After rolling in tubes for years (painful): I currently love (and yes, it is actual love) the new Gold Lion 12AX7s, the Tung Sol (Russian) KT150s, and NOS Mullard 12AT7s, and am also an idiot. Wait…I mean I'm also NOT an idiot…and all of the above mentioned tubes are not idiotically expensive as far as these things go.
Russian Tubes or Old "American" Tubes (built where ever)?
Currently I have Aperex ECC88 tubes in a CJ 17 LS pre-amp and a backup set of Russian electro-harmonix 6922EH tubes for the pre-amp. The Aperex tubes are failing. The amps are solid state Mac 601's
What type of tubes (manufacturers/time period) would you guys recommend? Are the Russian tubes any good? Buying legacy tubes from 50 years ago gets expensive. I'm looking for a great price/performance ratio, but I lean toward performance. Do the Russian Tubes compete with the old tubes or should I "bite the bullet"?
I know folks can get passionate about this - I'm not an idiot; I would like to hear some experienced opinions about the relative merit of various tubes for this particular pre-amp. I'll then go check my budget (in secret - I'm married).
Thanks.
What type of tubes (manufacturers/time period) would you guys recommend? Are the Russian tubes any good? Buying legacy tubes from 50 years ago gets expensive. I'm looking for a great price/performance ratio, but I lean toward performance. Do the Russian Tubes compete with the old tubes or should I "bite the bullet"?
I know folks can get passionate about this - I'm not an idiot; I would like to hear some experienced opinions about the relative merit of various tubes for this particular pre-amp. I'll then go check my budget (in secret - I'm married).
Thanks.