Banned
Location: Lancaster(-ish), UK
Posts: 16,936
I'm ChrisB.
Marco,
Have you tried the Mullard M8137's or even better, the CV4004's? The CV's are the ones for me - All the good traits of the Telefunko's, none of the head scalping incisiveness & with proper bass.So far, the Teslas are the best ECC83/12AX7-type valve I've heard, but I'm shortly going to be road-testing some EAT 803S from Pistol Music, which are supposed to be the ultimate (at a price!), so we'll see how they compare to the Teslas
getting pricey now, though!
Cheers
Chris
Site Owner/Administrator
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK
Posts: 110,508
I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.
Chris, I've tried CV4004s which I found good but nowhere near as special as their reputation suggests. I would rate them in my 'top 5', though. I've not heard M8137s - how do they compare to CV4004s in your experience?
The thing with valves (NOS ones in particular) is that there are so many anomalies to consider, notwithstanding variations in performance between examples of the same valve type due to differing degrees of output from sample to sample and them all measuring differently, which makes it nigh-on impossible to make blanket recommendations for every system and/or stating which one is the 'best'.
The 'best' valve will always be that which works best in the particular circuit in which it is applied and also that which the listener deems to suit his or her ears!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & regulator mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat with Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight. Isonoe feet & boots. Ortofon RS-212D tonearm with Denon DL-103GL, in a Denon PCL-300 headshell, fitted with Funk Firm Houdini and Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp and Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp, fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
Banned
Location: Lancaster(-ish), UK
Posts: 16,936
I'm ChrisB.
Chris, I've tried CV4004s which I found good but nowhere near as special as their reputation suggests. I would rate them in my 'top 5', though. I've not heard M8137s - how do they compare to CV4004s in your experience?
Actually Marco, I stuffed up a bit with my last post & mislead you rather badly!
Where I wrote M8137, I should have put CV4004, and vice versa, sorry!
I found the CV's to be very good indeed, but the M8137's seem to be superior in every way, except perhaps microphony, though certainly not in the noise department. I only use them in the phono stage & prefer JAN 5751's in the line stage. I tried the 5751's in an attempt to take advantage of the extra gain available, but could detect no real difference there. However the mixture of the two types seemed to gel particularly well.
As we've both concluded several times on different subjects: It all depends, doesn't it?
Cheers
Alien Entity
Location: North East UK
Posts: 6,358
I'm InSpace.
They are the same valve!Originally Posted by The Grand Wazoo
I've gone over this with Marco before. He has the memory of a Goldfish!
Last edited by Mike; 09-04-2009 at 15:48.
Shian7
--------------------------------------------------------
Kudakutemo
kudakutemo
ari mizu-no tsuki
Though it be be broken -
broken again - still it's there:
the moon on the water.
- Choshu.
Banned
Location: Lancaster(-ish), UK
Posts: 16,936
I'm ChrisB.
Yes, I remembered the previous thread. The difference I hear must be batch related I guess.
Don McCorleone
Location: Galashiels
Posts: 14,031
I'm inthescottishmafia.
Yep that was my impression too Mike.Whatever,yes,a nice valve! A few a have posting very favourable impressions of the new TJ ecc82/3's.May be even better than Mullards!
Alien Entity
Location: North East UK
Posts: 6,358
I'm InSpace.
Yep... quite likely Chris.
Be aware though, that CV simply means 'Common Valve' (there is no such thing as "military spec" :P). In many cases a CV valve may have been supplied by any number of manufacturers. There is usually an acid etched code on the glass which needs to be translated to establish the exact manufacturer and other details. The CV4004 in Gromit's amp is definitely a Mullard M1837, I know coz I put it there!
There's a useful CV lookup tool HERE.
Cheers...
Last edited by Mike; 09-04-2009 at 16:53.
Shian7
--------------------------------------------------------
Kudakutemo
kudakutemo
ari mizu-no tsuki
Though it be be broken -
broken again - still it's there:
the moon on the water.
- Choshu.
Alien Entity
Location: North East UK
Posts: 6,358
I'm InSpace.
Yeah, I've heard good things about the TJ Fullmusic valves too Ali, I fancy giving them a go sometime.
Shian7
--------------------------------------------------------
Kudakutemo
kudakutemo
ari mizu-no tsuki
Though it be be broken -
broken again - still it's there:
the moon on the water.
- Choshu.
Don McCorleone
Location: Galashiels
Posts: 14,031
I'm inthescottishmafia.
Yeah might get some for the Audioromy.Not cheap,but cheaper than Mullard!
Site Owner/Administrator
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK
Posts: 110,508
I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.
LOL! Do you want to try running the forum and dealing with as many things as I have to do and see how much you remember about every aspect of every discussion you take part in?
FYI, I did remember our conversation regarding both those valves but that doesn't automatically mean that your experience and that of Chris will be one and the same. I was simply asking him to relate his experiences, which were of interest to me.
I trust that this meets with your approval, shweety!
Marco.
Main System
Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & regulator mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat with Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight. Isonoe feet & boots. Ortofon RS-212D tonearm with Denon DL-103GL, in a Denon PCL-300 headshell, fitted with Funk Firm Houdini and Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.
Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp and Denon AU-310 SUT.
Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.
CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.
Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.
Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp, fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.
Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.
Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.
Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.
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