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12AX7 tubes: rate your favourites! - Page 4

post #46 of 57
8/9/03 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
illuminating trebles
kuma, would you say these Brimers are on the bright side?
Quote:
so far these have the best midbass definition
would you please say more about what improved?
(punch character, pianos, male vocals, ambience, tonal balance etc)

oh, & where did you get'em..for how much?
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post #47 of 57
8/9/03 at 4:21pm
Quote:
Originally posted by AdamZuf
kuma, would you say these Brimers are on the bright side?

would you please say more about what improved?
(punch character, pianos, male vocals, ambience, tonal balance etc)

oh, & where did you get'em..for how much?
Hi Adam.

I'm still having a great time with these Brimers.
No. they are not bright at all. Very open and airly but not dull either. they have just the right amount of sparkle on top.

I am putting 'em through paces. ( listenign to Alien Radios 'Slam' ATM )The biggest improvements? They just made the music more relaxed and natural but plenty of attack with natural decay on frequency extremes. It was such a drastic change from Telefunken I was using. Those sound fuzzy in comparison. And Tele are better out of bunch amongst various 12AX7s i've tried in my rig.
A tonal balance is similar to Tungsramns or Tele, but, add more weight and authority. ( again, without losing any definition )
The sound stage opened up siginificantly. ( added air on top helped here )

I haven't played any piano score yet. But, I suspect they'll do fine. They sure passed the horribly recorded music test. Yes!! You can have more resolution without rolling off anything. I love it when this happens!

These are courtesy via a tube nut friend of mine and these are his favorite 12AX7s.
I was told that Brimer makes 12aX7 and CV4004. According to him, he prefers these 12aX7s over CV4004. Will see, I am expecting a pair of those from another tube fanatic. ( i'm fortunate to konow these hard-core tube guys ), since i'm too lazy to do my own home work. )
Hence, I have no idea how much they go for.
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post #48 of 57
10/25/03 at 7:05am
Thread Starter 
from the last time i posted here, the CD3000 have become my main set.
the sony CD3000 can get their sony brightness (thin, stingy) when you gain around the ~1.5Khz area.
so..i need a tube that won't emphasis this area. as long as this range is safe from boost (no need for a deep), frequency extremes are very welcome.

my amp is the EMP.
will 5751 work on it?

kuma,
how about these Brimer 12aX7s / CV4004 comparisons?
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post #49 of 57
10/25/03 at 11:13am
Quote:
Originally posted by AdamZuf


my amp is the EMP.
will 5751 work on it?
Never tried it, as the EMP was designed for 12AT7, and 5751 is closer to 12AX7. It could work, as the pin-outs are the same, even though electrical characteristics are different. I started with a black plate RCA 6201 in my EMP and stopped dead. I couldn't see much reason to change after that (It's a better sounding tube than my Syl GB 6201's, IMO). A pair of Amperex PQ 7308's on the outputs, and that amp is done.
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post #50 of 57
10/25/03 at 6:30pm
I believe the RCA blackplate 12AX7 was and is the best american version ever made. 5751's are not 12AX7's, only interchangible in some cases. In that case I would then go for sylvania or ratheon. The current production Sovtek 12AX7LPS is damn good as well as the Ei elites. The Electro Harmonix are supposed to give you alot of bass while the Svetlana gives you more treble.
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post #51 of 57
10/25/03 at 9:18pm
My favorite tube is the Telefunken ECC803S.

Read my review of several tubes from this old post.

Tube Review
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post #52 of 57
1/7/04 at 4:57pm
Hi Adam,

I've tried quite a number of different 12AX7 tubes in my Fisher 400 and X-100B. The top ones were:

1) Tungsram ECC83
2) Telefunken smooth plate
3) Tesla ECC803s- trying out now in preamp of X-100B
4) Heintz and Kaufman 7025 blackplates (Raytheon) currently in the phono stage. I found that neither the Telefunken or Tungsram to be quiet enough
for vinyl.

Overall the sound I liked best (and found the most balanced) was the Tungsram.

I hope this helps,

AM

PS- I found even the best of 5751s to be unsatisfactory in my Fisher gear! They may be terrific for another system but in mine there were no highs and no lows...

Quote:
Originally posted by AdamZuf
yes, this went to a 5751 thread
well.. i might try that type too. it supposed to fit the EMP.

what i want is mainly focused, extended highs (but i dont' want the highs to be strong) and a deep bass to low mid region.
though i have bad experience with 12AT7 (only with the two i ever tried), i'm open to suggestions to any type of tube that fits the EMP and answers my needs. as my ART is high output i have no problem with the gain, i believe.
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post #53 of 57
1/7/04 at 5:07pm
[QUOTE]Originally posted by kuma
[B]Hi Adam.

I'm still having a great time with these Brimers.
No. they are not bright at all. Very open and airly but not dull either. they have just the right amount of sparkle on top.

Hi Kuma,

I haven't tried any Brimars as yet- though I've read they are great! Are they similar to Mullards or brighter like Amperex Bugle Boys? Hve you tried Valvo or Minwatt by Philips of Holland?

Thanks,

AM
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post #54 of 57
1/7/04 at 6:47pm
Raytheon 5751 windmill getter. Best tube I ever heard in MG Head.
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post #55 of 57
1/8/04 at 12:21am
I've tried so many different 12AX7s including the Sylvania GB 5751, but my favorite is still the Mullard's premium 10M 12AX7 seconded by the Mullard CV4004.
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post #56 of 57
1/8/04 at 2:43am
Quote:
Originally posted by amadeus-mozart
I haven't tried any Brimars as yet- though I've read they are great! Are they similar to Mullards or brighter like Amperex Bugle Boys? Hve you tried Valvo or Minwatt by Philips of Holland?]
Amadeus-mozart,

Yes. Brimar 12AX7s are staying in nagra pre. FWIW, they have more muscular sound than Telefunken which they replaced.

A friend sent me the miniwatt 12AY7 ( not a direct substitute but they work as well ) for me to try as well as yet another 5751. Latter tubes are more linear than Brimar and my system benefits from warmer tonal balance and more robust output around in mid bass area of Brimar 12AX7s.

I have tried Mullards as well as Amperex where they tip the scale too much in the other direction. Brimar seem to balance between control and overall rosier shading well.

if your system has already a warmer balance, I highly recommend miniwatt 12AY7 as it tends to give better organisation to a system.

Again, I am learning that there are no 'best' tubes as every system requries diffrent things depending on your listening habits.

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post #57 of 57
1/8/04 at 2:52am
[QUOTE]Originally posted by kuma
[B]Amadeus-mozart,

Yes. Brimar 12AX7s are staying in nagra pre. FWIW, they have more muscular sound than Telefunken which they replaced.

A friend sent me the miniwatt 12AY7 ( not a direct substitute but they work as well ) for me to try as well as yet another 5751. Latter tubes are more linear than Brimar and my system benefits from warmer tonal balance and more robust output around in mid bass area of Brimar 12AX7s.

Nice pictures! I see if I can find a pair. I'm still finding my system to bass heavy with the highs being a bit veiled.

Thanks,

AM
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