Who loves tubes?

[Marco]

Hi Goraman,

Somehow your discussion on tubes got deleted by accident, for which I apologise, therefore could you please repost it again here including the picture?

Sorry!

Cheers,
Marco.

[purite audio]

So you think you like tubes?

http://www.melaudia.net/etf07andreKlein-0201.php

[Filterlab]

Nice to be really into a hobby. :)

[Ali Tait]

Reminds me of a couple of blokes I know..:)

[alb]

Yes, i just posted the link on Audio-Talk.

Interesting that they use a room with no carpet. The sound must be quite lively.
Been thinking about this matter with regard to Chesterfest.


Yes, i just posted the link on Audio-Talk.

I see you beat me to it.

[Mike]

Some silly prices are being reached for NOS valves on ebay these days:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120264033197&ssPageName=ADME:B:TB6:UK:2


:mental:

[anthonyTD]

Some silly prices are being reached for NOS valves on ebay these days:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120264033197&ssPageName=ADME:B:TB6:UK:2


:mental:
hi mike,
i agree, but certain types are becoming quite hard to source these days...
anthony.:)

[goraman]

I love the sound of RCA's,Telefunkens made in Berlin and Ei's and some older Electro Harmonics in the 12AT7.In the 12AX7 I like the Sovtek LPS and Ei . For EL84's the best tube I have ever heard is the 1950's copey of an RCA improved with gold screen wire,larger plates and larger anode,very heavy glass like the EL84M. This new TAD EL84STR is the smoothest of it's breed and gives you nice tight bass along with velvety mids! Something most EL84's lack.

[goraman]

So you think you like tubes?

http://www.melaudia.net/etf07andreKlein-0201.php

Do the red wires go to the bolts in the monsters neck?

[zenith2134]

Certified tube junkie here. My favorite EL84 is the original Mullard and my favorite 7591 are the Fisher branded ones in my 500-c. Aside from headphone gear, these are two of the types I've heard the most of. NOS rules.

[Marco]

Hi Zenith,

NOS definitely rules, and I'm a Mullard fan myself. I like EL84 (and 34s) as they sound very sweet and detailed. I think my favourite Mullard is the 'coke bottle' shaped ECC32 - apart from the fact it sounds good it looks so cool, too!

I think for out-and-out audio performance though I love KT88s. Anytime I hear a KT88 amp it has real 'balls'. They might not have the same filigree detail and mellifluous qualities of some other valves but it they give music real impetus and drive, as well as solid deep bass, which I love :)

Marco.

[jandl100]

I've recently had some interesting experiences tube rolling some ECC83 / 12AX7 tubes in my EAR 802 pre-amp.

It came with CVC valves. Something was defo wrong - sound was a bit dark and closed in. :scratch:

Step 1 - swapped the two CVC ECC83 for some ElectroHarmonix I happened to have lying around. Ooh - yes. We're on the right track here. Much better, sound opens out quite nicely. :)

Nice, but can I get better?

Step 2 - Of course ... some NOS Mullards! Wowwww. :eek: BGT. (Big Grin Time). Much more musical, fuller tonality, truckloads of detail. Woo-Hoo - can it get better than this?

Step 3 - well, I'd heard that some folks favour Telefunkens over Mullards, so I just had to try. Yup, this is it, the pinnacle! (So far). :wow: Even more transparent and open than the Mullards. Yeah, OK - a bit brighter, too, so may not suit every system. But for me the buck stops with the Telefunkens.

[Marco]

You have good ears, Jerry :)

That's exactly what I've heard, too. Telefunken 'long plates' are the best ECC83 I've heard so far. I use them in the Croft and the Yaqin to great effect. The brightness goes away in a couple of days leaving you with a very neutral, open, musical sound.

I've got to say that I've yet to be disappointed with NOS valves despite some people (Guy from Puresound, for example) saying they can be a bit hit and miss. Well not with me - every time I compare NOS valves with currently produced ones the sonic superiority of the NOS valves is crystal clear.

Marco.

[goraman]

In the 12AX7 class there are 2 tubes that sound great the Sovtek 12AX7LPS is well balanced and delivers slightly better bass than the telefunken but dosen't last as long.
The Ei silver long plate 12AX7 when hand selected for no microphonic noise is a direct sonic replacement for the more expencive Telefunkens but won't live 10,000 to 100,000 hrs.But they both will out live 5,000 hours or more and under $20.00 makes them a bargin.Some of the most expencive audio makers use these tubes along with hand selected Electro Harmonix. I use 1950 RCA winged black plates,1974 RCA black plates,Ei long silver plates and older hand select Electro Harmonics for my 12AT7's and found the RCA's to be the better sounding than even west German Telefunkens for this tube.

[Gromit]

I do - but whether I'd go back to them is open to debate. I had a fairly brief but nonetheless very enjoyable dabble with them last year by way of a hot-rodded KEL84 and a Puresound A30, itself given some very effective mods by Guy. Both sounded fabulous.

The A30 also received some better SN7's (Sylvania 'Bad Boys') which made a significant improvement, the KEL had some NOS Philips EL84's and Telefunken ECF80's (along with a smattering of BlackGates inside). I'd stick my neck out here and state that the KEL was probably the most musically-satisfying amplifier I've ever owned BUT it does need very efficient speakers to work at its best. My Audio Note AX2's at 90db/1w were border-line - the amp would easily run out of puff in the lower registers, even at relatively modest volume. Also running a valve amp for 7-8 hours a day (that's how much use my gear gets on average) soaks up a hell of a lot of juice in the electricity dept.

It's certainly a road I may travel down again though despite the above.

[Peter Stockwell]

I went through a brief valve phase, a KEL34 from world audio design. It did some things really well, notably bass and the mid range. I built it, mostly, myself but it did suffer from less than great soldering.

I migrated to Naim after that and haven't looked back.

However having just got a Technics SL1210 maybe I''ll be eating more humble pie soon ;)

regards

Peter

[Mike]

I went through a brief valve phase, a KEL34 from world audio design.

You should try one of these then: :)

http://www.wduk.worldomain.net/gallery/file.php?n=53&w=l (http://www.wduk.worldomain.net/gallery/file.php?n=53&w=o)

[Peter Stockwell]

You should try one of these then: :)

http://www.wduk.worldomain.net/gallery/file.php?n=53&w=l (http://www.wduk.worldomain.net/gallery/file.php?n=53&w=o)

Can't see the link without a sign in.

I prefer the convenience of Solid State. Errr, I think.

regards

Peter

[Mike]

Hmmm.... piccy went AWOL! :scratch:

Try this:

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/79/wd88zx2.jpg
By Shian7 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/Shian7) at 2008-06-17

[Gromit]

Hmmm.... piccy went AWOL! :scratch:

Try this:

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/79/wd88zx2.jpg
By Shian7 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/Shian7) at 2008-06-17

Thats looks v nice :) WD 88VA single input version?

Something rather wonderful about how 88's and 6550's glow blue when photographed in low light. My old A30...

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/Gromit011/PSA303small.jpg

[jandl100]

You have good ears, Jerry :)

That's exactly what I've heard, too. Telefunken 'long plates' are the best ECC83 I've heard so far. I use them in the Croft and the Yaqin to great effect. The brightness goes away in a couple of days leaving you with a very neutral, open, musical sound.

Marco.

I'm still pleased with my Telefunkens, but I now have some Bugle Boy ECC83s on their way from the USofA and have just ordered some JJ Tesla ECC803 valves. That should make for some interesting comparisons. :)

Tube rolling is fun!

[Marco]

Nice one. Out of interest, where did you order your 803s from and how much were they?

And are they genuine NOS or simply brand new Russian equivalents?

Marco.

[Togil]

Tube rolling is fun!

All this tube rolling really puts me off getting a valve power amp.

My preamp has only one valve in the audio circuit , a D3A and as far as I know there is only one type from Siemens , so no rolling, hopefully :)

[Mike]

Nice one. Out of interest, where did you order your 803s from and how much were they?

And are they genuine NOS or simply brand new Russian equivalents?

Marco.

JJ are current production AFAIK Marco.

[Marco]

That's what I thought, Mike. Personally, I'd only be interested in genuine NOS ECC803s. New stock valves never sound the same.

Marco.

[Marco]

These look more interesting, but so is the price:

http://www.hifitubes.nl/catalog/telefunken-ecc803s-p-161.html

Or for those on a budget:

http://www.hifitubes.nl/catalog/tungsol-ecc803s-balanced-p-97.html

:)

Marco.