2. amps-preamps
  3. 1287632710

Shuguang 12AX7 Pavane/Psvane Reference.

I was wonder if anyone has feedback about these tubes. They have a very good review at Positive Feedback.

I'm searching for good tubes to replace the "no brand" 12AX7 tubes that came in my preamplifier. Sadly the "perfect" tubes (50's NOS Mullards or Telefunkens) can cost almost the same that what my preamp cost. Also, I have heard about overpriced old tubes that doesn't produce good sound, simply because they are poorly matched. With the Groove Tubes Mullar replicas out of the market few years ago, I really don't know what should be my next tube investment.

Thanks for reading!.
stts

Showing 3 responses by trelja

trelja
3,226 posts
 
Good older 12AX7s don't need to be costly. One good way to buy is to bypass NOS, and go for used. Those older tubes are quite strong, and can last a real long time. At any rate, I've found a lot of tubes of that era for no more than what you're considering for the new units you're inquiring about, not that the old tubes would be better than the new ones. As they're still a new product, there isn't enough of an opinion base to know how they rank overall. I'd try both, and see what you think.

For what it's worth, in my opinion, the triple mica Shuguang 12AX7 that go for the same price as the poor sounding new 12AX7 variants are right up there with the good older tubes you listed. Given that, I'm curious about these new premium tubes.
trelja
3,226 posts
 
Yes, I was referring to the Shuguang 12AX7B in the top three of our 12AX7 shootout. Some of the folks there participate in this forum.
trelja
3,226 posts
 
Stts, believe it or not, ebay. Several years ago, I found a guy selling them who lived about 20 minutes from me, and I may have bought 20 for something like $75. There's a whole raft of them on ebay right now, often called 12AX7B or Silver Dragon, at very low prices. Again, I'm quite curious about the Pavane/Psvane myself, but thus far have been very happy with the ones under discussion.

A friend of mine turned me on to them in his Quicksilver amps, which came with them. He had every intention of upgrading them, as I believe he had a big stash of Telefunkens, and Mike Sanders told him something to the effect of, "You can try, but you'll probably put these back in."

Well, I was skeptical to say the least. So, I tried them, and lo and behold they beat my Mullard Blackburns, though I still could not believe it. I had a tube collector friend with very discerning ears try them in his system, and he agreed. Then, to get some real consensus, we had a blind tube shootout over my house with them as the driver in my Jadis DA60 with a bunch of folks in our audio group. It placed in the top three, along with the Telefunken ribbed plate and my personal favorite Sylvania Triple Mica Black Plate 5751. Those three beat out the Telefunken Smooth Plate, Mullard Blackburn, GE 5 Star 5751, EH, Ei, JJ and Sovtek. For the record, in my application, I still prefer (and, it's not as that close) the Sylvanias.

One note, make sure these Shuguangs have the triple mica.
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