Can your 6SN7 replace my 6SN7GT, 6SN7GTA, 6SN7GTB?

We sometimes receive amp owners question about tube substitute related to 6SN7. Here is a short summary:

  1. GT stands for ‘Glass Tube’.
  2. GTA is an enhanced version of original GT version – to allow higher plate dissipation than the GT version.
  3. GTB is variant of GTA, with a heater warmer control to further enhance reliability when this tube was used in TVs.
  4. Very early 6SN7 tubes can handle max 300V. Today’s new production 6SN7 tubes can handle max 450V.
  5. In short, new production 6SN7 can replace your old 6SN7 without frying the tubes. But you should not use a NOS 6SN7 designed to handle 300V, into a modern circuit of 450V.
  6. All our listed 6SN7 tubes (no matter what suffix it has) can electronically replace 6SN7GT, 6SN7GTA, and 6SN7GTB.
  7. Do check dimension clearance to make sure the different glass bulb shape can fit into your amp space!

Happy tube rolling!

We are ‘Global Shopping Friendly’: Multiple Currencies & EU / UK Zone

We now offer multi-currency shopping to worldwide customers in US$, Euro €, and CAD$!

You can simply select your desired currency on the right side of this website, and view all product pricing in that currency, shop and make payment in that currency. 

Currency exchange rate is updated EVERY MINUTE in real time, as per global foreign exchange market. (Please note exchange rate posted on xe.com is for mid-market rate reference only. Retail banking exchange rate is usually higher with a retail banking spread added by the banks.)

We have also added ‘Direct bank transfer’ payment in US$, Euro and CAD$ method besides Paypal & Credit Card payment methods. 

For EU/UK zone customers, starting Jan 1st, 2021 for UK and July 1st, 2021 for EU, we will not ship any orders valued BELOW 150 Euro or 135GBP due to new VAT regulations implemented in these regions. Orders above these value threshold will not be affected and will be shipped as usual. 

For EU/UK zone customers, we strongly suggest customers to choose ‘Express DHL’ shipment method. Although paying a small extra cost than other shipping methods, you will have real time full tracking from start to finish, the fastest shipping transit time and customs clearance in destination country is automatically done by courier DHL Express with digital invoice pre-submitted by us – no need to line up at a local postal office for pickup and if any tax amount due, you usually can pay it before delivery date online with DHL. It is time saving and hassle saving! 

Happy Listening and Happy Global Shopping!

Grant Fidelity

6SN7SE Globe Tube Tips – ‘You Raise Me Up’

Some amps have preamp 6SN7 tubes placed in a very tight real estate – i.e. two tubes are placed very closely to each other so the new high end 6SN7 with curved larger / wider glass enclosure cannot fit in side by side.

A customer from Europe recently told me his solution and I think it is worthwhile to share! That is – use a socket saver to raise one of the tubes up!

Just google ‘8 pin socket saver’ (not ‘socket adapter’ which may change pin layout connections) and make sure to purchase from a reputable audio parts vendor. Some lower quality socket saver can introduce current leakage to your circuit and cause unexpected noise issues.

Happy Listening!

6SN7SE Globe – ‘The SE blows them all out of the water’

Feedback received from Craig M. on GF Special Edition – Treasure 6SN7SE Globe:

“Rachel,
I got my SE’s today!  I must say … I have spent a LOT of money on boutique 6SN7 variants and I have never heard anything like this before!  I am running a DIY 6SN7 line stage that was designed by Jack Elliano of Electra-Print.  This is by far the best 6SN7 I have ever heard.  I have NOS Sylvania Bad Boys, TJ, Black Treasure, various JAN and there is NO comparison!  The SE blows them all out of the water…”

Hear what the cable pro said about [Linlai™ Global] E-845….. ‘real keepers!’

Eric D. from France is an industry pro specialized in ultra high end cabling. His audition skills are professional and field proven, and here is what he said about after owning a pair of [Linlai™ Global] E-845 top grade tubes:

“The Linlai E-845s are very nicely built. You can tell by looking inside
the glass tube that they are manufactured with care. When brand new,
they performed nicely, but it was after about 120 to 150 hours that they
really came alive. They really need that burn-in time to reveal their
full potential. I’m not the patient type, but this time I was glad I
waited.

All the qualities the best 845s are renowned for are there. Let’s talk about dynamics first : a bit timid during the burn-in time, dynamics become quite exceptional after 100hrs and when tubes and amp reach their optimal operating temperature. They are extremely fast, with lots of impact and speed, speed and more speed. Extension in the bass is quite impressive and treble is exactly what you expect : not a trace of harshness but lots of details. Midrange is just exceptional, voices come alive to a point that I’ve very rarely experienced before. The timbres of acoustic instrument are very real, and that is quite obvious on violin or cello.

Soundstaging is outstanding, both in depth, width and accuracy. And there’s air between the instruments, something you can only hear when you are in the presence of real high-end gear. Pitch-black silence is another telltale sign of that.

On rock or blues, you can easily identify what guitar or amp is being played. A Strat sounds like a Strat, and there’s no mistaking a Les Paul or a Tele for anything else.

Comparing them to a pair of RCAs a friend brought around, the Linlai E-845s did at least as good as them in all fields, but they have a greater sense of immediacy, something that makes you feel more connected to the music….

Thanks a lot Rachel, those tubes are real keepers!

Cheers,

Eric”

Positive Feedback review: Linlai™ Global E-300B vs. Psvane ACME300B

Review Juan C. Ayllon spent time with both tubes on his ultra high end Lampizator Big 7 Mk1 Digital to Analog Converter for ‘An Aural Indulgence


  • “If vacuum tubes were wine, the Linlai would be a sophisticated French red Bordeaux blend from the Left Bank of the river Garrone in Bordeaux, France, while the ACME would be a top shelf Cabernet Sauvignon from California’s Napa Valley served in posh steakhouses. 
  • Don’t get me wrong; both the Linlai E-300B and the Psvane ACME 300B render rich, well-balanced presentations, and if I were not making conscious A to B comparisons, it would be easy to miss the differences. And, either vacuum tube will deliver luxuriant listening pleasures worthy of the most discriminating audiophile, enhancing high end tube gear performance and pairing them nicely with highly resolving components like the Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier or X250.8 amplifier for a spectacular aural finish…”

Read the FULL REVIEW here.

I got a USPS tracking number…. now what.. why isn’t it moving?

For tube orders from USA customers, we sometimes use Canadian domestic courier service to ship to the border of Alberta/Montana, then customs brokers clear the parcels through US Customs into the USA for final delivery by USPS. Once the parcels entered the USA (AFTER customs clearance and released by US Customs), the USPS tracking number will become live tracking on www.usps.com, and the journey starts from a small town called Sweet Grass, Montana.

Don’t jump when you see your order was shipped from Montana, not from Canada. It’s just cross-border paperwork to get on USPS shipping network.

In the above shipping scenario, USA Customer will receive a 26 digit USPS tracking number as soon as we process your order in Canada – ie. pick n pack your orders and give the boxes to the Canadian couriers (this will usually happen within 48 hours of receiving your orders).

Customers in USA need to wait (patiently) for 2-3 business days for domestic transportation within Canada and border crossing into USA to complete, before starting to click on usps.com for updated USPS tracking.