i'm looking for a dull 12ax7 and 12au7, ideas?


i have a tube amp which uses 12at7 and a cd player which uses a 12ax7 or 12au7. i like to dull the sound when listening to bad cds.

any ideas for very soft and veiled 12 volt tubes.

what about raytheon 5814 ?

thanks for yuour help
mrtennis
Post removed 
RCA 12au7 Black plate. Will still give you detail but will tame that sound your getting, Trust me. Great tubes, cheap also.
I've heard the older Mullard tubes are exactly as you describe. Learn the date codes, though, so you don't buy the newest versions, which are universally said to suck.

>>" i like to dull the sound when listening to bad cds."<<
>>>>>>>>>>

They will not dull the sound but NOS Mullard tubes will give you a warmer wetter sound. They will knock that harsh, bright, digital glare sound you are getting from your system.

Just my 2 cents, but not sure the word "dull" is what you really mean....
Jim


Post removed 
hi jdombrow:

are you a clone of mr z. ?

you assume without talking to me first.

i would appreciate if you avoid personal attacks. were you offended by what i said ?

let's talk like human beings. even if its via e mail or the telephone ??
the NOS mullards indeed tame the beast, overtame it in some cases. I put at7s in as driver tubes in my amps (6550s) and everthing rocked. Could have been as much that my power tubes that were also replaced were junk but the at7s still seem pretty lively. Put at7s and ax7s (at $100 ea for the ax7 which were matched) in the preamp and details as to space and instrument seperation popped out everywhere, cymbles sounded great all the rock and roll just up and left. Polite would now describe my system. For some things it's a vast improvement but for others not so much if you just want to bang your head.

My guess is that the mullard ax7s have a little less gain and the matching may add a level of smoothness not present in lesser tubes. Percieved volume level is down which indicates greater smoothness in the highs and mids as well
I just noticed your other similar post looking for a CD player. Why don't you just buy a 10 band equalizer? Then you can tailor the sound of the system to your hearts content? The only thing you might loose sonically by putting an equalizer in your system would be things that your posts suggest have no meaning to you.
I like the Electro-Harmonix 12AX7s and 12AU7s. Wouldn't exactly describe them as "dull" but they are very musical.
EH tubes are far from dull. In fact they will actually give you the polar opposite of what you're looking to do. EH tubes in general tend to be edgy or grainy with good tubed equipment and they are priced accordingly. Try some older Mullards or Brimars.