SYN50 Tube Compatibility/Features

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JKD

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I was reading the SYN50 and notice a few things about it's feature set compared to the MOD50:

1. EL34 based - while it doesn't specifically state it's not compatible with other power tubes, it has me wondering....because:

2. No external BIAS points....at least not showing on the public photos.

I understand there may be compromises implied by building #1 feature in but these two things are by far my favorite features of the MOD50 platform.
 
I think you may be right as the reason for the amp head delay is supposed to be that Dave Friedman wants to swap the SYN 50/30 to 6L6's as he is not happy with the current quality of EL34 production. That would imply that you can't do it without changing components.

Shame - swapping tubes types is a great feature in the MOD50.
 
Yea, don't see EL34s on the horizon.

In that Tone-Talk episode, Dave Friedman and Mike Soldano were talking about 5881 tubes. You can use them in the 5050 and the 30w head, and Dave was wanting to use them in the 50w head as well. Not like it's a huge difference from 6L6s, just saying..
 
webrthomson said:
I think you may be right as the reason for the amp head delay is supposed to be that Dave Friedman wants to swap the SYN 50/30 to 6L6's as he is not happy with the current quality of EL34 production. That would imply that you can't do it without changing components.

Shame - swapping tubes types is a great feature in the MOD50.

This makes a lot of sense, since the SYN50/50 has 6L6 tubes and have to assume modules are voiced somewhat towards that.....still going to miss the easy tube change/bias points.
 
JKD said:
webrthomson said:
I think you may be right as the reason for the amp head delay is supposed to be that Dave Friedman wants to swap the SYN 50/30 to 6L6's as he is not happy with the current quality of EL34 production. That would imply that you can't do it without changing components.

Shame - swapping tubes types is a great feature in the MOD50.

This makes a lot of sense, since the SYN50/50 has 6L6 tubes and have to assume modules are voiced somewhat towards that.....still going to miss the easy tube change/bias points.

TBH - I'm sticking with my MOD50 - one of the best amps I've ever owned.

Interested in the SYN30, but it costs what my MOD50 cost! :)
 
webrthomson said:
Mattfig said:
RT2/50....

Are there any downsides to the RT2 50 - I'm thinking about getting one of those rather than a SYN 50/50? :)

It's one rack space bigger than Syn 5050 and is simply better. You can easily swap and bias and power tubes you like...

I'm selling one now if you're interested, hit me up! :)
 
webrthomson said:
Mattfig said:
RT2/50....

Are there any downsides to the RT2 50 - I'm thinking about getting one of those rather than a SYN 50/50? :)

It is very heavy! They do sound great! I like my Fryette Two/Fifty/Two better though. The RT2/50 colors the sound more which you may like better.
 
Thanks for the feedback Marco and Matt - good to know!

Also, Thanks for the offer Matt - I'm in the UK which by the time I add shipping and import tax, probably makes it a non-starter for me :(

However I've got a guy over here looking to shift one and I think I like the idea better that the SYN50/50.
 
I think I sort of got an answer to whether it would take el34's back in August. It was a bit confusing, so I'll just paste the correspondence and let people make their own call haha. I asked one of the synergy guys about swapping in el34s and it shook out like this:

Syn: "the switching out the tubes all depends on the socket...if they are the same you can..."

Me: "The sockets shouldn't prevent that swap, but I'm wondering more in terms of the power transformer and heat. If you're saying the SYN5050 is designed to use any tube that fits that socket (or even just 6L6/el34s), that would rock, but if not I'd want to tread lightly. The manual only mentions 6L6s, but I'm hoping it shares features of some of the older modular stuff. If multiple tube types IS indeed already a part of the design, does it function similarly to the RT2/50 from the prior gen MTS where the amp could operate one channel 6L6 and the other el34 and use midi to switch between the channels? If so & the PT and unit are built to take it, then count me in, if not then I might do a bit more research before making a decision."

Syn: "Maybe Dave Friedman can answer this for us...Dave, can the 6l6's in the 5050 be swapped out to EL84's?"

Dave: "NOPE"

Me: "Cool beans, I was actually wondering about el34's rather than the el84's, but I imagine the answer is the same. Thanks to you both for the timely responses as I try to get this rig figured out."

The initial response had me hopeful, but they didn't offer up a different answer based on my last response concerning the el34/el84 mix up, so I think the nope stands. I saw on their website that fryette likes to build their power amps to sound great with one tube type rather than pretty good with multiple types these days, so it makes sense the SYN5050 would adhere to that as well.

I use a helix along with my Syn2 and power amp, so the midi switching was really appealing and I ended up getting the rt 2/50 and VHT 2/50/2 for just a tad more than the SYN5050 would have been.
 
EL84s are a much smaller socket size than 6l6/EL34/5881. Maybe the Syn 50/50 has an auto bias function built in for that socket? That would be awesome.
 
Yeah, I was hoping maybe Dave only based his answer on them relaying my question to him incorrectly (el34 vs el84), and that he would come back and say, "oh, well el34 is a different story than el84" because of the socket size difference you mention. I decided not to press for further clarification though since I knew they were busy with the launch and it didn't seem like Dave was itching to go into more detail on the subject haha.
 
Inoculuminati said:
Yeah, I was hoping maybe Dave only based his answer on them relaying my question to him incorrectly (el34 vs el84), and that he would come back and say, "oh, well el34 is a different story than el84" because of the socket size difference you mention. I decided not to press for further clarification though since I knew they were busy with the launch and it didn't seem like Dave was itching to go into more detail on the subject haha.

If you truly want EL84, can always add a set of Yellowjackets:

https://www.yellowjacketstc.com


Sounds great in my RM50....get bloody hot though.
 
I would like to know the answer to this as well. I prefer EL34s to 6L6 in my power section and I would love to be able to swap in EL34.
 
MarcoR said:
webrthomson said:
Mattfig said:
RT2/50....

Are there any downsides to the RT2 50 - I'm thinking about getting one of those rather than a SYN 50/50? :)

It is very heavy! They do sound great! I like my Fryette Two/Fifty/Two better though. The RT2/50 colors the sound more which you may like better.

MarcoR,
I'm confused about the Fryette Two/Fifty/Two Stereo Power Amp G-2502-S that you have. It says EL34 matched tubes, while on the descriptionm it says:
Tubes: two 12AT7; two 12AU7; four KT88

What is that mean in terms of EL34 vs 12AT7/12AU7 ?
 
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