I went by Joe's NOS tube suggestions and currently have Sylvania 5751 in mine although my pair of GE 5751 sound very good too but slightly different flavor. Great cdp, I don't think you need to do much more but to find the right pair of tubes for you. Arthur |
I loved Telefunken 12ax7s in mine. Though EH5751 Gold Pins were real good as well. Its a system synergy and personal preference thing.
I used sorbotane feet first. Ehhh. No feet. Not Bad. Cleaner sounding highs. Vibrapods. Ehh. Lastly I used a triple cone setup, which worked best. This player responds to power cord changes too FWIW.
This is a real gem of a CDP. But alas I wanted a CDP with a good volume control to run direct to my amp, so it has been sold. |
I would say stick with the standard feet. Try the Mullard CV4004 on the entry level price range of NOS, to the GE 5751's or others you can find in the archived threads. Do a search on JD-100 and I am certain you will pull up some good tube suggestions. Enjoy that player! |
I, too, went with Joe's TUBE LORE suggestions and have used the following with good success:
Sylvania 5751 3-mica
RCA 5751 3-mica blackplates (late 50's vintage)
GE 5751 3-mica blackplates
Am currently using the Raytheon 5751 w/windmill getter and really like it.
If you want to stick with the 12AX7 type, try the RCA 12AX7 long blackplates.
Of course, there's the "system synergy" issue which may be complicated if you have any other tube equipment in the signal path. Finding the right combination may take some time but will be well wotrh the effort.
Good luck. |
Ecool, by "no feet" I mean, no additional feet or just stock feet. Just to clarify =) |
Personally, I'm not into 5751's. I like telefunken and mullard 12ax7's better. For new tubes, find some golden dragons(great value).
Anything will be better than the stock tubes in there now! I don't know why, but Jolida likes to start with the cheapest tubes??????????????? |
I have had very good results with the Mullard CV4004 as well which is a Military spec 12AX7. |
There is a little bit of talk about a company called GT that manufactures what is supposed to be a Mullard 12AX7 'clone'. Around $25 a tube.
Some chatter on the Asylum but not enough people stepping up to tout its virtues. Anyone here heard/got them? |
Great choice of cdp! I have had one for a month now and have swapped out several 12ax7s (Tesla JJ, Sovtek LPS, EH and the stocks). I have settled on a matched pair of EI 12ax7s that sound magnificent, full and rich with great dynamics and bass. Treble and mids are the best so far and I didin;t have to spend an arm and a leg. Got them from the tubestore. |
You will be happy. IMHO the best (smoothest) sounding CD player at that price range. |
Not to pull the thread away from the discussion, but you might also experiment with power cords. When we had the JD-100, an upgrade to a pricey PC really opened up the midrange.
Enjoy that player. It's very good. |
Stevecham, Is that Ei or EH ?
If Ei, just the regular 12AX7 $7 each ones ? |
mod. It is a good player, but I've never been satisified with the bass of the unit. I use RCA NOS tubes which improved on both of these sonic areas. I also use a Shunyata Diamondback pc which improved the high end clarity as well. You will definitely want a good power cord to improve this baby. I use the standard feet. |
ecool, I highly endorse the EI's Stevecham commented on, however they have had a bit of a QC problem so be sure to buy from a reputible dealer and buy ones which have been tested for microphonics (usually this is done in the matching process, as in matched pair. Costs a few bucks more but well worth it). If you buy these from unknown internet sellers you risk buying others rejects. |
Ecool, they are the Ei (not EH I tried these and the results were not as good) matched dual triodes for the extra $5 a tube, fantastic! |
The Ei tubes are really cheap and are worth a try.
Do they have a similar sound to any other tube, or do they have a sound all of their own?
Cheers, |
Nickway, All tubes have an individual sound. How you describe that sound depends much on the associated equipment and how you interpert the tone and other issues such as clarity. For example, I've been listing to tubes for over 20 years. What I consider neutral folks more experienced with SS components or new tube components would probably describe as "warmish".
There has been a shift in the past 15 years or so for manufacturers to enhance the sense of detail. Using the general tone of EH's for comparison, I have found this tube (the EH)to be excessively bright in all applications, except a new amp I just purchased wherein it sounds balanced.
In this amp the new production EH sounds quite balanced and relatively smooth. EI's, which I consider tonally neutral, balanced and having great clarity, sound shy in the bass (which gives them the imediate effect of sounding over bright). Where the EI's have sounded bass shy I have used NOS and current production JJ Tesla's and have added bass, but with the new JJ's the highs take on a bit of roughness absent in the EI's and the NOS Teslas are a bit too warm on top. Then, in this one amp, I tried some NOS EI's with short plates, and found that they were much more balanced in this amp than any of the others I tried.
The moral of the tale is, apart from using your own ears and experimenting, you must know the equipment and preferences of the folks making the recommmendations regarding the sound of tubes before you can apply it usefully to your situation. |
The moral of the tale is, apart from using your own ears and experimenting, you must know the equipment and preferences of the folks making the recommmendations regarding the sound of tubes before you can apply it usefully to your situation. This says it all, Nick. I recommend reading Newbee's post until it really sinks in. Great advice for anyone interested in this hobby, and he puts it so well. |
Nick,
Upon re-reading my post, I thought I might have sounded condescending, which was not my intention. I just know you've had a lot of questions of late in regards to tube characteristics, and thought Newbee's post hit the nail on the head. That's all.
Howard |
Thanks guys,
No offense taken. I am a totally new when it comes to tubes. So I can use a little kick in the but sometimes. It usually takes a while for new information to soak in and for me to get a handle on it.
I am going to list my Rega for sale so I can move to a Jolida. I guess the sale of the rega dictates whether I will move to a Jolida or not.
Cheers & thanks again, |
Wow, What a nice player for $600 used. Smmmmooooth!! and thats before the NOS Mullards go in. This vinyl guy can live with this cdp for a LONG time!
Thx everyone. |
ecool_blue, just curious, what CDP did the Jolida replace in your system??? |
