Topic: New Toys

[Nick Culbreth]

I just got some rather cheap Electro Hamonix 12AX7 EH (3 total for input and output) to try out as I read some more reviews of different tubes in the YS Symphonies. They are still burning, but the improvement was immediate! Completely destroyed the chinese stock tubes! I may also upgrade the caps as I have read they make quite an improvement as well.

As for the Bottlehead Foreplay, most of them have a hum before some of the upgrades are added in. I have already done tube-rolling with the Foreplay and absolutely loved the RCA clear-tops (12AU7) in there after all of the upgrades had been done. I heard the Telefunken's sound great in the Foreplay, but I never got around to buying them!

I got a pair of Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH tubes with my Prima Luna and thought they were pretty nice, though the bass was a touch loose for my liking.  I had a pretty similar experience with the JJ 12AX7s vs. the Chinese tubes, while they're not quite up to par with the NOS tubes I've tried they're my favorite current production tubes.  If you're considering upgrading the Symphonies get in touch with Alex Peychev at APL Hifi, he offers an upgrade which I'm told substantially improves the sound quality.  I thought about getting mine done but decided to upgrade to a tube integrated amp instead.

I've heard great things about the RCAs, do you remember where you found them and how much you paid?  The guy I buy my tubes has them but they were a little more than I wanted to spend, so I ended up spending a couple extra bucks and got some Amperex 12AU7s instead.  I'd love to get a pair to see how they stack up to what I've got now.

[ducati]

Definitely full and warmer in the bass than some 12AX7s, but I wouldn't characterize the tube as "loose" in the bass.  Perhaps your PrimaLuna is loose in the bass to begin with, and that's too much of a good thing.  With my ARC VS55, which is punchy and also full in the bass, the 12AX7EH warms it up and gives it a tad more weight--nothing over the top (or under the bottom as it may be)

This is why there's no definitive "best" tube for everyone, and why tube amps rule...  You can tailor your sound just to your liking or mood, if you're industrious 

[Nick Culbreth]

Definitely full and warmer in the bass than some 12AX7s, but I wouldn't characterize the tube as "loose" in the bass.  Perhaps your PrimaLuna is loose in the bass to begin with, and that's too much of a good thing.  With my ARC VS55, which is punchy and also full in the bass, the 12AX7EH warms it up and gives it a tad more weight--nothing over the top (or under the bottom as it may be)

This is why there's no definitive "best" tube for everyone, and why tube amps rule...  You can tailor your sound just to your liking or mood, if you're industrious 

I couldn't agree more, swapping out the tubes can make your it sound like a completely different piece of gear for better or worse.  I haven't had a chance to toy around with changing the power tubes but so far I'm really digging the Amperex 12AU7 and Telefunken Ribbed Plate 12AX7 combination for general listening and ther Amperex 12AU7 and Sylvania Gold Brand 5751 for vocals.

[ducati]

You've inspired me.  I'm going to order some tubes 

[Nick Culbreth]

You've inspired me.  I'm going to order some tubes 

So what are you getting?   

[ducati]

Good question.  I have been investigating power tubes for awhile, and am considering:
Tung-Sol 6550 Black Plate (duh, the "real deal" bend-me-over) NOS
GE 6550A if I can find them NOS
TS6550 Russian Tung-Sol "reissue"
Svetlana 6550C or whatever they're called now, which I have not heard yet in my amp (new prod.)

For my preamp, I think I'll probably buy a smattering of tubes and see what I like.  12AX7's, I need 3 of each variety.  I haven't really started checking into these yet.  Right now I run 12AX7EH which have warm and punchy bass, an excellent midrange, and extended if maybe a touch of sizzle in the highs especially on some digital material.  I would like a more balanced approach, with better highs, maybe even at the loss of a little extension.  I have been intrigued by the 5751's and will most definitely buy a set of these; probably some Sovtek 5751's to see what I think of this lower-gain tube.

I'm thinking the best bang for the buck would be some Svet or TS6550's in the power amp with some NOS in the pre.  Toss in a smattering of new-production 12AX7's, also, for fun (and since they're relatively cheap).  Any suggestions?

Also--I noticed you use a MF X-CanV2.  I am considering the V3 version...  How do you like yours?  I just bought some Grado SR80's; I don't use headphones much anymore, but plan on using them when my wife watches dumb TV shows and the hifi is tied up

[Nick Culbreth]

Good question.  I have been investigating power tubes for awhile, and am considering:
Tung-Sol 6550 Black Plate (duh, the "real deal" bend-me-over) NOS
GE 6550A if I can find them NOS
TS6550 Russian Tung-Sol "reissue"
Svetlana 6550C or whatever they're called now, which I have not heard yet in my amp (new prod.)

For my preamp, I think I'll probably buy a smattering of tubes and see what I like.  12AX7's, I need 3 of each variety.  I haven't really started checking into these yet.  Right now I run 12AX7EH which have warm and punchy bass, an excellent midrange, and extended if maybe a touch of sizzle in the highs especially on some digital material.  I would like a more balanced approach, with better highs, maybe even at the loss of a little extension.  I have been intrigued by the 5751's and will most definitely buy a set of these; probably some Sovtek 5751's to see what I think of this lower-gain tube.

I'm thinking the best bang for the buck would be some Svet or TS6550's in the power amp with some NOS in the pre.  Toss in a smattering of new-production 12AX7's, also, for fun (and since they're relatively cheap).  Any suggestions?

Also--I noticed you use a MF X-CanV2.  I am considering the V3 version...  How do you like yours?  I just bought some Grado SR80's; I don't use headphones much anymore, but plan on using them when my wife watches dumb TV shows and the hifi is tied up

I think I've tried every current production 12AX7 except the Ei versions and to my ears the best of the lot is the JJs, I found them to be the most balanced sounding in my system.  The bass is pretty tight, the midrange is excellent and the highs are pretty natural but  don't sparkle like the Telefunkens.  All in all they're a great bargain for $8 per tube.

I was intrigued by the 5751 option as well and picked up a pair of Sylvania Gold Brands and coupled them with a Amperex 12AX7 tube in my YS-Symphonies preamp and I loved the combination, they were much better than the Tele smoothplates I had been using.  I tried them in the PrimaLuna with Amperex 12AU7s and I don't think the combo has the same synergy, they sound great on vocals and accoustic guitars but it is a little lacking in the high end in general.  This is a perfect example in my mind of how there is no such thing as the "best" tube, I'm going to try to find a more transparent 12AU7 (probably a German type) and see if it mates better with the Sylvania.

As for the Musical Fidelity V2, I really like it especially now that I've found the "right" tubes.  My first hifi setup consisted of the V2 and a pair of Sennheiser HD-580s and even after putting together a speaker setup I still find myself using the headphones often, especially late at night when I can't really crank the volume.  My only reservation about giving a full recommendation is that the V2 and the V3 use two 6DJ8 / 6922 tubes which can be problematic.  The price of quality NOS 6DJ8 family tubes is getting out of control and unlike other tube families the current production tubes are pretty crappy across the board.  I found the stock Jan Phillips 6922 tubes to be very fatiguing, the JJs were incoherent and the EHs sounded like a solid state setup.  I wasn't fully satisfied until I rolled in a pair of Amperex Bugleboy 6DJ8s, which satisfied my ears but cost a pretty penny.  The V3 is definately worth a listen, but you should definately keep the cost of the tubes in mind.

[Nick Culbreth]

total tube n00b here,.... pardon my questions

You say $8 for a tube.
Is that standard?, low? I can only imagine that the sky is the limit in this game??
What would be considered expensive?

For the minature tubes the average going price for current production tubes is in the neighborhood of $10 per tube, but NOS varieties can cost several hundred per tube depending on rarity and desireability.

[ducati]

Ha, funny you mention the JJ's...  I just realized I have 2 JJ 12AX7's at home from an old Jolida...  I'll have to buy another and see what I think.  

I think I'll try those, some Ei's (they're cheap, too), and maybe some 5751s.  And some new power tubes, I really can't decide on those.  That shouldn't set me back too terribly much if I stick with new-prod. power tubes.  

BTW--where do you buy your tubes?  I have bought all my tubes in the past from Ned at Triode...  But he's not carrying the TS6550's I'm looking for now, so I'm looking at Boi Audio Works (got them from the asylum).

As to the MF X-can; thanks for the heads up.  I didn't think about the cost of NOS tubes...  That sure would add to the cost of a $395 amp.  Do you know anything about the ASL headphone amps?  I am auditioning a few this weekend along with the MF (at different shops, unfortunately).

Moke: NOS means "New Old Stock" and yes, they're old.  Many from the 40's 50's and 60's are popular!  I used to scour antique shops around here and find old RCA cleartops and Telefunkens for $.25 a pop but boy are those days over...

[Tim]

NOS = New Old Stock

Just got my lappy back from the repair shop so I have to catch up on old PM's... Nick, I'll tell you about the el34's

oh and the 12au7's that came stock with my amp are JJ ecc82's...

[Tim]

Moke - I'm looking to try some new small driver tubes (12au7 variety) in my amp... the stock ones are decent enough and go for about $8 a pop, if I want to switch to some rca cleartops I'm looking at closer to $30/ea for current production tubes... I will need 4 for my amp.

Not cheap but for a couple of hundred bucks you can really customize the sound of your amp

[Tim]

it's a good way to deal with the tweak/upgrade bug without having to ship out amps every 6 months

I can't get over how enjoyable my new system is.. I'm running out to the record store a few times a week now.

[Tim]

upscale Audio is a little over an hour from here, and has Soliloquys, and tube amps,.... hmmm??
must save for 722, must clear mind of other toys,..... must save, must save

LOL!

[Nick Culbreth]

Ha, funny you mention the JJ's...  I just realized I have 2 JJ 12AX7's at home from an old Jolida...  I'll have to buy another and see what I think. 

I think I'll try those, some Ei's (they're cheap, too), and maybe some 5751s.  And some new power tubes, I really can't decide on those.  That shouldn't set me back too terribly much if I stick with new-prod. power tubes. 

BTW--where do you buy your tubes?  I have bought all my tubes in the past from Ned at Triode...  But he's not carrying the TS6550's I'm looking for now, so I'm looking at Boi Audio Works (got them from the asylum).

As to the MF X-can; thanks for the heads up.  I didn't think about the cost of NOS tubes...  That sure would add to the cost of a $395 amp.  Do you know anything about the ASL headphone amps?  I am auditioning a few this weekend along with the MF (at different shops, unfortunately).

Moke: NOS means "New Old Stock" and yes, they're old.  Many from the 40's 50's and 60's are popular!  I used to scour antique shops around here and find old RCA cleartops and Telefunkens for $.25 a pop but boy are those days over...

Definately try out the Ei's, I'd love to hear how they stack up.

I buy all my new tubes from Ned at Triode, he's always taken very good care of me.

I've heard good things about the ASL Headphone amp, check out head-fi.org for more info than you'd ever need on it.  I really like the V2 but NOS tubes are essential and the 6DJ8 family tubes are becoming rare and if you can even find what you want you probably can't afford it.  So unless you're prepared to drop about $100 on a set of NOS tubes I'd really look elsewhere.

[Nick Culbreth]

Tom kinda scared me when I was looking towards purchasing the amp that I have now (plinius 8200 175w s.s, sssssss!). He got to speaking of this addiction to tweaking, and biasing, swapping and all this other stuff that goes with tubes, and it started sounding like $$bling$$.

upscale Audio is a little over an hour from here, and has Soliloquys, and tube amps,.... hmmm??
must save for 722, must clear mind of other toys,..... must save, must save

and before you knew it, Moke had highjacked another ts.com thread.

It can't hurt to look.