voMIgrave a écrit :
David Watts a écrit :
De ce que j'en sais, il ne reste plus aujourd'hui que 3 producteurs au monde, un Russe, un chinois et un européen JJ.
Tous les tubes actuels sortent d'une de ces 3 usines.
Il y a toujours Western Electric aux USA qui fabrique probablement les meilleurs tubes actuels, mais pas de 12AX7 et autres joyeusetés... c'est ballot
Seuls les Chinois ont plusieurs usines de production (Tianjing, Shuguang, etc...)
Et encore "Tianjing Electron" ne font que des tubes pour la Hi-Fi et ont d'ailleurs fabriqué des tubes pour Western Electric d'après l'auteur de l'article ci-dessous (voir lien).
J'aurais dû écrire pour être plus précis : il ne reste plus aujourd'hui que 3 producteurs au monde à fabriquer des 'tubes qu-on met dans nos amplis".
Article intéressant datant de 2012 recensant les fabricants de tubes actuels (amplis et Hifi).
Pour les tubes qui nous intéressent dans nos amplis, voilà le seul choix qu'il reste
Current production glass electron tubes
Extrait :
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The Big Three
These three companies make and sell the most current production tubes currently. Numerous amp makers, both guitar and hifi, offer their tubes as stock and many rebadgers pick their recommended tubes from almost exclusively from their tubes.
New Sensor Corp (US owned, made in Russian)
http://www.svetlana.com/
Brands & trademarks
Electro-Harmonix: Ram's (man’s?) head in red, yellow or gold
Genalex: Cursive "Gold Lion" in gold, lion holding plaque with tube designation
Mullard: "Mullard" in rectangle on a heater shield
Sovtek: Amalgamated bird & star in red in red
Svetlana: White "S" on top red, bottom black field, or clear “S” on solid white field
Tung-Sol: White “TUNG-SOL” in caps
New Sensor Corp began with Mike Matthew’s Electro-Harmonix which made some of the best known guitar effects pedals in the 70s and 90s. In the 90s they first began selling Sovtek-branded tubes and they currently manufacture tubes in the Xpo-pul (former Reflektor) factory in Saratov, Russia, under the Electro-Harmonix & Sovtek brands (the Sovtek range still has some rebadged NOS tubes made by other factories). They also manufactured are the Genalex, Mullard and Tung-Sol reissues in the same facilities. Svetlana are current production tubes made by other Russian factories and distributed through New Sensor distribution channels. This used to include tubes from the original St. Petersburg/Leningrad Svetlana factory although they have since gone their separate ways. The number of brands and their various price points can make New Sensor tubes a bit confusing.
The various New Sensor branded tubes are generally priced fairly higher than Shuguang’s and JJ’s and have a better reputation for consistent quality and reliability from audiophiles and manufacturers. Their sonic signature is described as balanced with good detail and slightly dark and they are the stock tubes of choice for many guitar amp makers and hifi amps with audiophile/high-end aspirations.
Unique tubes: Many former Soviet tubes with and without western equivalents - 6D22SSV, 6A3, 6B4G, 6C19Pi, 6CW4, 6C33C-B, 6C41C, 6C45Pi, GM-70, 6EU7, 6H30Pi; and some unusual older tubes 6J5, 6CG7
Shuguang Electron Group (China)
http://www.tube.com.cn/
Brands & trademarks
Shuguang (export): Stylized circular ""SG" (looks somewhat like a bird?) in white
曙光 (domestic): “曙光” above 5 point star and orbit in red
Shuguang is one of the older tube manufacturers and originated as the 770 Chinese state-owned factory in Changsha, China in founded in 1958. They manufacture most of the Chinese exported tubes, either under their own brand or rebadged by others (it seems if you place a large enough order, they will happily silk screen whatever you want on the tube). They also produce tubes for the Chinese domestic market.
Shuguang produces both very cheap tubes (I believe they make cheapest current productions), but also some very premium tubes so it is difficult to generalize their tubes. Their cheaper tubes have a reputation for poor consistent quality which seems to have been improving with recent years. Their premium tubes are among the priciest Chinese tubes and have been well received by the audiophile/high-end community. Shuguang’s sonic signature has been associated with being lushness and warmth with increasing detail in more premium models and well regarded by amp manufacturers and tube rebadgers looking to impart a slightly vintage signature in their products. Specifically, their rectifiers and power tubes are generally well liked, while their 12A-something-7 series do not receive a much favor.
Unique tubes: Various Chinese tubes with and without western equivalents - 5Z4P, 6E2, 6N1, 6N2, 6P1, 6P12P, 6P13P, 807/FU-7, 811/FU-811, 813/FU-13, KT94; and some unusual older tubes 6BK4C, 50CA10, 7092/6T50, 350B, EL156, 6SA7GT
JJ Electronic (Slovakia)
http://www.jj-electronic.com/
Brands & trademarks
JJ: Two “J”s diagonally on an AC voltage symbol in red
In 1994 Jan Jorgo purchased the audio tube production machinery from TESLA and set up a JJ Electronics in Čadca, Slovakia. The smallest and newest of the “Big Three”, JJ has a much smaller catalog of tubes compared to New Sensor and Shuguang and focus heavily on but has a complete range of all the most popular guitar and hifi power, preamp and rectifier tubes. JJ however produces no transmitting tubes of any kind.
Aside from a few premium tubes, most of JJ’s tubes are fairly cheap and comparable or slightly higher compared to Shuguang’s prices in many regions. Like the cheap Chinese tubes, JJ has been constantly plagued with a history of poor quality consistency, and worse, poor reliability consistency - to a point where some guitar amp manufacturers specifically state that using JJ tubes will void warranty (in particular, their octal based tubes, both rectifiers and beam power tubes, seem to have a very bad reputation). Despite this reputation, JJ tubes are extremely popular with both guitar amp and hifi amp tube rollers due to their sonic signature which which is often described as dynamic and extended, and many rebadge distributors pick the best JJ tubes to resell under their own brand.
Unique tubes: 2A3-40, 6386 LGP, EL844, EL509-S, 7591S"
"Yesterday today was tomorrow and tomorrow today will be yesterday"
