Hello Djbnh, Blue light on, straight up power on. Though after giving a little thought to the cost of replacement telefunkens. I have decided to put the unit on standby (red light - with remote) when listening is unlikely.
Nice looking system. I see you have tried the GE blackplates and the Sylvanias. Lucky you. Those are some tough tubes to come by. I am keeping my eye peeled but so far I am quite happy with the teles.
Have you ever tried leaving your Jolida on (blue light) for a few days and then have a listening session? I am curious. Do you hear anything different or am I nuts? Mine seems more tonally smooth, less grain, a lot more depth. |
Thanks so much for your suggestions.
Tpsonic, I didnt even think of Brimar. Good suggestion, I like alot of Jazz, Classical, and female vocals all of which have a healthy dose of Piano.
Rcj1231, hard to find is an understatement. =) I have been looking for those for quite a while. Do you think the NOS RCA Blackplates perform similar to Sylvania's? Or, are they two different animals? |
Kudra, Thanks for you suggestions. However, "all" tubes arent "warm." As a matter of fact, the EI 12ax7's have more highs than my Theta DAC, and they(Theta DACs) arent known for being laid back in anyway.
I do have copper cables(SignalCable IIs) in the mix and silver-copper(DH Labs BL-1) as well. I can choose whichever I want buy changing the input selected.
My intent is to try some "warm" tubes since I have tried several that werent, at least in this system. So I have baseline of what warm tubes sound like. |
I dont want to get too far off my original tube question, but....
When I was using a Rotel Pre/Pro I had some upper midrange glare or harshness, when I upgraded to a Bryston processor it cleared up. Lately I have been content with my cables. Even though I havent tried a ton, I like the DH Labs better than anything else I have auditioned. Having said that, I may in the future be trying a few more moderately priced ICs. But first, I would like a selection of tubes to draw from.
In all honesty I have had some "warm" cables and didnt like them at all. Even though I cant explain it, the warm sounding stock Jolida tubes dont do to the sound, what the cables did, and frankly it intrigues me. And so it goes, I want to try some other "warm" tubes. |
Thanks so much for your input. I will probably make a decision on monday. Probably a pair of NOS Mullards (CV4004) if I can find them, and probably a pair of Sovteks.
I will come back and post how they sounded in the Jolida. But while I am here I might as well share my thoughts on the tubes I have tried.
Stock (Sino?) 12ax7 ---- warm, fairly articulate bass, reduced upper end, overall not bad with my analytical system. not quite rich enough and just a smidge to much "air" lost.
EH 12ax7 --- Neutral, not a lot of richness, but accurate nonetheless. not quite as "dry" as some of the others. Not a bad choice if you dont want tonal changes. I used this tube most and feel it works well if you want a little more top end without tonal change in the middle.
EI 12ax7 --- plenty of highs, laid back mids, not upfront with vocals (polite?), gives a great 3D presentation. Good bass but needs a lot of warm-up before it can.
NOS RCA 5751s --- fairly neutral, a little edgy on the top, very similar to the EH, with a tad deeper bass but a little drier as well. The reduced output of the 5751 is hardly noticable FWIW.
GE JAN 5751 --- Deep bass, but didnt work well for me, seemed 1 dimensional and lifeless in my system.
Hope these descriptions give someone a little help. |
Hmmm, I see there are several Sovtek 12ax7's to choose from.
12ax7LP, LPS, WA, WB, WC and maybe more. Any suggestions? |
Nealhood, Thanks so much for your post, which I should have read more closely, you specified WA's. Thanks again.
I do remember reading somewhere about the Sovtek LPS's being a good audio tube. As cheap as they are maybe I will just buy a pair of each. |
Zinfan2, thanks so much for your comments. The Sylvania's have been on my list for a while now. They are hard to come by, and when you do, they are costly. I intend to keep looking though.
I thought my first order of business (since I am somewhat new to tubes) would be to audition the "cheaper" newer production tubes. I havent ordered the Sovtek's yet. I think I will today. After I audition them I will post my thoughts, for what they're worth. |
OK the Sovteks are in. I am trying the LPS first. I like it pretty well. Tonally balanced, nice deep bass, good leading edge on percussion.
I am curious the sound of the Sovtek LPS is very similar to the EH. The construction looks very close as well. Might these be the same tube with different branding? |
I am currently trying the Sovtek WA's (12ax7). The LPS's stayed in for a while. I really liked them.
The WA's sound just a little bit more rolled back in the highs. Not much though. Its somewhat hard to put into words, but.....sounds/notes seem to "bloom" with the WA's. The bass isnt as pronounced as some of the other tubes. However, bass notes seem more differentiated. Less "one-note-itis." I like the the way the WA's do vocals. They are going to stay in a while.
I also have a pair of Shuguang tubes I will post my thoughts on these later.
After pulling the Sovteks LPS's and comparing them with the EH's, I realized how faulty my memory can be. Side by side, it is immediately recognizable that these are two different tubes. Though they do sound similar. |
I thought I might update this thread. I have been running Telefunken smooth plate 12ax7s for a little while now. These are the best synergistic match for me and my system yet. I love them. Very smooth. Vocals bloom from way back and seeming higher above the plane of tweeters themselve. Detail is present without to much emphasis on the highs. Strings ohhh strings, you can hear the pluck so well its hard to put into words.
I have taken the Vibrapods from underneath the unit and placed them under the Sony, which this unit is stacked upon for now. The DH Labs BL-1s have been replaced with Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway 3s. That in and of itself made a nice improvement.
Just for the record I tried the Telefunkens and liked 'em. So I put back in the EH's and tried them again, just to make sure. Then the Sovtek LPS's went back in and within a few days each I would start missing the Tele's. So far only the Telefunken tubes have this impact on me and my tube swapping.
I am curious. I leave this unit powered on 24/7. how long will the Tele's last? I have Pearl coolers installed. I am thinking 8000 hours? |
