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Upgrades to Cary 308t CD player

I will appreciate any opinions concerning any upgrades of/tube replacement in Cary CD-308t CD player.

The stock 12AU7 tubes contain a GE logo/sign and bear a legend "JAN, made in USA". While they are obviously modern production tubes, they seem quite decent - very transparent and dynamic.

I also tried NOS Mullard CV-4003 and NOS GE 5814A/12AU7 Grey Plate with 3 mica. The latter two have different sound, and GE 5814A is much more colored than others, though very dynamic and detailed.

Best regards,
Alexander
transl
5 responses Add your response
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I guess that means the Stealth fighters use the quieter tubes,a???
transl OP
156 posts
 
Thanks a lot!
beatlebum
184 posts
 
Alexander,

I just sold my Cary 308T but I tried several different tubes with it. I liked the Telefunkens and thought they were good but the early 1960's NOS Amperex 7316 were far and away the best allaround sounding tube in this player in my system.
creativepart's avatar
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creativepart
154 posts
 
JAN stands for "Joint Army Navy" and it means the the tube has been built to Military spec and can be sold to the military. Believe it or not there are lots of military items that still use tubes. Heck, even some pretty high tech fighter jets use gear with tubes.

JAN tubes are rugged, but not always quiet.

Paul Green
robm321
932 posts
 
I use the mullards. I like that sound the best. I haven't heard that many different tubes, but the stock tubes have got to go. I kept mine in there for 4-5 months and now I can't believe I've waited this long to tube roll. Mullards have sounded the best to my ears in my system.

Best Regards,
Rob
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