Topic: New Toys

[Nick Culbreth]

My new tubes came today.      

I heart tubes.

[dmonterisi]

purty!  +T

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

where are they going?

I've always wondered where would I get the best result for a small test, the preamp tubes or the small signal tubes in the amp?

[Nick Culbreth]

From left to right:  matched pair of Amperex Bugleboy 6dj8, matched pair of Amperex Orange Globes 6dj8, matched pair of Mullard 6dj8, matched pair of Sylvania Gold Lable 5751, single Telefunken ribbed plate 12ax7, matched pair Telefunken smooth plate 12ax7, single Amperex Holland 12ax7.  The 6dj8s are for my Musical Fidelity X-Can V2, the matched pairs of 12ax7s are for the ouput of my YS Symphonies and the single 12ax7s are for the input stage of the Symphonies.

I just popped in the Sylvanias, I've never heard my system sound so good.  IMHO they destroy the Telefunkens and that's saying something.

[Brian Skalinder]

Lemme see if I have this right:

X-Can V2 | matched pair of Amperex Bugleboy 6dj8
X-Can V2 | matched pair of Amperex Orange Globes 6dj8, X-Can V2 | matched pair of Mullard 6dj8
??       | matched pair of Sylvania Gold Lable 5751
YS-Symph | single Telefunken ribbed plate 12ax7
YS-Symph | matched pair Telefunken smooth plate 12ax7 YS-Symph | single Amperex Holland 12ax7

I just popped in the Sylvanias, I've never heard my system sound so good.  IMHO they destroy the Telefunkens and that's saying something.

So I take it the 5751s are substitues for 12AX7?

Getting time to try out some new tubes in my Symphonies - where'd you get 'em?

[Tim]

woo-hoo.... +T Nick... keep us informed!

[twoodruff]

Lemme see if I have this right:

X-Can V2 | matched pair of Amperex Bugleboy 6dj8
X-Can V2 | matched pair of Amperex Orange Globes 6dj8, X-Can V2 | matched pair of Mullard 6dj8
??       | matched pair of Sylvania Gold Lable 5751
YS-Symph | single Telefunken ribbed plate 12ax7
YS-Symph | matched pair Telefunken smooth plate 12ax7 YS-Symph | single Amperex Holland 12ax7

I just popped in the Sylvanias, I've never heard my system sound so good.  IMHO they destroy the Telefunkens and that's saying something.

So I take it the 5751s are substitues for 12AX7?

Getting time to try out some new tubes in my Symphonies - where'd you get 'em?

yes the 5751s are 12ax7 sized, and he sent me to this site recently

http://store.yahoo.com/triodeel/12axec7057.html

[Nick Culbreth]

Actually the tube breakdown goes like this:

X-Can V2:  Amperex Bugleboys, Amperex Orange Globes, Mullards (all 6DJ8)

Symphonies Input:  Amperex Holland 12AX7 and Telefunken Ribbed Plate 12AX7 (singles)

Symphonies Output:  Telefunken Smooth Plate 12AX7 and Sylvania Gold Label 5751 (matched pairs)


The 5751 tubes have lower gain than the 12AX7 tubes but are otherwise completely compatible.  There is a whole lot of information about the 5751 tube family on the audio asylum tube forum, most seem to either love them or hate them depending on their setup.  I haven't had a lot of time to do a lot of critical listening but so far I absolutely love them.  The midrange is amazingly smooth and rich, the bass is tighter and a bit more defined, the highs are nice but don't have the same sparkle as the Telefunkens.  As a whole they seem a bit more focused and defined than the 12AX7s, the difference isn't subtle at all.  I should mention that I'm talking about the 5751 as the output tubes and the Amperex 12AX7 as the input tube, I'd like to eventually try a single Sylvania 5751 as the input as well but my funds are a little low after my spending spree.

Brian are you still using the stock Chinese tubes?  If so you should definately look to replace them, even current production tubes are a significant improvement over what the Symphonies came with.  I recently tried out the current production JJ Electronic tubes which are copies of the older Telefunkens and they weren't quite on the same level at the NOS tubes I've been using but they are lightyears better than the Chinese tubes and only will set you back $25 - $30.

Like Trey said I've had very positive experiences with Triode Electonics, they're located in Chicago so you won't even have to pay shipping. 

[twoodruff]

i have also looked at tubes at the below sites

http://www.upscaleaudio.com/view_category.asp?cat=40

http://tubeworld.com/12AX7.html

[Nick Culbreth]

I've never dealt with Upscale but I've heard nothing but great things about them, the only "problem" with them is they don't have a huge selection of 6DJ8/6922 tube available for purchase unless you are buying gear from them.  Tube world is also supposedly very good but their prices are very very expensive, they're by far the most expensive retailer I've come across.

[BobW]

A Bottlehead Foreplay just landed on my bench today.
I put it behind the DVD-A and before the Dynaco Solid State amp.
Other than a very slight hum, it really made a huge difference.
Soundstage and warmth, amazing from just two 12AU7s.

Now to cast out the evil hum demon !
Shielding and filtering and rerouting the ground loop wiring.....ughhh !
The guy that built this was a business major I think.


Next stop, a 10 watt SE EL34 mono pair.     


+T on the NOS line.  very pretty.
My 12 AU7s are actually burroughs 5963s   I wonder who made them ?
I doubt that they are very musical. My guess is that they were made for switching.
Hey, so this is what a UNIVAC sounds like !

[ducati]

Cool--I've been thinking about trying some 5751's in my preamp...  Trying to find someone with my pre that has tried it, so far no luck.  Might just have to give it a whirl someday

That photo of the tubes is pure sex, man.  Gotta love being on the bottle 

[cheshirecat]

Now to cast out the evil hum demon !
Shielding and filtering and rerouting the ground loop wiring.....ughhh !
The guy that built this was a business major I think.

Hey  now, watch it, I was a buisiness major (Finance and MIS) and have built many hum-free amps and pre-amps (a bunch of ST-70s and PAS2s among others)...  Try a putting a 2-prong cheater on the pre-amp to see if that isolates your hum.  Are you sure it is your Pre causing the hum?  Does the Pre hum (connected to the amp) with no input connected, how about with the volume turned all the way down?  Does your amp hum with no imput connected?

[bkirby]

Actually the tube breakdown goes like this:

X-Can V2:  Amperex Bugleboys, Amperex Orange Globes, Mullards (all 6DJ8)

Symphonies Input:  Amperex Holland 12AX7 and Telefunken Ribbed Plate 12AX7 (singles)

Symphonies Output:  Telefunken Smooth Plate 12AX7 and Sylvania Gold Label 5751 (matched pairs)


The 5751 tubes have lower gain than the 12AX7 tubes but are otherwise completely compatible.  There is a whole lot of information about the 5751 tube family on the audio asylum tube forum, most seem to either love them or hate them depending on their setup.  I haven't had a lot of time to do a lot of critical listening but so far I absolutely love them.  The midrange is amazingly smooth and rich, the bass is tighter and a bit more defined, the highs are nice but don't have the same sparkle as the Telefunkens.  As a whole they seem a bit more focused and defined than the 12AX7s, the difference isn't subtle at all.  I should mention that I'm talking about the 5751 as the output tubes and the Amperex 12AX7 as the input tube, I'd like to eventually try a single Sylvania 5751 as the input as well but my funds are a little low after my spending spree.

Brian are you still using the stock Chinese tubes?  If so you should definately look to replace them, even current production tubes are a significant improvement over what the Symphonies came with.  I recently tried out the current production JJ Electronic tubes which are copies of the older Telefunkens and they weren't quite on the same level at the NOS tubes I've been using but they are lightyears better than the Chinese tubes and only will set you back $25 - $30.

Like Trey said I've had very positive experiences with Triode Electonics, they're located in Chicago so you won't even have to pay shipping. 

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!

[ducati]

The 12AX7EH is a pretty good tube, I have it stock in my pre.  I also ran them vs. some JJ 12AX7's awhile ago in a cheapie Jolida 202 and I liked the 12AX7EH's there, too. 

A good, cheap, new production tube.