Croft valve rolling question
Hi guys hope your all well.
Im after a bit of advice from any Crofties or valve experts.
Ive got the croft 25r with upgraded linestage
And the 7r monos.
After speaking with a few people the unanimous decision was that rolling the linestage 12bh7A will alter the sound the most and that the 50s NOS RCA valves seem to be most peoples go to choice for best of the best valve. It already has a nice nos Sylvania in there but i fancy a bit of fun to see if i can taylor the sound a bit more.
Others also recommended that swapping out the line in valves on the monos has a nice effect. To get the clean detailed sound that i like i had been recommended the Nos GE 5751 in this position BUT luckily i took the top off to have a check as the valves in this position are also 12bh7A not ecc83 or variant types.
Ive pulled the trigger on a nice(but expensive)pair of 1956 RCA black plates, NOS and matched and super strong. I will also pick up one more at next pay cheque to complete the trio that i need.
Anyway enough rambling my question is, has anybody tried any different valves in the other positions?
The rest of the valves in the pre are a Mullard 85A2 and 2 JJ ECC83S
And one ECC83S and one 85A2 in the two mono.
Will changing any of these effect the sound or are they just for power regulation? Its all new to me so not sure, and dont want to spend lots more on top NOS tubes if its not going to make a difference.
Thanks for any help
Karl
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Croft valve rolling question
Thanks for all the replies gents.
This is why i put a thread up as there are so many different views on this situation and also so many different incarnations of the croft amps its hard to get a straight answer.
Its still a bit inconclusive for me now haha. Some say yes, some say no.
I suppose the only way really is to try myself. Unfortunately some of these valves are scarce and eye wateringly expensive nowadays and to buy a few to find out you dont like them or they do bugger all is not ideal.
I think enough of you have said it does make enough difference for me to give it a go . As you know at this stage of the game it’s usually small improvements anyways and every little helps.
I dont have the phono in mine as i use a whest 2.2 so no valves to worry about there.
From any of your experiences, did you find that the power regulation valves (ECC83S)made a more audible difference to the sound than voltage regulation(85a2)?
The silver mullard 85a2 that are currently in there do look old as the lettering has mostly come away but its hard to be sure what type they are and if they are the stock standard ones glenn supplies or were upgraded by the previous owner??? Any recommendations for 85A2 valves ??
Also can any of you recommend a nice 12bh7A with a clean ,clear,detailed sound? im trying to avoid too warm as i like the ‘hifi’ sound myself.
I think i will take out the existing NOS GE 12bh7A from the monos and use the NOS 50s RCA long black plates in there as they are perfectly matched,dated and balanced and it seems a shame to break them up . i will track down something else for the preamp linestage. I will definitely try one in the linestage first though incase they make a bigger difference there.
I know that a lot of these tubes will come down to tastes and may well just be different , but different can also be better if its giving you the sound that you are trying to achieve.
Thanks again
Karl
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