View Full Version : Anyone heard the Mullard 12AX7 reissue?
Difficult to find a review or opinion on the above tube, and many of the reviews are in the context of guitar amps. I want to replace the Shuguangs that are in my Yaqin 22B with something less dark and more musical with nice piano and strings rendition. Any comments on the Mullard reissues and do they in fact sound very similar to original Mullards?
Hal55
Riislingen
15-02-2013, 12:26
Hi Hal,
I´ve heard them. For re-issues and considering the price, they are not half bad at all. They have a very similar sonic flavour to them and generally compares quite well with the NOS variety.
Considering that, I´m not sure you will find that added clarity you are looking for using them.
Is NOS valves completely out of the question ? You could consider the re-issue Tung-Sols or even Sovtek LPS for added clarity, little noise and a pretty good timbre.
If it was me, I´d probably go find either Phillips Miniwatt, TFK or Valvo considering your sonic desires - all NOS types of course.
Ali Tait
15-02-2013, 13:28
Save up and buy some Mullards.
I feel rather foolish having to ask this but I guess I will have to bite the bullet if I want to learn: NOS ~ New Old Stock ... Scenario: Some old codger stumbles across a box of 'whatever' in his downstairs toilet and thinks, 'they'll sell well on ebay' et voila!!! Is that about the gist of it?
I feel rather foolish having to ask this but I guess I will have to bite the bullet if I want to learn: NOS ~ New Old Stock ... Scenario: Some old codger stumbles across a box of 'whatever' in his downstairs toilet and thinks, 'they'll sell well on ebay' et voila!!! Is that about the gist of it?
no
you have a pc so use it chief, google is a great thing!
masses of info on valves :)
There are a lot of very good reissues.
The Genulex Gold Lion 12AX7 would fill the bill nicley.
For less money Tad makes very nice sounding 12AX7 all better than the Muullards.
This will be fun, there is a Youtube video comparing 12AX7s at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AFW2-zdSyY
Features a lot of the top contenders - JJs, Sovtek, Gold Lion, Mullard reissues etc. Will hook the laptop up to the DAC later and have a listen. Might be enough SQ to get a hint of how they sound.
Hal55
Difficult to find a review or opinion on the above tube, and many of the reviews are in the context of guitar amps. I want to replace the Shuguangs that are in my Yaqin 22B with something less dark and more musical with nice piano and strings rendition. Any comments on the Mullard reissues and do they in fact sound very similar to original Mullards?
Hal55
Well after mucho tube rolling the "best" 12AX7 variants I have heard are NOS GE 5751 5 stars - slightly lower gain than the bog standard 12AX7 which suits me fine they are the most musical tubes and work wonderfully in the 25 RS I bought 2 very closely matched pairs from a seller in HK. Can also vouch for Philips miniwatt and Mazda ecc83' s if you want to go " less dark" - got a few pairs somewhere - for me TFK' s are too bright
Steve
Ali Tait
16-02-2013, 16:02
The problem is, lots of folk will tell you which valves sound best, but that only means what sounds best in the kit they have tried the valves in. The same valve will sound different in a different bit of kit - different circuit, different components, different operating points etc.
You really need to buy a few and try for yourself.
For me, the best are NOS Mullard and Amperex Bugle Boys.
The problem is, lots of folk will tell you which valves sound best, but that only means what sounds best in the kit they have tried the valves in. The same valve will sound different in a different bit of kit - different circuit, different components, different operating points etc.
You really need to buy a few and try for yourself.
.
:exactly:
technobear
16-02-2013, 23:20
Well after mucho tube rolling the "best" 12AX7 variants I have heard are NOS GE 5751...
I'll second that.
Unfortunately the output of a 5751 is too low to use in the Yaqin, which apparently only works properly with high gain tubes. From checking prices it's clear the "$5.00 rule" on tubes is long gone (you should never pay more than $5 for a tube, and preferably get two for that price).
The Yaqin I'm finding a surprisingly fun listen now that it has about 30 hours on it. NO hum whatever (unlike the GS2 I had a loan of beforehand) and it doesn't get in the way of the music. Much as the GS2 could be utterly rivetting, it could never just sit there and sound lovely, I was always keenly aware that it was putting it's own big screen technicolour flavour on the music. By contrast, the Yaqin, though not the cleanest or most transparent pre by a long way, is doing everything I could reasonably expect for it's cheap price and more besides.
Now if only I could put those Genulex Gold Lions in it, they sound a gorgeously harmonically rich tube. Bit pricey though, for less money the Mullard RIs still look good.
Hal55
I would go Tunsol or Tad before getting the Mullard.
I use the reisse Tungsols in my Dac and they are amazing.
Oddly enough so do I! The 6922 versions anyway.
Just on a sort of a nostalgia trip and wanting to check out the Mullard legend.
Must also admit though that the Pavanes in my preamp are stunning as well, so nostalgia might get the heave ho in favour of stuff I know works.
Hal55
awkwardbydesign
17-02-2013, 13:20
Hi, Hal. So was it worth the money then? I was going to offer to send you some ECC83s to try, then realised where you are! It has been suggested to me that NOS Telefunkens are the way to go, but that would cost as much as the amp. I have a pair of Mullard M8137s in mine, but I would like to try something fancy; no cash though.
Riislingen
17-02-2013, 20:05
.(snipped).. I have a pair of Mullard M8137s in mine, but I would like to try something fancy; no cash though.
Oh dear, doesn´t get much more fancy than those box plates - in my opinion the best by any measure :cool:
Odd, on the tubestore website they state that the Tungsols are:
"These tubes are great for linestage preamps, but generally not phono stages where a very low noise floor is required"
I was under the impression they were very low noise. Anyone agree or disagree with tubestore on this?
Quite enjoying the Yaqin, it's very nearly as good as my 30 year old Craft Audio phonostage (that was a lovely unit) that I had to sell to fund a new preamp. Hoping that better tubes will push the Yaqin past that level and quite happy to have a bit of surgery done on it as well.
Odd, on the tubestore website they state that the Tungsols are:
"These tubes are great for linestage preamps, but generally not phono stages where a very low noise floor is required"
I was under the impression they were very low noise. Anyone agree or disagree with tubestore on this?
Quite enjoying the Yaqin, it's very nearly as good as my 30 year old Craft Audio phonostage (that was a lovely unit) that I had to sell to fund a new preamp. Hoping that better tubes will push the Yaqin past that level and quite happy to have a bit of surgery done on it as well.
Yes and No,
I have used them in my old phono stage and use them in my Dac now so I can speak from those applications.
They are very quoit and have a very low noise floor, not quite as low as the Sovtek LPS but very low and some are dead quoit if your willing to sort through 5 or 6 to find the one that is perfect.
Odd, on the tubestore website they state that the Tungsols are:
"These tubes are great for linestage preamps, but generally not phono stages where a very low noise floor is required"
I was under the impression they were very low noise. Anyone agree or disagree with tubestore on this?
Quite enjoying the Yaqin, it's very nearly as good as my 30 year old Craft Audio phonostage (that was a lovely unit) that I had to sell to fund a new preamp. Hoping that better tubes will push the Yaqin past that level and quite happy to have a bit of surgery done on it as well.
Read this,they are not offered in driver grade because they are so quoit.
http://www.upscaleaudio.com/tung-sol-12ax7-gold-pin/
Which brings me full circle to the Mullard reissues!
Thanks for the link, very interesting.
Actually need to thank my wife who divined that Mullards would be my best choice after doing a tarot reading for me (true - believe it or not).
Hal55
Riislingen
19-02-2013, 17:28
Which brings me full circle to the Mullard reissues!
Thanks for the link, very interesting.
Actually need to thank my wife who divined that Mullards would be my best choice after doing a tarot reading for me (true - believe it or not).
Hal55
Good move ! :eek:
Just to cap off, the Mullards arrived last week, they only have some 5-10hrs usage to date but I'm really happy with them already. No discernable grain and a lovely musical presentation that now makes the Shuguangs sound surprisingly coloured and mechanical. Robert Cray "Strong Persauder" album, that used to sound as though he and the band were reading the sheet music as they played, now bounces along with an infectious boogie while piano and strings are greatly improved. The Yaqin MS22B, all of $180 which makes it dirt cheap, is now a great sounding unit that I'm eager to sit in front of and I'm hoping to get a Denon DL110 HOMC in the reasonably near future.
Not sure the valves are very "hifi" sounding and they may be a tad flat for some, but they will do me very happily for quite some time. Final verdict on that will be when they have another fifty hours on them, but already I'm one happy camper.
Hal55
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.