Ferbose
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2004
- Posts
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Quote:
In addition to Phillips ECG JAN 5751 (low noise selected from Tube Depot), Tung-Sol 12BH7, now I got Soviet Military 6P14P-EB from the 1980s. The Soviet tubes replaced NOS EL84 branded Marconi Radiotron (Canada). The Russian tubes give great clarity and weight, without sacrificing warmth. The noise is low enough that even with SR225, it is nothing more than the tape hiss of analog recordings on CD. I believe that listening to a bunch of affordable NOS or even used tubes is a great way to get great sound. There was so much re-branding among the manufacturers in 50s-70s that I am never sure about brand of tube I am actually listening to. As long as I like the result, I could not care less about the brand or date or the shape of getters.
With Benchmark DAC1, Cayin HA-1A (w/ some good old tubes) and AKG K1000, what the heck is digititis? I listen to a few amazing violin recordings on modern violins made by J. Nagyvary. And then I listen to a fine Nayvary violin in my own possession, played badly by myself. The realism out of my system is shocking, and I have been satisfied for more than a year now. This is why I rarely post here nowadays--I am no longer looking for upgrades. Instead, I turned to violin research. An article of mine will appear in the Summer 2008 issue of Journal of the Violin Society of America, about Stradivari's violin varnish.
| Originally Posted by Ferbose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I tried 12BH7 in the 12AU7 spot--not only did it work, it worked better. I got a stash of old 12BH7 tubes: 3 Raytheon, 1 RCA branded Zenith, Tung-Sol, 1 NEC, 1 Sylvania. Quick impressions: Raytheon: a bit too bright, nice textures RCA: Very sweett mids, a bit thin in the treble, slightly higher noise Tung-Sol: Lowest noise, strong and clear sound Sylvania: laid-back sound, a bit dark NEC: slightly higher noise, a bit dry and not too involving Right now I am using Tung-Sol Sylvania would be my second choice Perhaps it is due to the lower gain factor of 12BH7 compared to 12AU7, or due to circuit topology, I feel that overall the noise is reduced and the sound is sweeter when 12BH7 is used. I really like it. It is the first time that I am enjoying Grado SR225 on HA-1A. The slight background noise heard on SR225 is not an issue because pop music has limited dynamics in general. I just bought some NOS 6P14P-EB and very quiet 5751 tubes to see if I can get even lower noise. |
In addition to Phillips ECG JAN 5751 (low noise selected from Tube Depot), Tung-Sol 12BH7, now I got Soviet Military 6P14P-EB from the 1980s. The Soviet tubes replaced NOS EL84 branded Marconi Radiotron (Canada). The Russian tubes give great clarity and weight, without sacrificing warmth. The noise is low enough that even with SR225, it is nothing more than the tape hiss of analog recordings on CD. I believe that listening to a bunch of affordable NOS or even used tubes is a great way to get great sound. There was so much re-branding among the manufacturers in 50s-70s that I am never sure about brand of tube I am actually listening to. As long as I like the result, I could not care less about the brand or date or the shape of getters.
With Benchmark DAC1, Cayin HA-1A (w/ some good old tubes) and AKG K1000, what the heck is digititis? I listen to a few amazing violin recordings on modern violins made by J. Nagyvary. And then I listen to a fine Nayvary violin in my own possession, played badly by myself. The realism out of my system is shocking, and I have been satisfied for more than a year now. This is why I rarely post here nowadays--I am no longer looking for upgrades. Instead, I turned to violin research. An article of mine will appear in the Summer 2008 issue of Journal of the Violin Society of America, about Stradivari's violin varnish.
