Orange Amps Forum

I Recently bought an amazing Genz Benz Black Pearl 30, and amazing though it was, I suspected its power valves to be well past their best. That amp has a fan, and you can clearly see which valve was closest to the fan.......




Enters the replacement.



This is almost an EL84.
The best EL84 I've heard too (I'm not an expert, but seemingly lots of people agree, and Dr Z use them in their amp from stock).

They are military grade NOS Russian 6P14P EV. They will cope with up to 500v, so can run pretty hot, and are rated for 5000 to 10000h of use. And they weigh more than all the other valves I have at hand. JJ EL84, 13g, Harma EL84 13g, Sovtek EL84 18g, 6P14P EV 20g. You can even see it looks better made.

The best thing is how beautiful they sound!!!!!!
Full rounded low end, superbly defined, lovely glassy and sparkly top end, they are a very distinct and massive improvement compared to the still reasonably new JJ EL84 in my AD15.

Essentially..... I'm blown away. And best thing..... They aren't expensive.

Depending on seller, they'll set you back around £45 incl postage for a quartet. Same or cheaper the new production valves. You'll have to wait a little while for them though..... the mail is slow from Russia/Moldova/Ukraine.




Do your research, they're great. I just bought 12 of them in total - cant wait to receive the next 8 so I have enough to replace the JJs in my AD15.

Great info - thanks for letting us know!

Those old tubes though - I've never seen anything so burnt looking!

bclaire wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:20 pm

Great info - thanks for letting us know!

Those old tubes though - I've never seen anything so burnt looking!

I know! The blackest one had gone microphonic - no surprise there.
The Genz Benz Black Pearl 30 run pretty hot and has a fan, but those 30/40 yo Russian valves should cope with the higher voltage a lot better.

I can't wait to drop a set in my AD15.

Interesting!

Where did you get them from? I'm looking for some new ones....

Ronnie Robinson wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:49 pm

Interesting!

Where did you get them from? I'm looking for some new ones....

This is the ebay seller I got them from.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2463704635

Had to wait 10 days or so from Moldova.

They're a great improvement on the current JJ EL84 in my AD15.

I can't compare them to the old Harma (valves the JJ replaced in my AD15) or the Sovtek in my Black Pearl as both sets were pretty worn/ cooked. The Harma are almost identical to the JJ EL84 in terms of construction though. Same ribbed plate, stapling, very similar (near identical) getter and mica. The sovtek are different in construction.

The NOS 6P14P EV is slightly different, every part seems better made. Their getter is a big sturdy looking halo.
Note that you can get standard 6P14P, and they have the same operating limits as standard EL84. Only the 6P14P EV are way over spec'ed as old military standard valves.

Here you can see the 6P14P EV next to sovtek EL84, the sovtek getter is a round dish, the 6P14P EV is a massive halo at the top.



I'm glad I gambled £45 on them.

By the way, there are plenty of sellers for these valves. They seemingly are quite common and plenty full at the moment.

Some are lower spec'ed than mine, some higher- including platinum grid. Mine have gold (plated?) grid.

Cheers

Les Paul Lover wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:51 pm

bclaire wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:20 pm

Great info - thanks for letting us know!

Those old tubes though - I've never seen anything so burnt looking!

I know! The blackest one had gone microphonic

Maybe that's the black pearl??

ha ha ha ha!

murkofaeons wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:09 pm

Les Paul Lover wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:51 pm

bclaire wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:20 pm

Great info - thanks for letting us know!

Those old tubes though - I've never seen anything so burnt looking!

I know! The blackest one had gone microphonic

Maybe that's the black pearl??

Damn!!!! Did I throw away the magic!!!!!?????

All jokes aside, the only thing that was magic about that valve was the noise it could make all by itself....

Good info, I'll have to look into these. Thanks.

I've just received my next lot of 8 matched valves. Can't wait to test thwm and replace my AD15 JJ EL84. The JJs are good, but not a match for the 6P14P EV I put them up against last time.

I must get some now valves for my TTHw... It's completely lost its mojo, let me know how you get on!

Ronnie Robinson wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 21, 2018 5:48 am

I must get some now valves for my TTHw... It's completely lost its mojo, let me know how you get on!

They're great. I tried the 8 of them as pairs tonight in my AD15.
I bought 12 of them in total, none are microphonic, they all work absolutely fine and sound great. The JJ I had are relegated to working spares. Got 4 of these 6P14P EV in my Genz Benz Black Pearl 30, 2 in my AD15, and 6 spares.

The old worn out Harma and Sovtek EL84 are in the recycling bin.

These 6P14P EV are really great valves. Really full low end, superb high end too. They give my LP more bass, but also a more rounded and articulate bass, and with my Vigier Expert (strat type), the bell ring tone is beautiful. Really superb highs.



Since I was valve swapping, I thought I'd try the old Harma STR 7025 (12AX7) preamp valve amd compare it to the JJ ECC83S I've replaced it with. The JJ hasn't gone back in. I had fitted all JJ valves when I replaced the worn out EL84, and the new JJ EL84 were so much better than the the worn out Harma, I never tried the old preamp valves again.


A case in point for preamp valve lasting MUCH longer the power valves. The Harma EL84 were pretty dull, but the Harma preamp valve just fine. Really sweet sounding, richer high end.

By the way, these lovely Harma STR 7025 seem to be simply Electro Harmonic ECC83. Exact same construction, and the Harma are simply a rebrand. They might get an extra test when Watford Valves get them, but essentially, they are Electro Harmonic valves.

I think the Harma EL84 is a JJ though. The only difference I could see was that the plate ribbing in the Harma was a bit fatter.


Update: the Harma 7025 is out. Squealed really badly with both volume and gain run high. It's been replaced by an RTF ECC83, which sounds quite a bit better, and is much less susceptible to squealing!!!

I had a matched pair of EB's in my TTHW. Fully concur that they are stellar sounding tubes. About to order a pair for my R15 combo.

Enjoy!