Old Legendary tubes vs New Kids on the block Amperex/Siemens/Tele vs Psvane/TAD/Shugaung


Posting this on amps board, as pre tubes can make quite a dif on the amp ound. 
I just sent off all my oldstock tubes to a  guy who will sell them for me on ebay,,I am going all ~New kids on the block~ pre tubes. 
I am saying goodbye to my fav~ Amperex BB.s 
The only old stock i am keeping are the 2 tall bottle SQ Philips EC180's which will go in the AU section of the Defy,,i love the cool looking tall bottle of the EC180,'s, But i also bought some Psvane Au's , a sthey look quite impressive with taht double plate at the top,,,Will add some TAD AU's also on wish list, they also have thae cool looking double plate./high tech components.
I will roll the 3 labs, and see wich has the finer resolution/soundstage.
The 4 AX's will have to be the Shugaung, Maybe later on will add the TAD.
The cayin cd17 takes 4 6922's, for those I will go TAD, as they have the cool looking double plates. 
Which brings up this Q...will the old legends hold their top $ prices going forward, as folks begin cking out the new labs offerings, 
Psvane/Shugaung/TAD. 
I've not heard any of the new, as yet, I have the AU's/AX's arriving later this week. Since i sent all my old stock au/ax's off, can't compare to these new labs. Only compare from what i reacll the Defy sounding like  with Old stock. 
However as you guys know i still have that cheap chinese clone which is crippling the Defy's performance. 
The cayin SC6 is still a ways off, so a  true compare could only be made at that time. 
The cayin has 4 AU's, will roll both TAD and Psvane T series AU's. , Psvane has a  new ax out called T series,,,I will buy both the Psvane and the TAD, see which comes out for high resolution of fq's. 
Have you guys heard any of these newer labs, vs the old legends. 
On the power tubes, I have EH KT90's and also chinese KT88's i bought cheap off ebay,,so will roll those  when the front tubes arrive. 
Will not rebias the amp,,it will be a  justa  shortb 10 minute testing.
If I like the 88's over the EH90's,,I will add the Psvane KT88 C version to wish list, The C version is the newer KT88 from Psvane called the Classic 88, the older version is called the hifi 88. 
I will post notes over the comming year as these tests will be ongoing during the year 2020. 
What say you about these new kids on the block?
mozartfan

Showing 4 responses by noromance

For all the test "AX" tubes you've gone through, you could have just got a set of Telefunken ECC83/12AX7. They are the best. Unless, you use Shuguang Black 12AX7LS and allow 20 hours burn-in. They beat out Teles in my amps.
Pinched - slight tightness in the liquidity, slightly dry and constricted. 
Glassy - an artificial shininess

You're bang on using cymbals and basslines as parameters. Think about the size of the stage, the overall color or lack, air and transparency. 

Many NOS are not unless they are NIB (new in box). Some dealers will test and grade transconductance of tubes on a tester. 
I did not recommend the T series only the black 12AX7LS (from Grant Fidelity). I did find they sound best in the phono stage but I replaced Teles in buffer and driver stages too.
I've been rolling since the 80s so take it or leave it. 
Don't confuse using the term "burn in" associated with cables, springs, or neoprene gaskets with what happens to electronics especially tubes which literally do burn in. Just think; in a few days your opinion has gone from dumping your NOS to declaring they're the best!
The black plate RCA is sweet and detailed but a little pinched in the mids and glassy in the upper mids.
Look at GE triple mica black plate 5751 if you like the RCA sound.