a decent 6SN7GT, and we got by on our stocks of old Brimars. Then, when our Brimars were nearly all used up, Sovtek
re-vamped their 6SN7GT, and it was good. Now there's a top-spec version available on electro-harmonix branding which has
gold pins, and it sounds great. These run more current than many of the original Brimars, and they have a very nice sound,
where detail, control, and dynamics are all available in plenty. We have yet to find one with anything other than excellent
mutual conductance. These are making us very happy at the moment because they are a sort of plug-in upgrade for most
amplifiers which use 6SN7GT.It's worth remembering that these sound great when you first try them, but they really take off and fly when they've had a good hour to warm up properly. Don't jump to conclusions with these. Price: £16.09 each. 6SN7GT is sold in matched pairs. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 ECC82 is a fantastic little valve. A good example
has a wonderful sweet sound, without being at all old fashioned or bloomy. There were millions of them around, but now
even ECC82 is getting hard to find in original form. Luckily, although most modern ECC82s are absoultely dire, there is
a good one available. This is it! It's from the Sovtek factory, but the gold-pin version is only available on the electro-
harmonix branding, and the gold pin version is the one to have. This valve retains the sweetness of a good original ECC82
without overdoing it and becoming all soft and romantic sounding. The control and dynamics of this little valve are
excellent, and it seems to be able to do any job in an amplifier, from handling very small signals at the input end of
things, to driving EL34s to blast 100 Watts out of a guitar amp. It will throw around quite serious quantities of current
if you ask it to, and they all seem to have good mutual conductance. These are good little valves. We love them, because
they're a quick and easy way to soup-up people's amplifiers without having to do a great deal!Price: £15.60 each. 12AU7 is sold in matched pairs. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 If you need to replace an ECC83, you have a huge
choice. Almost every manufacturer still making valves makes some sort of 12AX7. The trouble is, some of them are dire!
This is the best of the Sovtek offerings, the 12AX7LPS. The LP stands for Long Plate. Plate is American for Anode. The
original Mullards (which are worth a packet) had long anodes, and a very particular sound. This is the Russian attempt
to capture the same magic. They've done very well. In fact, while they have captured some of the magic of the original
Mullard Long Plate, they have actually improved the control of the bass, and tidied up the treble details as well. This
really is a very good version of an ECC83. It is a very interesting fusion of old-fashioned and modern sounds, and it
works very well indeed in most amplifiers. The S in the part number means it's got a spiral heater construction, which
is the best way to reduce hum pick-up from the heater circuit when the heater is run from AC in the normal way.We reckon this is the best of the ECC83s by quite a big margin, and we suggest it as a universal replacement, unless you want to have the souped-up version with gold pins on it, in which case you need the 5751 which we also stock. Price: £10.07 each. 12AX7LPS is sold in matched pairs. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 This looks like a 12AX7LPS with gold plated pins.
We thought that's all it was when we first saw it. But it always sounded a little different. A little more control,
a little more dynamic, and somehow, rather "the same magic, only more so". When we tested them, we found out why. This is not
just a 12AX7LPS with gold pins. It has a higher average mutual conductance, and it will run more anode current if asked
to. It's truly the best thing we've ever seen/heard which will plug into an ECC83 socket and sing a tune. This is a fantastic
sounding valve and we use it when we're souping up all sorts of amplifiers. It's not cheap, but it's a stunning
performer. Never underestimate the potential of a 5751!These give their very best sound after about an hour and ten minutes of warming up. They're good from cold. They're amazing when they're really warm! Price: £16.85 each. 5751 is sold in matched pairs. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 The 5881 is a very special valve indeed. It will
replace all variants of the 6L6, from 6L6 to 6L6GC, and also KT66. The 5881 should not be confused with the 6L6GC. There
are many versions of the 6L6GC, from many manufacturers, but the genuine Sovtek 5881 has a unique electrode structure,
inside a unique anode, and it gives a unique sound quality. It has good control over the entire frequency range, it has
good dynamics, it is quiet and reliable, and there is a certain magic to its sound that is quite unlike any other 6L6
variant. It will out-perform any 6L6 variant in terms of sound quality, and is an upgrade for any amplifier which used
6L6 variants. It is a plug-in replacement for the KT66, but it sounds absolutely nothing like the KT66. Compared with
a 5881, KT66 sounds dreadfully old-fashioned and lead-footed. (If you want to preserve a KT66 sound, the only option
is to get hold of the Chinese copies of the original KT66s. We don't stock them.)The 5881 sounds great as soon as it warms up, but the magic only really starts after the first hour of running, when they are fully warmed up. Don't jump to conclusions with 5881s! Price: £10.58 each. 5881 is sold in matched pairs, quads, or octets. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |
 ECC88 is a difficult valve to replace, partly
because even a lot of the originals sounded pretty poor. The ECC88 was designed mainly as a valve for working at high radio
frequencies, so it was not really designed for superb sound. Many originals suffer from microphony or cold, hard sound
which is most uninteresting. Luckily, some of the modern ECC88 versions are quite nice, and this electro-harmonix 6922
is the nicest of them all. The 6922 was originally a souped-up version of ECC88 with better quality and gold pins, and
given the problems with many original ECC88s, the 6922 seems to be the most intelligent way to go. This version sounds
very good. It is detailed, and controlled, but also it has a transparent and involving quality which is missing from
many ECC88 variants. The gold pins are potentially just the ticket for valves used with very low-level signals, (which
is where the excellent low noise of the 6922 comes into its own) preventing troubles with scratchy and crackly contacts
between pins and socket.Price: £16.85 each. 6922 is sold in matched pairs. To buy, just email us, let us know what you want and we'll get straight back to you. You can pay by cheque or PayPal. |