Giant Killers? New tubes from Sophia Electric.

Posted by: Breuninger at 10:10 am, July 9th, 2010

I don’t know if I’m more suspicious of NOS tubes or the claims of new tubes bettering them.
 
I’ve been a tube maven for 30+ years and it seems the hype and (the prices) of the best of the best NOS tubes has hit a fever pitch. Whether it’s a smooth plate Telefunken, a Bad Boy 6SN7, an RCA 845 or the mother of all tubes, the Western Electric 212E, I get anxiety at replacement time.   Are they rescreened fakes or “pulls” from an estate sale?   Not to mention, there are thousands of NOS tube types and cross variations- it makes you dizzy reading the boards about which tube works best, in what position, and in which amp. Is the purported magic of the best NOS tubes worth the hassle? Ten years ago I would have answered, a resounding, yes. Today, not so fast.
 
The continued popularity of tube amps and the shrinking supply of the best NOS tubes has enabled entrepreneurs to team with overseas specialty manufacturers to spec design, limited edition, high quality runs of tubes that can equal or exceed holy grail NOS tubes. For fear of flogging by the best NOS tube resellers, I’ll temper (somewhat) the enthusiasm I have for recommending today’s new tubes with a few words of caution. Every tube circuit is different. Pop in a NOS tube and it’s a crap shoot. Components “age”, that is, resistors drift, and capacitors “form” and each system and corresponding listener is unique.  That NOS tube may be just the ticket or it may be the beginning of endless rounds of substitutions and hand wringing. And don’t forget that today’s components are voiced with new tubes. The sound you get from that new CAT preamp is predicated (partly) upon the tubes the designer selects. 
 
High-end companies do not stock and maintain tube inventories to make money. Audio designers strive for consistency in product runs and buy parts in quantity to meet production needs. Plus, many manufacturers purchase additional parts/tubes for; 1) replacement inventory for customer satisfaction, and 2) replication of sonic signature. You will very often pay more for a set of tubes from your equipment manufacturer but you will be getting tried and true product that fits the design parameters of your specific component. Plus, the manufacturer may stand behind and guarantee the tubes. You can’t go wrong with new tubes from your component manufacturer.
 
With these caveats aside, let’s take a look at a new crop of specialty tubes. Specifically, the new coke bottle shaped 6SN7 from Sophia Electric, www.sophiaelectric.com .   Check out the beauty of the tube. Looking closely you can see the quality… even the silk screening is top-notch. 

Sophia has been designing and distributing specialty vacuum tubes since 1999. All Sophia tubes are manufactured in a small boutique facility in China. I’ll cover more must-have Sophia products in an upcoming column but suffice it to say, these 6SN7s are giant killers. I tested them in two applications, as SET amp driver tubes, and as low signal amplifiers in the reference Wyetech Opal linestage. 6SN7s have been gaining in popularity and are found at the heart of many top-notch tube preamps from companies such as Rogue Audio, Cary Audio and Atma-Sphere Music Systems.   Be warned!  This is only a preview with limited component testing.
 
The Sophia 6SN7s were put to task against several sets of NOS Silvania 6SN7s (chrome domes), standard Electro-Harmonix (EH) 6SN7s and a set of PhillipsECG WGTAs. In the Wyetech Opal linestage (after 20 or so hours of burn in), the Sophia’s had the midrange magic of the Silvania’s but added an of extra boost of three dimensionality. Overall, the Sophia’s were as colorless as the Silvania’s and the reach of the frequency extremes were near identical.  However, I noted more top-end air and openness with the Sophia’s- plus a smidgen more refinement.  On Suzanne Vega’s “Nine Object’s of Desire” her voice took on an extra amount of inner life. On the track “Headshots”, there was a marked increase in image density and a greater spotlight effect of her vocal.  Mind you, my one set of Silvania 6SN7GT’s has a good amount of hours on them (like about 300). Finding a true blue NOS pair of Silvania Bad Boy 6SN7s can cost upwards of $360. The Sophia’s are priced from $49 each and climb to over $100 depending on grade and guarantee.
 
The Phillips were bettered in every parameter by the Sophia 6SN7s.  In back-to-back comparisons, the Phillips had a hard hitting below-the-belt (midrange) punch but it came at the expense of that dreaded low-mid warmth coloration and a lack of top-end extension. Interestingly, the more common and modestly priced ($14.95) Electro-Harmonix 6SN7s were quite enjoyable with excellent clarity and staging. However, it didn’t take long to detect a less-than satisfactory holographic image and a drier lower midrange with the EH.  Preliminary testing as drivers in a pair of Komuro 845s confirmed the results. Driver tubes in power amplifiers are often more critical than the output tubes!  
 
I’ll keep you posted on other Sophia Electric tubes and compare them to other new and NOS tube offerings. I encourage you to try these and other Sophia tubes and add your findings to this blog.