How are Mullards supposed to sound?


System: Rogers Studio 7, Prima Luna Prologue One, Marantz SA-8003

The stock (Chinese?) tubes in my Prima Luna Prologue One finally wore out after two years. The stock tubes sounded really excellent.

I decided to "upgrade." First to Electro-Harmonix tubes, which sounded decent but not as good as the stock tubes, and now to Mullards.

I know that tubes take a little while to "burn-in" but these Mullards sound awful.

They have a hard, clangy, echoing (microphonic) quality that none of the other tubes ever had. The soundstage seems to have receded backwards by a hundred feet. Everything sounds small and far away.

Is this how Mullards sound? I thought they were supposed to sound romantic. Is this all part of the "burn-in" process?
layman

Showing 1 response by thorman

Are they NOS Mullards or Reproduction..Normally Mullards sound Rich and Organic, Lush...At least the ones I have heard...Tubes do not take long to break in so if you have 24 hours logged on them,they probably are where they are going to stay sonically........