tas! ... but which ECC83 to buy?

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jk_662
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tas! ... but which ECC83 to buy?

Post by jk_662 »

I'm spotting various Preamp-tubes for an orig. 18w. . 1st choice are NOS; got JJ's which seem to be just all right but I'd love to improve tone.
Only - I couldn't really match the differences in all the Mullards (1st question) and would think of buying few others (2nd ... which?) for testing.
Any ideas, experiences (and eg sources) welcome. Thanx.

Jens
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krx
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Re: tas! ... but which ECC83 to buy?

Post by krx »

jk_662 wrote:I couldn't really match the differences in all the Mullards (1st question)
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying there.

As far as new production 12AX7 tubes go, I think there's a lot of excellent choices out there because the tube is so popular. That's also why the NOS ones have become so expensive (to the point of not being worth the money, in my opinion). What do you like and not like about the JJs you're using now? It's all about picking the flavor you like.
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Post by leslie »

Hi Jens,
there is no right preamp tube it depends on the amp.
I built 2 tremolo models and they are different no matter which tube, nos or current production.
But ok to answer your question, in one amp I tried almost every tube and I settled down for a while with V1 90's marshall chinese, V2 GE, V3 Amperex, V4 (el84)Tesla hex plate,V5 (el84)JJ and RFT ez81 rectifier

Recently I have bought a pile of old and used tubes and found one tungsram which had brilliant gain and extended bass characteristic I newer heard on any NOS tungsram ecc83 that I have.
So from now on I'm buying used tubes :)
That tube is now in V3 and output tubes are now used 60's Ei's.

Also I like american 12ax7 tubes, like Tung Sol and Sylvania, Ge is a (underrated) great tube.
Nice, focused but flatter in response are any philips/amperex/siemens/telefunken.
Now that's true for my 18w and my ears, YMMV

P.S. new russian Tung Sol is a nice tube.
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Re: tas! ... but which ECC83 to buy?

Post by jk_662 »

krx wrote:I'm not sure I understand what you're saying there.
I mean the following: 18w design and production is nearly 50yo. IMHO itis worth the try to get an somewhat 'authentic' amp and just play it. I'm not willing to count fries for any kind of sound but love to try out sth from the aera.
I got a huge sounding, sustaining, no humnming amp at the moment and just wanna give it a try!

The mullard thing is that in Hifi-aplification few versions are really demanded (and obsessively expensive). I think that simple but good ones would be absolutely good choice for our 18watts. Would you agree? (and ... which are those ones?)

Regards Jens
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