PSVANE 12Au7 12At7 12Ax7 "-T MKII" 2020 production run of small signal/driver tubes


Re-testing year 2020 production run of these tubes. Would like to hear from others who’ve re-tried recent production?

>>PSVANE 12Au7 12At7 12Ax7 "-T MKII" small signal/driver tubes made in year 2020"

Background:
After following stories about TJ Full Music’s founder passing, and the son reselling tooling of all of the small signal tubes to PSVANE, and recent luck over the past year with TJ 6SN7 tubes for my preamp, I thought I’d give the new PSVANE small tubes a retry. Checking to see if any designs or manufacturing goodness made it over to PSVANE yet from TJ. Also, took advantage of an opportunity to buy these direct from a major overseas distributor, direct. So far so good. Comparing to other known vintage tubes. Also following AudioNote’s recent use of PSVANE tubes in their preamplifiers, amplifiers, integrated amplifiers.

GOAL:
Find something "close enough" and hoard away all my vintage tubes. An improvement is always great too.  

COMPARISONS to vintage, others:
-Currently comparing to my vintage stash of 1960s Mullard "Blackburn", Tungsram, RCA, Sylvania, others.
-Also comparing to prior 2012 versions of these same PSVANE tubes made over eight years ago.
-No need to compare to new re-issue Mullard or JJ or other. Seems these new PSVANE are on a different level.

INITIAL Impression first 20 hours:
-a tad harsh and grainy
-midrange is obvious
-top end not rolled off
-sound stage front row, initially
-decent, interesting

AFTER 72 hours burn-in:
-smoothing out nicely, not there yet, close
-sound stage dropping back to mid-hall
-texture starting to come in
-nice midrange, top end smoothing out more
-tone of piano and guitars shaping up nicely
-Nice, haven’t pulled them yet!

APPLICATION
My mono tube amplifiers
(2) Input tubes; 12AU7s
(2) driver tubes; 12AT7s
Friend testing in his preamp
(2) Input, preamp: 12AX7s

------------------------------
REQUEST:
Would like to hear from others who’ve re-tried recent 2020 production of PSVANE 12AU7 or 12AT7 or 12AX7 ?
What are you hearing, are they better than prior PSVANE versions you tried years ago? Similar findings or ???





decooney

Just heard back this week from PSVane direct. They asked for info and I sent photos of my Oct ’22 manufactured date pair of CV-181 TII tubes I stopped using. QA issues were acknowledged from this time period, and they are following up.

Also responding to my questions around naming and branding confusion - received a breakdown explanation between the Acme / Art Series / Horizon Series tubes. Will need to interject and relay that somewhere when the topic comes up again on some thread somewhere I guess, at their request.

I'm holding off on purchasing any Art Series small tubes until this other matter is updated and possibly resolved. Sharing fwiw.  

Vivatubes is a great seller and does try to filter out the duds. Have bought quite a few dozen tubes from them. Both Chinese and Russian. Some duds still can get through. Not sure if the packaging on the China sourced tubes has much of an effect or not/ My guess is (based on the test results) the super wide variability, and ELFs in manufacturing at the factory coupled with a mile wide test spec at Shuguang and PSVANE. And in China there are tubes scrapped. Everything gets sold.

And you really can't use these in any gear that pushes the tube right at the design limits such as VTL or ARC. You will end up with fireworks. 

 

I have tested quite a few new tubes from both mfgrs. in the maximatcher. Test results are all over the map from completely worn out to spectacular. Think a lot of getting a great tube or a dud tube is luck of the draw on which tubes a buyer gets.  

If a person has a large stash of NOS US and Euro tubes I certainly would not think about dumping the stash in favor of these Chinese tubes. 

I have a pretty large stash of RCA 5814 black plates so have reverted back to these. For power tubes have switched back to EH or the Tungsol Russian re-issues. 

 

 

@johnss ,

I agree with the same concern. But since they have a warranty of 1 year, I will see how long these Horizons last and if they will honor the warranty. At $49 a pair, I think @decooney might as well try them. It you want to get the ART series, I recommend Vivatubes, since they check them and have a warranty.

I’ve successfully exercised the warranty and return policy with Viva Tubes multiple times now. And so have a few audio buddies of mine again lately. Never had problems in the past with them. Following up again now, be sure they pack/box well - heads up.

I don’t care about the cost of small tubes as much as I care about the longevity any more. I’m currently using my direct-overseas packed and shipped tubes now instead with no issues after 2- 3yrs. All of my private seller vintage tubes, several pairs, [all well packed and boxed] continue to work perfectly fine as well.

@johnss ,

I agree with the same concern. But since they have a warranty of 1 year, I will see how long these Horizons last and if they will honor the warranty. At $49 a pair, I think @decooney might as well try them. It you want to get the ART series, I recommend Vivatubes, since they check them and have a warranty.

Thanks @johnss you are helping me to decide to keep my vintage stash around to fill in between these premature failing [or possibly damaged due to poor boxing & shipping] new issue small tubes. 

Note & ?: The small tubes i have previously  purchased directly from overseas [and better packaged and boxed] seem to last a LOT longer than any tubes purchased and magically tested by a few US retailers here who minimally box, stuff, pack and ship. Cutting corners, back to lazy cheapskates, and limited packer behaviors is what im zeroing in on now. 

Trying to figure this out -

Its like they buy a box of 100 well packed tubes overseas, then strip pairs of tubes and packing down to minimal packing and boxing [to save $ ???] on US shipping. i.e when they get to us they prematurely fail after getting rattled apart due to minimalist packaging and boxing and shipping within the US. Thinking this gain now.

TJ Full Music figured this out too a few years back as being the case after a long two year research study right before they sold off the rights and tooling to PSVane. They had lots of reported failures more with US retailers.  I started buying from overseas distributers and received great packaging and boxing with zero failures. None, all tubes still running strong after 2+ years.  May be some truth to that study.

This last quad of GL small tubes I received over the holidays [well tested] from a major US retailer [was a joke of packing and boxing] and were crackling and popping in the first hour and a lot more at hour 8. Had to RMA ship them back.  Still investigating and giving feedback to the owners of these companies now. A big waste of time and $ for all involved.

Keeping eyes and ears open for joker-packers.  Demand great internal packing and boxing every time or else more failed and returned tubes, fwiw,

Forgot to add I tried the Cossors as well. Very similar sound to the T-IIs. Did not have them in long enough to get any long term reliability out of them. 

I have used all of the ART series up (3 pairs of ART-S). Had one fail at 2 months, one fail at 6 months and the balance were shot at roughly a year. They do sound more musical than the T-II series. Depending on the amp or preamp they are plugged into, ELFs can be a problem with the VANEs. Have now gone back to RCA 5814 Black plates which are a really nice sounding tube and are much more reliable than the PSVANEs. 

okay, @milpai seems I missed the former hyperlink in to prior reply, got it.  I see it now. Thx.  

----

Still looking for anyone current/still using the Art Series small signal tubes from PSvane. Looking over the new Horizon series in small tubes, appears to be a non-gold-plated pin version of the same tube, yet they talk about that new coating used inside. Nice to have some options.  Might have to give both a try.   

Found the more recent thread where a member @alightronics is representing communications for PSVane

That is the one I had linked in my response earlier today.

Found the more recent thread where a member @alightronics is representing communications for PSVane about the new Horizon vs Art Series, in response to @milpai. Good to read, thx

https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2703446

 

@milpal The only concern for me is - how long will these last?

This is the question for me too. I’m now holding off on reselling any of my vintage collections of 12au7, 12at7 tube pairs. This is a result of tube failures after 8hrs use of new Gold Lyon pairs - argh. Awaiting a refund now. My 2yr old pair of PSVane MKIIs are working fine, I just put them back in play for now. All vintage stuff stored.

Looking closer at the PSvane "Art Series" I noticed something familiar. They look a similar to the former TJ Full Music small tubes. The son of TJ Full Music told me a few years back they sold off all the tooling for those smaller tubes to PSVane. Wondered what happened with all of that. Yesterday I saw this on TubeAmpDoctor site for the PSVane Art Series 12au7 description,

Quote, TAD:

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/search?sSearch=12au7

"Psvane 12AU7-S Art-Series, Matched PAIR (2 tubes)

The all new 12AU7-S Psvane Art series is supplied as a factory matched pair. A completely new production based on the manufacturing technology obtained from Full Music. The development and material composition of the...

Seems like it might be true. Interesting considering PSVane is capable of desighing and building their own tubes, yet they may have leveraged this from TJFM. Interesting.

As for Horizon Series from PSVane, the main thing I read is they needed to offer a "lower cost tube", and how its a neutral sounding tube, as you’ve noted. I’ll look for more PSVane Art Series vs. Horizon Series reviews, Thx.

 

@decooney ,

I see that you revived the thread after almost 3 years. Things changed between then and now. I did try a pair of NOS Mazda 12AU7 and loved them for their naturalness and definition in general. I had purchased warranty of 2 years on them and wanted to preserve them. Close to that time, a Psvane representative on this forum mentioned about the new Horizon series tubes, which he said were more neutral compare to the ART series. I had "alright to very good" experience with the Psvane tubes, as you have read my experience above. So I decided to give them a try.

For me, these are so much better than the Art series in every way. I found that they present the music without adding anything to it. I have experienced the "warmth" with the Genalex. But I liked the naturalness of the Mazdas. These fall along the Mazda lines, so much that I did not bother to take the Mazdas out now. Honestly, I like these better than the Mazdas in the bass, there these are a bit more taut. And these are priced at $49 (I paid $55) for the pair, on Amazon. So you really lose nothing and can return them if you did not like them. There are a couple reviews that compare these to the Art Series.

The only concern for me is - how long will these last? I installed them at start of September; so nearly 4 month now. They have been doing their thing and I have not focused on them. I am just happy that they allowed me to enjoy the DAC upgrade very recently. Hope this helps.

@johnss @milpai @audioman58 checking back on the PSVane 12aXX "Art Series" tubes. Are you still using them?

I ask becauseI kept using my MKIIs and went a bit sideways this past few years rolling back through my best vintage 1960s tubes, Mullards, others for a while.. For the holidays past week I decided to try some re-issue Gold Lyons 12au7 12at7 pairs for my monoblock amps. Realized I had not tried them before - never did. Bought two pairs. Bummer, must have gotten a bad batch or they were not packed well after match testing - and from a reputable seller too. Sounded really good for 8hrs then started popping/crackling really bad. Thankfully, sent them back today. Had to go back to my vintage Mullards and then retried my PSV MKIis. Still pretty smooth. @audioman58 felt the Art Series were better made/constructed, IIRC.  

Reading back through this thread I realized I never tried the Art Series like you guys did. I’m wondering if all of you are still fans and still happy with your Art Series small tubes - and/or still using them?

  @milpai   Perfect!  That's plenty of time imo, and yes at least 45 minutes warmup helps getting that torroid transformer in the back and other bits warmed up for the tubes to do their best. Reading up on your Rhumba, the tubes should last a long time in your preamp, noting comments "they are not run that hard." in this preamp. Very nice. I’m using the std version u7 tubes as small signal input tubes for my mono amps right now. So far so good. Tracking good reports like yours on the "Art" series. Happy listening.

be really nice to know that a modern chinese or russian made 12ax7 can truly go toe to toe with old stock faves

good old 12au7 and at7 still very plentiful and reasonably priced

but nice ax7's have been pretty pricey for some time...

@decooney ,

I did not find the midrange to be more forward nor laid back. But it has more "presence", such that the you can "see" the music better. Vocals feel more real to me. But all this is after letting the only about 30 hours of burn-in. Honestly I like this tube and I don't think I want to focus on the hours. I would rather enjoy the music that they make.

But again - the bass improvement is just so good. I hope this continues. If it improves, that that wold be a bonus. BTW, when the tubes were new, I kept them "ON" for the first 24 hours. Then for the past few days I have I warm up the tubes an hour before listening and promptly switch them off after I am done listening. So more rush to burn them.

@milpai... "The midrange is more there"..

Two questions. Can you share more -  

  • Is the midrange less laid back and more forward now with the Art Series?
  • How many burn-in hours do you have on them so far?

 

I recently ordered the new Art Series for my Rhumba preamplifier and compared these tubes with the older series tubes. The very first thing that I noticed is the bass - there is something in this bass that you cannot miss. It is damn tight and tuneful. Not that the previous version did not deliver the bass - it is just that this new series has more oomph and sounds more musical. Love it! The midrange is more "there" rather than sounding warm/cool. The instruments sounds spread in the background which makes it sound more realistic. Also I find that the top end does not have the etch compared to the previous version. But this difference is so small that you have to listen to it super carefully. The thing that took me by surprise is that these new versions were not as hooty as the previous version - even when new. I am very happy with these new tubes.

I wonder if anyone compared this new ART series 12AU7s with NOS tubes. I don't think I will chase after NOS, but would like to hear from folks who have personally experienced both.

Great to hear on the caps, I do the same with my DAC, preamp, Mono tube amps. It was not until I upgraded the four main coupling caps in my tube amps (to something significantly better) did I really start to hear absolute definable differences (major in some cases) with tube or cable changes throughout the entire system.  

AU7, AT7 tube changes in my amps or 6SN7 tube changes in the preamp are notable now, to a much higher degree with much better caps. The only downside to the cap changes is now I want to keep all of my tubes, each offers a different benefit and sound in different ways.  Good fun.  
I agree the new are series is very well balanced better then 
most out there .I have  the 12ax7
the only tubes much better are the Old Amperex 1950s D getter
tubes which are 4x the cost the old SH Siemens Halsey early 60 s have exceptional detail and well balanced ,the Amperex a bit warmer  both are exceptional . Early 50 s RCA warmer and very musical ,not quite as resolved 
but a deeper warmer presentation , your system will dictate which is best . If modding I am using the Excellent VH Audio Odam 
coupling capacitors ,up their with the best and very fair priced.
I just took a black ice wifi Dac and totally upgraded it top to bottom very good ,and night and day better then the respectable stock model. I mod everything I buy ,I wanted others to know 
these new VH capacitors are special and a +/,especially if space is tight.
Over the last 2 weeks or so, have been listening to the new PSVANE Art series of 12AU7-S and 12AX7-S.Short reply is, the new ART series is a very nice, organic sounding tube. Tried both AX7-S and AU7-S. (AU7s in preamp, AX7s in phono stage.

Compared AU7-S series to NOS Telefunken AU7s, PSVANE T-IIs, Shuguang T series, Shuguang TG black carbon series, Mullard Blackburn 12AU7s, RCA black Plate 5814s..

Compared to original 'VANE T-II series, the new Art series has the top end brightness tamed down, still plenty of detail, much more organic midrange, similar bass performance. Very good imaging. Would fit the ART series in between the T-II series and the Shuguang TG series on brightness and midrange qualities. For some, the T-II VANEs were very revealing, but may have been a touch on the lean side. The new ART series is more open sounding than Shuguang T series or TG series, with similar midrange qualities of these two Shuguang tubes. Tried the AU7 brands in two different preamps, with similar results. Would have to say PSVANE has done their homework on materials used in the plate and cathode construction. The new ART series seems to be a well balanced valve all the way around. Ordering several more sets this afternoon.



To say  no difference there something not right

"Sorry, our measurements do not show that"
                      - Engineers and Scientists at asr forums
For hose who say they hear no differences in breakin , what  is the quality of your 
gear ? I have been into audio over 40 years  and without questions the metals 
settle in and can take a solid 100:hours.  To say  no difference 
there something not right , just like with audio cables the metals and dielectric settle in before sounding at their best l . Emmisions labs premium tubes even 
have a tempering cycle ,on,off especially for power tubes to temper the metals for longest longevity. I turn them off for 1 hour very 24 hours on small tubes
 every 12 on larger tubes for the first  150 hours. There is some truth to tempered the metals ,not 100% guaranteed. But  there is some truth to this . Your option.
@audioman58
Good to know on the new PSV Art series. A friend with a recording/mastering studio messing with tube DACS recently tried them with similar praise, likes them quite a bit. I will say the latest MKII version is notably better than prior years, and glad to hear the Art series is a step above again. Nice. Will be curious what @johnss has to report. My newer MKIIs did have an odd burn-in cycle, went dull real fast after 100hrs and then opened back up nicely with more time. Using them in my mono amps.Can hear deeper into the soundstage than some of my very best vintage NOS and tried more than 25 different pairs, some with perfectly matched curve-tracer tested triodes. Nice to have new options too.  
If asked which tubes I like best  1950s Amperex D getter 
Herleen factory very well balanced classic great tube
all later tubes had O getter. Around $400
@audioman58 , thanks for the info. I just ordered a quad set of the new art series, will see how they sound. best.
The Psvane art series are a noticeable improvement then the older mk2 series better materials they said as well as tighter tolerances and you can see the physical structure is different .Viva tubes has been very consistent in  testing them and actually putting real  triode matching 
for $85 a pair with gold pins well worth it.
once thing That helps is using Stabilant 22 contact enhancer for not only Audio cable contacts but also highly recommended for tube pins. First clean  all contacts good with 99% isopropyl alcohol.
First, "Midrange is more present and more forward" and "wider across the front" is what came to mind first when switching (again) from NOS Mullards back to PSVANE MKII 12AU7 / 12AU7 tubes today in my Mono tube amps. Can hear more when listening off axis or in an adjacent open room if you like walk-around listening.   

Second, noticing the background soundstage and subtle detail is still "there" at the same time.

The PSVANE small signal tubes do have their own character and presentation compared to any of my NOS tubes. Worth trying for sure.
Viva has been great for me as well, buying/testing 14+ tubes, past two years and zero returns.

Switched back to my vintage 1965 Mullard Blackburn 12AU7 / 12AT7 pairs for the past few months to re-compare for a while. Was just thinking tonight that I need to swap back to the PSVANEs again, they do have a nice sound. :)
I have been using the PSvane 12AU7 for years in my Octave Jubilee preamp. I had previously been using many NOS ECC82 variants such a as those from RFT, Siemens, and GEs. I had on occasion lost an NOS tube in my preamp, which caused other problems, fuses blown, down time, aNd angst that my electronics were going to get fried the next time an NOS tube blows. Not to say that it can’t happen with new tubes, because it can, but, I feel that age of tubes may increase the odds of a tube dying.

The Psvane 12AU7s I used were, and still are, the MKII versions, the latest set bought in 2014, they sound great. I bought 12 matched sets at the time, and some in reserve still. Nothing overhyped or extremely accentuated. They do have more bite at the top as mentioned when new, but after some hours, it seems like the music is just more filled in terms of presence and better resolution. This for me translates to better lifelike experiences when reproducing music as texture and detail retrieval is right at the top of anything else I have ever heard with regards to the variant of 12AU7 tubes.

I want to evaluate the new black carbon versions. The story about the factory changes is very interesting.
@audioman58 , I made a reference on this thread a few months ago that I had ordered a sextet of the Psvane Cossor 12AU7 tubes, well they never arrived, got lost, so I ordered a matched octet of Psvane 12AU7-S from Viva and installed them in my phono, with about 200 hours on them they sound great and am looking to replace 3 more pairs in other pieces of gear I own. Enjoy the music
The latest psvane 12ax7 ,12au 7 ,is their Art series which is a upgrade to their Mk-2 series using better materials  a very well balanced tube. Viva tubes seems very dependable decent warranty and  matches them  before shipping.
No sugar coating.  

One thing I'm learning about these small PSVANE tubes is they do seem to let the top end frequencies through a bit more (more than some vintage tubes do) and its more noticeable with more transparent interconnect cables, for sure. They are not bright, just a little more vivid in some ways.  Bass is good, full, controlled, not slow or mushy.  

If the recording you are listening to is good, the goodness comes through nicely.  If the recording is bad, the baby PSVANEs are just passing it through, no added rounding nor leading edge filtering going on.  Also noticed the sound stage is a little bigger with these PSVANE 12AU7, 12AT7 than my best vintage "Blackburn" Mullard's.  It's nice how they do sort of have their own signature top-to bottom. I noticed Guitars are not overly lush, nice and clean, maybe more accurate in some ways - but not overly edgy or harsh or grainy in any way. Clear with a tad of glistening texture on strings is how I keep thinking it sounds now. Perhaps its a surprise how some of the subtle details come through.   

Will they fully replace my best vintage, no. Are they close, or better in some ways, yes. 95% there, yeah, maybe. They are not a compromise really.  Have not pulled them yet! 

Not sure if that's what some of you already concluded. Thanks for feedback and contributions to this thread.  :)  
@johnss 
...I have one other amp that can run the 150s but use the WE KT88s in it as well... 
On that note, a friend has a used Jolida amp he acquired with KT150s. The amp was originally designed for KT88s, not KT150s. Removed the KT150s and re-installed some PSVANE CV181s, and it sounded much better. The amps lacked transformers and was 300v under required plate voltage to run KT150s properly. My Mono 120s are designed only to run KT150s, so it does matter what you plug the KT150s into, for sure - or they are just a waste of $. In the right amp, they are really good. 
@ decooney
thanks for the info on the inspire amp, make sense.

I have one other amp that can run the 150s but use the WE KT88s in it as well.

have never tried the quicksilvers but supposed to be pretty nice amps.

J

@tooblue
The Psvane tubes that I installed in the QS 120s had been broken in with other pieces of gear prior to being installed in the 120s. I find your response of uniqueness with the Psvanes with the KT150s very telling and accurate. I find they add a little meat on the bone if you will, a flavour I definitely favor...


When I first got the QS Mono 120s, they had a fairly linear presentation, top to bottom, nothing really stood out - as it should be (I guess). Coming from other amps like you have with Cary or Inspire, and previously using EL34s and KT88s too, I was expecting a tad more of the tube goodness. Swapping out the stock JJ and EI small tubes and rolling in some really good vintage small tubes showed what the amps could do, and how the larger KT150s would respond, favorably. Note: In the right amplifiers, with the right transformers, with proper plate voltage.

After trying several different vintage 12AU7, 12AT7s, the PSVANES were appealing to try and to see how close they were to vintage tubes. In the first few days they were a bit midrange forward and detailed. After 40+ hours started to notice characteristics similar to vintage and did not lose any bottom end. Midrange then dropped back a tad, perfectly in fact. They seemed to compliment the mono amps nicely, particularly for being new-production tubes. Much better than Russian re-issue tubes, in a different league for sure.

Today, the sound stage has recessed nicely, and the highs smoothed out a tad, and hopeful with another 20-40 hours will hear a bit more texture and velvety tones come through. With this added front-end tube tuning, liking the KT150s more. They pretty much repeat what you feed them on the front end, top to bottom. It’s the added tone/texture I was looking for. Closer now, not quite there yet. Hopefully with another 40hrs.
The Psvane tubes that I installed in the QS 120s had been broken in with other pieces of gear prior to being installed in the 120s. I find your response of uniqueness with the Psvanes with the KT150s very telling and accurate. I find they add a little meat on the bone if you will, a flavour I definitely favor. As I researched the Psvane 274, I found several offerings from WE274 replicas to hifi, which one were you referencing? Enjoy the music
@tooblue 

Did your PSVANE 12AU7 and 12AT7s settle in after 75 or 150hrs?

What changed about the sound, tone, texture, soundstage  - if anything?
Post removed 
I will check and see if I can run that rectifier tube in the Inspire, am running a brown base Brimer in that position at the moment and like it a lot. I also run Quicksilver Mono 120s and run the Psvane Treasure 12AU7 and the Treasure Psvane 12AT7 as signal and driver. enjoy the music
@johnss
I owned the Inspire Hot Rod with KT150s, later discovered NOS 6650s and KT88s tested at 2wpc more than my own KT150s, takes ~650/850v plate voltage and larger transformers to run the TS KT150s properly. Running KT150s now in my Quicksilver Mono 120s, and testing the PSVANE 12AU7 / 12AT7s as my signal and driver tubes. Vintage Mullards and these smaller PSVANEs help the KT150s to sound quite unique.

The 6SN7s are for my Cary SLP-98 tube preamp, takes 4 of them. Will def keep the WE6SN7 in mind. Would have to measure the fat bottom portion of the glass just above the base. It’s really tight now at the chassis hole cutout with the TJs. Will share your WE feedback with my other buddy who was two of the DH Inspire amps, one Triode and One PSE amp, and the DH 6SN7 preamp too.

Before these amps i have now, I ran Shuguang BSTRs in a prior EL34 amp, and really liked them a lot. Not surprised at all at your findings, good to know. Thx.
@tooblue

yes, read your post. Think you will like the WE6SN7s in the Had amp.

I have one of Dennis Had's Inspire amps that runs all octal output tubes (not sure what the HP amp uses).

The Inspire amp one of my favorite sounding amps, just wish it had a bit more power. I run WE 6SN7 in the input, and WE KT88 Plus for the outputs. The 88s give up a few watts to KT150s, but the sonics improvement is well worth the few watts lost.

if your Inspire HP amp has toobe rectifier, you may want to insert the PSVANE 274 HIFI grade rectifier. It peels back another layer of veiling. I used to think there were small to no differences between rectifier tubes, but was wrong on that one.

best regards

@johnss , glad you came along. Did you read my post just before yours, where I just ordered a pair of the Shuguang WE6SN7 plus tubes for my headphone amp? My tubes in the headphone amp now are the Sylvania 6SN7 chrome domes from the 50s which are quite nice, am wondering about the break in time on the WEs if you could elaborate. Thanks and enjoy the music
@decooney

I have the TJ 6SN7s, they are nice tubes. If your budget can swing it, opt for the Shuguang WE6SN7 Plus coke bottles with the red bases. They are considerably fatter (much larger glass envelope) than a typical 6sn7, so may need to measure for mechanical fit or clearance, but if they have the clearance, they will audibly outperform the TJ valves as well as sylvania chrome tops, and the famous red base RCAs .
so far have had no reliability issues with these input valves.




I just ordered a sextet of the Psvane Cossor 12AU7 tubes for a phono stage so was quite interested in this conversation. I have 5 other matched pairs of Psvane 12A 7 premium tubes running in four separate pieces of gear with really good results and have a matched quad of the Pavane 12AX7LS black bottle tubes from Grant Fidelity in another phone stage that are outstanding. All these tubes mentioned are at least a year old with the bulk of them 4 to 5 years old so can't compare to older versus new. I also have on order a pair of Shuguang WE6SN7plus for a Dennise Had Inspire headphone amp, you might say I have become a big fan of the Psvane and Shuguang brands and they have become my go to brands. Enjoy the music
@johnss 
Keep us posted on the Cossor, if you take that route, Johnss.  A tube research nut friend was seriously looking at those a few weeks back to compare to his own vintage collection. Also, I've been running quads of TJ FM 6SN7 tubes in my preamp for a year solid. Sound real nice compared to some of my own US vintage N7s. I see a Black Cossor 6SN7 in a light bulb looking shape. Thanks for the backstory too.      
Will throw in my 2 cents since I have dumped a lot of coin in TJ Full Music,  PSVANE and Shuguang pre and power tubes.

When TJ Full Music valve were first released, they were one of the first Chinese tube brands to really look at construction materials inside the valve and how these materials affected the sound.

Shuguang and PSVANE have taken that concept much further and looked into more materials and run many experiments on sonic qualities.  The latest Shuguang Western Electric KT88 Plus power tubes are now my favorite power tube, very organic sounding without being overly warm....
with regards to input 12A_ _ series, the PSVANE T-IIs were my favorite until Shuguang released their black carbon 12A__ _ series, Both are really good but the nod goes to the shuguang black carbons if I had to choose. 
PSVANE recently released their own black carbon under the Cossor Brand name. Have not tried them so can't offer any input.

as far as reliability, have had no issues with the input tubes.

With power tubes have had a couple of KT88s fail on me. Would say the reliability may not be quite as good as the Russian Gold Lion KT88, but the for the improvement in sonics, am willing to buy a few spares on the power tubes to get that sound.

The Chinese are also quite proud of their tubes and charge more than similar Russian made valves, so no deals here. Expect to pay considerably more for the Shuguang WE KT88 plus or the latest PSVANE Gray glass power tubes, than you would for a quad set of GL KT88s.







There are a LOT of good valves now. It's always the same though.. QC. Russian, Chinese, Turkish, India, all have great valves through the years, and then... BAMB.. 1-3 years of crap.. then good for 3 then, you know..

Next door in the Scandinavian countries, there's usually not a quality issue, just a cost issue. WAY to expensive, same with Germanic states. Both have high QC, along with HIGH prices,

Valves made in the Americas, Brazil, Canada, US, Chile, Mexico, the BAD runs were 3-4 months, NOT years..

GE is really good for old stock, now. There is a lot of it to, just a ton.  Got to be a little careful, they were made EVERYWHERE too.. Good, Bad and the UGLY..

I'll pick up a set of  PSVANEs 12ax7 for MY C20.. it is a taster of good valves. Samra Touch, C20.. Oh yea.. Loves GREAT valves, and pays HIGH sonic dividends. One of the best..

I look to Amprex, Volvo, Mazda, for the real exotics.. that special valve for concert nights.. Flamingo, Bali, Old Country Western, Latin-smooth jazz, and Salsa (Tropicalis). The neighbors start coming over.. get a pretty cool blend of tunes.. as you can see...

PSVANEs might need to add a set of 4 and 6 12ax7..

I like the 12 volt stuff, not a big 6 volt guy.. all the rage though.. 6SN7, everybody uses that... WHY? Runs HOT... I have to admit the pres that use them, do sound good, Carys  and Freya + (pretty good) I'm use to the 12s simple.

Regards
@earthtones, @milpai
Thanks, appreciate the feedback.

@oldhvymec,
Lucky you. Good finds. That’s the way to buy ’em for sure! fwiw, recently I tested 20 different pairs of vintage signal and drivers in my amps alone, most were okay - few were truly great. Not until I tried my 1st and 2nd pair of (curve tracer tester) identically matched triodes in a great vintage pair of Mullard’s did I know what my amps could really do. Would be fun to find the creme of the crop in your collection and try those! Gotta say, these recent PSVANEs are putting my best vintage to task right now. I won’t say they are better than my best vintage but they are a really fun and interesting "different" sound. Hearing a little more of everything.   Kinda surprised.