EAT E-Glo Petite Hybrid phono stage

So, I found a great deal on the Eat Petit and as good as my DS2 sounds with the Baldwin 1960 tubes, I sold it. The Petit with the stock tubes is very good. A little less grain and a slightly larger soundstage than the ds2, but it just didn’t have the rich tonality of the ds2 with the Baldwin 1960 tubes that became so addictive. So, I put those tubes in the Petit and it was better, but didn’t sound quite the same as they did in the ds2. Too much body and that clouded the lower midrange area a bit. Tonality was still excellent though and almost as good as they sounded like in the ds2. I had a pair of 1959 Baldwins that were not quite as good when I had tried them in the ds2. A little too much upper midrange drive. So, I decided to try them in the Petit. WOW! Perfection! These tubes were made for this phono pre. Outstanding tonality that even my $4k phono preamp using a variety of nos tubes couldn’t match. It’s like the 1960 Baldwins were sounding when used in the ds2, but only with a bit less grain, larger soundstage, less congestion and a bit smoother sounding overall. Along with the tonality, the Petit and the 1959 tubes still have excellent dynamics, soundstage and bite. Deep and powerful bass and a sweet top end that is fully extended. I then tried some nos Ei tubes than are said to be identical looking and sounding as NOS Telefunken smooth plates.They sounded great too, but just didn’t have that rich tonality of the 1959 Baldwins. No wow factor, but nothing to complain about either. Also tried 4 different current production tubes, to include Gold Lions. Gold lions were best of the lot but couldn’t hold a candle to the Baldwins. If you really want to experience what the Petit is capable of, do yourself a favor and grab a pair of the 1959 Baldwins. You can find these on eBay for around $100 a pair or so. So worth it! *Note..my system audio is professionally calibrated and is very neutral, thus letting the tubes do most of the talking without much influence from improper eq and bright/warm speakers.

“I think 7 different sets in total. I kept coming back to the new production Gold Lions.”

I also have the Gold lions. They are very good current production tube as used in the Petit, but don’t quite have that nice tonality of the 59 Baldwins (percussion, guitar body, horns) . High end is less grainy or edgy too with the Baldwins, not that the Gold Lions were that bad in that area. There’s more breathing room (headroom) with the Baldwins.with these tubes in the Petit, it competes very closely to my other phono preamp (Modwright PH9.0x) with excellent 6922 Philips nos tubes. Tonality is actually a little bit better with the Petit/Baldwins vs my Modwright while the soundstage is a bit larger with the Modwright /Philips tubes, but it’s plenty big with the Petit/Baldwin combo.

I should add that with my Soundsmith zephyr 3 cartridge (2.4mv) output, the best setting for the Petit with the 1959 Baldwin tubes are 50db gain and 50 pf and no rings on the tubes,  although 150 pf works if you want a little more zing that doesn’t go overboard. I feel my settings have just the right amount of control without losing soundstage. This will likely be cartridge output dependent.

“I mean, ink black background with the volume cranked with the Petit set at 65 db gain using my Hana MC cart. Sound was crystal clear, vocal texture detail came through nicely, and elements like reverbs really seemed to extend deep, giving me the impression of a more 3 dimensional space.”

This is great and I’m not a bit surprised that you are hearing what I hear. It’s what I’ve been saying all along. More holographic and also more headroom. I never mentioned them being quiet, but that was an oversight on my part. They are most definitely quiet. If these are actual NOS, just wait till they hit the 30-60 hour mark! They just get that much better. Listen to texture of percussion instruments, horn tonality and guitar body. Best I’ve heard. I don’t think my 1959 Baldwins had D getters. Pretty sure they’re halos like yours. I’ll have to look again.

I verified they are round halo getters for my 1959 Baldwins.

“So I am using the Rega Ania Pro on an RP6 and have solid state Rega Aria preamp.  Will i see improvement going to one of these tube preamps?  I have no tubes in my set up.”

I had a ss Parasound jc3+ phono pre and it was excellent. The problem was that I was stuck with a single sound signature that worked well for some music, and not so much for other music. This is why I ended up going with a tube phono pre. It was easier for me to fine tune the sound to my liking simply by installing the right tubes in it. There is a tonality to tubes that ss cannot duplicate ime so long as they are the right tube match for the phono pre.  My former Project DS2 tube phono pre with 1960 Baldwin tubes was much better than my more expensive Pro-ject RS ss phono pre. To me, tonality is most important along with low noise. The EAT Petit with the Baldwin 1959 tubes is even better than the Project ds2 tube phono pre, but not by a whole lot (pre 1994 Ei tubes are also very good). The Project would be the better value of the two.tube rolling can be fun (and sometimes expensive) and can also be a pita! It’s a good thing when you can find a tube that works extremely well but doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. The Baldwins (Raytheon) are such a tube.

I have no experience with the Sutherland, but I can’t imagine it outshining the Petit with the right tubes. I would get the Petit with an 18v Chinese linear power supply for around $120 and spend the difference on nos tubes with the savings of the price difference vs getting the sBooster. I have a Chinese linear ps I bought on eBay and it’s been working great and does slightly improve the Petit dynamics. I think in the long term, you’ll appreciate the ability to tailor the sound of Petit with tube rolling with future cartridge or other component changes that you likely will make down the line.

My wife has the Pro-ject Tube DS2 phono pre. We put at least 7-8 different sets of tubes in it, some current production and some NOS. Of the current production tubes, Mullards from Upscale audio sounded best. But one day. I took a gamble on some Baldwin (RAYTHEON) NOS 1961 12ax7 tubes off of eBay. These things took it to a much higher level! Fantastic. They are amazing. Extremely low grain. Sweet high end and yet detailed. Bass for days! Very good gain. Much better than any other tube I’ve tried and much better than my former Pro-ject Phono Box RS that I compared it to. The RS sounds somewhat mechanical in comparison. I like the tubes so much that I bought a back up pair and have no desire to look any further. The best part is they only cost around $60 a pair. My system audio is professionally calibrated and so I am mainly hearing the differences the tubes themselves contribute to the sound. You just can’t go wrong with these tubes.

1. I’m sure the Baldwins would sound at least as good in the EAT Petit.
2. 12ax7 tube matching is not as critical as some suggest. My first choice would be to buy a matched pair though.3.Their are several pairs on eBay. They are from 1959 and 1960. I’m sure they would sound every bit as good as the 1961s. Looks like the word got out about these tubes. Prices a bit higher and less quantity available than what I normally see on eBay. Even at higher prices, they are still well worth it, IMO. I can only speak for the yellow labeled ones. Haven’t heard the green ones. You can always look at actual Raytheon tubes from that era as they are the ones who made the Baldwins. Here’s the link.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=baldwin+12ax7+tub...

Some more Baldwins also comes up on a Raytheon search
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=rayrheon+12ax7+tu...