Best small signal tube for a preamp?

Keshiri, I ended up taking out the 12AT7's and putting back in the stock EH 6922. Based on my limited experience with the Zoe so far, the 6922 tubes seem the way to go. As HP said, it is sort of fun being able to roll different tubes; but in the end I suspect the manufacturer already did this and put the most compatable tube type in the stock units. That said, I received the Amperex PQ USA White labels this week and burned them in a couple of days, then man oh man, what a nice sound. I have owned some pretty expensive gear, but I consistantly find the most expensive or most highly rated stuff is not necessarily what I like best. To me, this Lector set up (CDP 7TL MkIII and Zoe) is just great - very musical, dynamic, clear, quiet and just plain fun to listen to. I am currently running that front end into Cary 500MB monos and my Aerial 9's. I do have a wanted ad for another preamp (Lamm LL2), one I have always wanted to try, but I am not in a huge rush because everything sounds so good right now. Regarding your Zoe, I would stay with a 6922 varient, and personally I like the Amperex. I have used the CCa's Rodman99999 talks about in a SF Line 3 SE I used to own, and they are nice but maybe a touch on the clear/extended/neutral side of things compared to the better Amperex's which are a little more in the rich/organic/full-sounding camp - both have good bass.

"I have used the CCa's Rodman99999 talks about in a SF Line 3 SE I used to own, and they are nice but maybe a touch on the clear/extended/neutral side of things compared to the better Amperex's which are a little more in the rich/organic/full-sounding camp - both have good bass." Mitch2- This is a very accurate assessment of the sound of those tubes(good ear-Kudos).

Wow Mitch I'm glad your Amperexes are working great because I ended up checking for some last week (tube rolling's enticing) and got a decent deal at Ebay for a pair of NOS US Jan white label Amperex 7308 (from 1966). Can't wait 'till they arrive. I hope they're similar to the 6922 white pq's as I also like the rich /full sound. My Zoe's owner's manual states the unit is originally furnished with 12AU7, which I find also works well. Have you found the ideal tubes for your Lector cdp? Lector's upstream gear are obviously giant killers. I wonder how their power amps sound like. I'd love to get my hands on their phono stage, which apparently costs more than the ZOE...

Rodman99999, thanks for the comments - those CCa's are excellent (and expensive as you say), but I suspect they do more for some equipment than for others. They didn't seem to help the SF Line 3 SE too much, probably since it is already a little linear and forward sounding. I wasn't as good at system matching back then.

Keshiri, I didn't realize your Zoe came with the 12AU7's. Mine is the newer model with black side panels (a recent demo) and I believe it came with the EH 6922's. Brian at Aaudio said they have upgraded some parts in the newer model, but Lector always seems to be behind in the documentation department, so I don't know which parts. Anyway, with the PQ White label 6922's in my Zoe, the sound is fantastic in a very musical sort of way, with a full rich midrange and excellent bass, but maybe giving up a small amount to the best I have heard in the high frequencies (probably not a fault of the tubes). I do not have 12AU7's in the house, but I do have a small variety of 12AT7's I have used with the CDP 7TL. In general, I like the 6922's better in the Zoe than the 12AT7's, even the stock EH 6922's sounded pretty good - no less clear than the PQ White's but not as rich and without the quality of bass texture.

In the CDP 7TL MkIII, which only accepts 12AT7's, I have to say I like the RCA triple mica black plates I purchased from Brian the best, expensive though. I also liked some NOS Mullard's I tried, but not as much as the black plates, which display superior clarity and extension. The US Jan white label Amperex 7308's you are getting are also supposed to be a pretty good tube, let us know how you like them.