Tubes for VTL 5.5 Preamp

I just purchased a 5.5. I am new to tubes. I have a Spectral preamp and the bass is incredible. I've found the TL 5.5 to be very thin in the bass.

It came with the following compliment of tubes:

Line Level; 4 - JAN 12AT7 WC, Phillips ECG & 2 - 7025/12AX7 WA Sovtek 0302.

Phono stage; 4 - 12AX7 China & 2 - JAN 12AT7 WC, Phillips ECG. I have not had the opportunity to listen to the phono stage as yet and the line level portion is my concern for now.

My tuber friends are telling me that I need to replace the tubes with more bass rich tubes.

The information above is very useful. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Joe

You would do well to change out the Sovtek 12ax7WA in the line stage. I had them in my 5.5 when I got it and they were not very good. The Sovtek 12AX7LPS are a much better tube in my opinion. The new Russian Tung Sol 12AX7 has a very solid bottom end and would be a big improvement over the WA Sovteks. For old production tubes I have found that all the RCA 12AX7s I have tried have great bass. My favorites are still the old American Tung Sol 12AX7.

Your 12AT7s should be good. I would leave them alone unless you know they are used up.

I would change the Chineese 12AX7s in the phono stage. The Sovtek 12AX7LPS are a good bet for the phono stage in the TL5.5, especially if you are using the mc section. That has a lot of gain and requires SILENT tubes.

I don't know if the TL5.5 will ever match the bass definition and speed of the Spectral pre but if you can live with a little softer bass the gains in the mid and top end are well worth it.

Cheers,
Jim

Thanks so much for the feedback Jim. I just mounted a ZYX R100 FS Fuji on my SME V tonearm and am blown away by the detail and quietness of the ZYX. I got my first taste of the 5.5's phono stage. You are correct about the tubes in the phono stage being noisy and not matching the bass def and speed of the Spectral. I had to set the volume control up to 2:00 to get a decent volume out of her and the hiss sounded like a wind storm.

I'm going to try the tubes you suggested.

Thanks again,
Joe