I’m still in the process of testing valves, here is how the ranking is coming up so far. This is a mix of driver and output valves. All tested at Vo=+22.22dBu:
THD analysis of different valves
Looking at the chart above a couple of interesting points to highlight:
4P1L is the most linear valve I’ve found so far.
6e5P and 6C45 are expected to be on the top five anyway.
12P17L despite of having similar characteristics as 4P1L is not that linear
6N6P and 6N6P-I disappointed me. I thought the would be more linear..
46 and 47 in triode mode are superb drivers
Have so many other ones to test, but limited time….
Expect this chart to be updated in the future, so stay tuned 🙂
Today decided to do a quick distortion test of on a sample of a variety of different valves. All either triodes or triode-strapped pentodes/tetrodes. As per my previous tests, distortion was measured at +22.22dBu (10 Vrms) at the output of the valve in common-cathode mode. Valves were loaded with the CCS I use in my curve tracer. The operating points were quickly optimised at hand, so I’m sure there may be some better operating points for some of the valves below which may improve their overall THD. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Tested valves for THDTHD analysis
Need to retake these measures as the soundcard interface got damaged and results are showing significant distortion
Interesting to see in the chart above, that 6e5p and 6C45p are the best ones. This is in line with their reputation as drivers as they are capable of swinging many volts and producing very low distortion. In terms of harmonics I noticed that 6e5P provides a richer H3 and H5 as being a triode-strapped valve, whereas the 6c45p provide a dominant H2.
Also good to see that my favourite 46, 4P1L and 6CB5A (all triode-strapped) are very linear with anode currents of 40mA (with the exception of 46 as I measured THD on a previous operating point used for transconductance measurement). I should retake the 46 and drive it harder, I’m sure it will perform better at higher current.
Surprised with the results of the 6N6P-I. Was expecting this one a bit better, but perhaps it’s the pulse version distortion, so may need to get hold of an 6N6P and compare the results.
Update: It looks like I blew up Pete Millett’s interface after measuring THD in float mode and exceeding the 10Vrms limit in this mode. Therefore measures such as 26, CX301a and others are not accurate. When testing 26 with my Ferrograph test set it came out to be 0.05%… Stay tune until I repair the unit!
The 6e5p is high-frequency indirectly-heated tetrode from our friends in Russia. The specifications can be found here. Anode can easily dissipate 8W and screen can take up to 2W and has a high transconductance of around 30 mA/V
Wired as triode this chap becomes very attractive. The anode resistance drops to around 900Ω – 1KΩ and effective mu is about 30-35. This turns this valve into a low anode, medium mu and high transconductance fellow which is highly regarded as a driver in SE amplifiers. Check out there in the jungle and you will find many good examples of how this valve is being used effectively.
When testing this valve on my curve tracer I found that it probes to be a challenging device. You need to leave this guy running on its own for a while (Lars recommended 30 min to 1 hour). I found that indeed after 20-30 min it stabilise.
First run on my tracer
Dmitry came up with a very good model. When I created a model based on my curves found a mismatch between my notes and simulation. Checking my notes I think I set up the tester to start plotting curves at 0V with a step of -0.5V, however looking at the model produced by Dmitry’s tool, I got this:
SPICE model to fit 6e5p in triode mode
It looks like the curves starts at -2V. Need to re-check and probably trace this valve again. Either way it does match very well and not far off from Dmitry’s model from above.
