12AT7 tubes

"Mullards are the best I have heard... Can change systems from nice to incredible"

Undertow, what's your definition of incredible? I ask because tube rolling seems to be a way for people to get the sound they "want". I have an AVA FetValve 550, which also uses the 12AT7. Frank van Alstine ships these amps with JJs and is quite insistent on using these tubes. I tried Ei and also borrowed a pair of Mullards, and found that (to my ears) Frank was right. Of course, all that may mean is that Frank and I agree on what the "right" sound is for that amp. I found the JJ 12AT7 to have the least "tube like" characteristics of the ones I tried. My goal is to not hear anything that would tell me that I'm listening to either tubes or SS (FetValve is a hybrid).

It takes all kinds, I guess. I've been living with all SS gear for the last 20 or so years (good stuff, though, not like a lot of the bleached stuff that you find a lot in the SS world). But with my move to the FetValve, and a Pass X1 preamp (which is not classically SS by any means) I've tried to find a good balance between these two worlds. So far the JJs do it for me, but if I run across a chance to get a nice pair of Mullards I may try them again.