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Questions from a Tube Preamp newbie

I have my Rogue RP-5 back from warranty repair and I am loving how it sounds. While at Rogue, they installed 4new JJ 12au7-s tubes. Sounds great. I have some questions.

1. with about 2 hours daily playing, how long do typical preamp tubes last (I have heard Rogue's, like CJ, can be hard on tubes)

2. Do new tubes need broken in? if so, what is normal time frame?

3. Does tube rolling really make a difference on a preamp vs power amp?

4. What is the general concensus on JJ tubes for a preamp? Again, I am really happy with the sound, so I probably won't change. However, I will eventually probably get the itch.

Thanks
aberyclark

Showing 3 responses by stereo5

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,524 posts
 
When I called Rogue to inquire about tubes for my RP-5 preamp, NOS Mullards were recommended to me.  I purchased a matched set of 5 (1 spare) from Uncle Kevin at Upscale for 60.00 each.  It truly brought the preamp up a few notches and I have used them ever since.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,524 posts
 

I received my RP-5 on October 1, 2016. The Mullards have been in the preamp since the second week of October 2016. They still sound great with no increase in noise.

aberyclark............

What was the problem with your Rogue preamp?  If I remember correctly there was a lot of hiss, etc.  What did Rogue do to it besides change tubes?

stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,524 posts
 

The CV 4003 are around 100.00 each at Upscale which is too rich for my measly pension as I wanted 5 of them.  According to Uncle Kevin, the 12au7 have the same sound as the CV4003, but were manufactured in Mullard's plant in India instead of England.  They are also a little more robust than the CV4003.


I tried the CV4003 in my older Cronus Magnum integrated and it lasted less than 6 months as it got quite noisy, so I see where you are coming from

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