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Originally Posted by Darkraver  Thanks, I found the post.
Is the difference in price between the 12AU7 and than the 12SR7 justified? If it's not a big price difference I wouldn't mind building the "better" of the two
-Dark
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Originally Posted by Darkraver I guess the question to ask would be which on is more dependable, less noisy (signal wise), and in the end sound better?
-Dark
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Originally Posted by nullstring as far as I know, optimally, the 12SR7 shouldn't sound any better than the 12AU7...
However, the 12AU7 is a double triode.
According to others in the community, the fact that the 12AU7 is a double triode will serve to lessen any mismatching issues between tubes.
If you're going to use the 12SR7, it's more important that the tubes be matched.
at least, this is my understanding.
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Agreed, the 12AU7 is not 'better' than the 12SR7 in the sense that it does not sound better, just slightly different. The advantage of using 12SR7 tubes is that they're cheap and plentiful.
nullstring is correct in pointing out that, because the 12AU7 is a double triode and since the two triodes are connected in parallel in the 'Starving Student' Millett, the differences between them are averaged. This is thought to help in more evenly matching the channels.
There are however advantages to building a 12AU7 version: for starters you can roll tubes; the 12AU7 version can also use 12AT7 and 12AX7 with no modification (which is why we tend to refer to that version as the 12A_7 build) . Each of these offers a different level of gain and slightly different sonics.
A second advantage is that you can buy current production 12A_7 tubes, which are incredibly robust, non-microphonic and less prone to noise (and in many cases considerably cheaper) than it's NOS siblings.
A third advantage, would be that tube vendors would offer matching service (as well as low noise and low microphonics ) for an extra if you're picky about these factors. In my case I bought my JJ 12AU7s with none of these options and I find them both well matched and
absolutely silent regarding noise and microphonics.
Finally, I use my K701s with my 12AU7 'Starving Student' Millet and I think it must be one of the best cheap amps for this cans: it has a sweet tone and power to spare.
cheers!
