12AX7A and AT7 tubes


I recently changed all 8 power tubes (KT88) in my 8 year old Mac 2102 power amp. Used Gold Lion tubes as recommended by the majority of the Audiogon respondents to I thread I ran asking for KT88 advice. As suggested, these tubes really made a difference in the sound produced by the 2102. I am now thinking that maybe I should be replacing the 4-12AX7A and the 4-12AT7 tubes as well. I am pretty sure there is nothing mechanically wrong with the OEM tubes currently in the amp. but I am just interested in what this change would do for the sound, if anything. I have some questions about this move. First, do you think this is a worthwhile investment? Second, if this is a good move, what tubes do you recommend? Lastly, should I also change out these tubes in my C2200 preamp? If cost gets to be a factor, would you do the preamp first, last, or not at all? (As an aside, Upscale Audio recommends the Mullard CV4004 and CV4024. The CV4004 tubes are a whopping $80.00 each. Are they worth it?)
frepec

Showing 1 response by wenty3208

As a routine in service rounds it was common to change out the the 12AX7A's at a rate of 2 to 1, time wise, vs the 12AT7. The AT7 is just that much more rugged a tube.

I don't know if the 7025 is made any more. It is the low-noise/hi-mu version of the AX7. If we could get out hands on these, they always got put in the signal path.