Known tube upgrades for Jan Philips 5814-A???

carlos, i saw your post and wondered how you would compare the following 12au7 tubes which would be used in the pre amp section of my amp. the 3 tubes are: 1.tungsol 2. amperex holland 3.mullard. any thoughts comparing these for use in a unison research sr-1 amp would be most appreciated.how do they each sound and how would you recommend them? are they alot better than my stock phippis jan 1980's tubes? thanks so much. stephen

Most European-made Ecc82 will sound better than your Phillips ECG 5814, which is a military spec version of the 12au7.
Feel free to email if you have more questions, I have a large collection of those tubes and know well the sound of most brands.
Good luck
Carlos

Just a follow up,

You are not limited by just the above mentioned tubes. There are many other tubes considered very good value (alot less $). Do a search on Audioasylum under "5814" in the "Tubes" section. Happy Hunting!

The Jan Philips in my limited experience are horrible, glare,grain, thin and they roll off on both ends. There are many better.

I just replaced them in my Unico with the new production JJ Tesla 12au7 (ECC82) (got them from Triode Electronics on the net, about $20 for the pair)and it was a big improvement. From here, I am going to look at Mullard, Amperex and Telefunken, the New Old Stock (NOS) tubes that get the biggest raves. Gets pricey though ($40+ a tube).

There are many others, like RCA Clear Tops 12au7, which is supposed to be the best 12au7 tube ever made in the US. More reasonable in price than the Euro tubes.

Many people talk to Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio, he is very knowledgable on tubes and has many in stock. Hope this helps.