I can’t tell from the photo. Here’s @Wes_S guide:
Based on that picture, those are not.
• The prints should be green. Those look yellowish.
• Bottom mica should be rectangular and its position is too low. It should extend higher to 1/3rd up the tube.
• Top mica should be rectangular with 3 spikes on shorter edges.
Here is a quote from Brent Jessee – owner of AudioTubes:
“Later GT versions were in a medium glass envelope with a green label and blackplates with bottom getter, sometimes called the “Bad Boy” 6SN7, and are sought after for their excellent sonics. The Bad Boy tubes are virtually identical to the military VT-231 from the early 1950s and are currently a less expensive alternative, but this could change as the Bad Boy fad catches on! A side note about Bad Boys, there were versions with 2 rivet holes in each plate, and versions with 3 holes. Both types sound identical. Don’t fall for the bogus story that only the 3 rivet hole types are the true “Bad Boys”! You will miss out on some great sound from the 2 hole type, since the 3 hole versions are more difficult to find, more expensive elsewhere, and don’t sound any different! I suspect the “3-hole only” story got started by my competition to justify charging a higher price for these tubes!”
I have to agree with that. I compared two Sylvanias which were identical except one had 2 holes and the other 3 holes. And the difference??? The only difference is the year of production. 2 hole version of from 1951, 3 hole version is from 1952. The sound identical. Both have bottom foil getter.
I can’t say anything about his claim on the other versions with 2 holes or any other different identifier because I haven’t try and compare them with the designated original. Personally, I’m leaning towards not trusting his word on this. Not only because he’s a seller but also, if you browse his stock, the designated original “Bad Boy” costs a lot more than the rest of other variations. I don’t know if that’s solely because of what market dictates or there are some other reasons. No way to find out unless we tried them ourselves.
Lots of tube dealers try to sell “Bad Boys” that are not Bad Boys, and Brent is one of them.
Nope, those are not Bad Boys.
No. Not badboys.
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Edit: what Wes said…
Totally understand all the above…and yes some folks may be incented to sell there stuff and we all have opinions for sure…
Looking at the pix is really interesting from my EE perspective…the actual materials used, the doping and chemcals used etc can make some difference in a tubes operating characteristics for sure…what would be nice to know is in the bad boy tubes if there was any change in the materials used in the internals…did the published tube specs differ for these, or is this a mistake that is buried in time.
There are a ton of folks selling bad boys at least with that moniker…good or bad…I still want to hear with one for myself to see what the magic “sounds” like…
Alex
Oh man, if you ever end up A/B ing them both, please let us know. I’m curious with what you’ll find.
You can count on that!!!
This looks like it may be valid:
1953 Green Printing on base…
Dont show full pix for a “reason”…
:>)
I read somewhere the production batch should be early weeks in 1953. So late 1951, 1952, and early 1953.
3XX year and week code. XX being the week number.
The top part from the picture looks legit. You should have @Wes_S to verify just in case.
Well its here, just landed and is in use…with the included Tungsol 6SN7 tube…pretty good right out of the box…
First impressions are its a powerful, clean, open, transparent amp kind of leaning towards a good SS amp.
Its grabbing my Fcal Clears with authority, bass is really tight and really nice…
Very articulate…mucho details, those little things that you think you have never heard…lol
Later, just want to listen for awhile!
Alex
Listened for an hour with Focal Clears and now with HD600’s…
This amp IMO is not your typicaly euphonic tube amp…its VERY clear, crisp…and light saber accurate to me…
Whatever you put into it comes out…good or bad…
You may or may not like that!! For me its really good…like a reference amp.
Listening to some old Joni Mitchell and I listed to this a million times, but here goes the old cliche I am hearing stuff that I have not readily heard “well” before…the fingers on the guitar strings sliding across etc…just amazed me at the articulation here…
No problem driving the HD600s out of this universe! LOL…looking forward to some direct comparisons to other amps here in the next few days and some other NOS tubes I have
acquired…
Also the bass with the HD600s is really improved!! Interesting.
:>)
Yes. exactly. The pairing with the Senn HD 600 or 650 is excellent.
Early conclusion:
Bifrost 2 + Lyr3 + Focal Clears = Close to perfection here!
Why:
Any recording I play, I can instantly tell if its recorded well, or HOW its recorded, placement of mics, soundstange, absolutely uncanny accuracy in placement of stuff…and you can tell how well they did or HOW they did it…stunning IMO.
Listened to some real low freq organ music…and its like listening to speakers but actually better, ie more accurate…the Clears really surprised me here.
Add the tranasparency, articulation, tonality, gosh its just sublime.
Yes there are other “better” cans and gear but at this total price point its simply amazing to me.
And we dont have any expensive NOS tubes in “yet”?
Back to listening!
Alex
Out of curiousity, what are the best Hybrid amps out there? Lyr 3? Mjolnir 2? Cavalli something?
The tube flavour and charactor, without the full tube amp tinkering aspect.
Well “best” is pretty subjective, so it might be more helpful if you told us what type of sound you like and give examples of amplifiers you enjoyed. Judging from your photo, I’m guessing you’re mainly running the Verite and VC?
Lyr 3 is a decent all arounder that does little wrong, but my gripe with it is that it lacks macrodynamics/slam that really brings life to music. If you like tube rolling and have a variety of headphones from traditional dynamics and planars, this is a solid choice as you can find one used for ~$350. However, if you mainly run dynamics, you will find better synergy with a more traditional SET or OTL tube amp.
Mjolnir 2 I personally haven’t heard myself, but is well known for its excellent slam and power. One of the faults that I’ve heard are that the staging can be a bit 2D, with a wide stage but lacks depth.
Cavalli tube amps I feel like you have to like their house sound. They’re a bit more laid back sounding and I heard the Liquid Crimson is their least “Cavalli-like” sound.
I don’t think staging any worse than any of the other Schiit amps, but most Schiit amps are all slightly 2D compared to amps like the ZDS / Pendant / etc.