- Joined
- Jan 24, 2009
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- 191
Greg70,
By Tesla 12au7, do you happen to be referring to the Tesla ECC802S by chance? I do have a pair of them, with gold pins, and I would definitely agree, they are very detailed, up-front, and nicely extended. I have not heard the Tesla 12au7 however; I'll need to pick up a pair! The Telefunken and Siemens ECC802S are very highly regarded, but come with a hefty price tag as well, so I have not tried them yet. I also have a pair of Raytheon 7730s with gold pins that are probably the most accurate/detailed pair I've tried with great separation and air, however sometimes they can sound just a tad thin and maybe a bit tinny at times with certain passages as well. I'll need to do a direct comparison between the Teslas and the Raytheons to get a better idea though.
thebigcanman,
I haven't kept up to much with the recent prices of the Amperex 12au7s, but I would say that a good price for a nice pair of Bugle Boys would be around $50-$70, while the orange globes are a bit rarer, so they can also go for more. In recent years, prices have really skyrocketed, I believe my Bugle Boys and Globes were all less than $60 a few years back, so it can be harder, but good deals can still be found if you're patient. Buying off the bay gives the largest selection and generally the best prices, but as you've stated, you never truly know what you are buying and having them tested before accepting or giving feedback is always good practice. Unfortunately not all vendors outside the bay are that much more trustworthy, but exchanges can be easier, at least most of time. Certain vendors will definitely take care of you and provide what they state, but unfortunately this usually comes at a premium.
Generally the power tubes are a bit more important in terms of life and matching, however there is much debate regarding how much effect true matching has, whether it is more important to just have the triodes matched within each, while differences between the pairs can be within 5 to 10% and still be tolerable, or if both the triodes and pairs must be exactly matched or you get degraded sound. I'm not sure if really anyone knows for sure, but it is best to look for matched pairs or match them yourself if you can. Unfortunately many have had the cheaper new production power tubes burn out extremely quick as well, even less than 200 hours, while others have put thousands of hours on old stock; quality back in the day of tubes was generally much better than it is now unfortunately. NOS is always the way to go if you can find them and can afford the extra amount, but even slightly used 12au7s can be worth it if you can get a good deal. Even going with a reputable vendor for new production can usually be a big plus as they often offer their own burn-in (up to 72 hours or so) and matching after this; many factory direct pairs are often way off and not even closely matched as they state, information that came from not one, but two vendors I spoke with, plus some of the cheaper Chinese sometimes, but rarely, burn up in just a few hours due to defects, so it can really save you hassles in the end. The world of tubes gets pretty crazy, and quickly.
Jtyoung,
Congrats on the purchase! You're very right about Victor, truly a great guy and very helpful. I'm glad to hear you are getting such great results with your JH Audio IEMs; this amplifier is awesome! Many have also concluded that this amplifier is just as great with low impedance as it is with high. I believe the spec of the headphone output is from 8 to 1000 ohms due to the design. Pretty impressive range if you ask me, especially since many tube amplifiers are only good for higher ohm cans, which generally means more than 50, sometimes even 80 ohms. This just adds the vast versatility of this kit.
As far as the bass, it may be that it just hasn't burned-in enough yet. I do remember that with less than 30 hours, the bass seemed soft and without much weight. That all changed for me with about 30 hours of burn-in, also once I put a pair of GE 6L6GCs in as well. At first I thought it was just the GEs, but going back to the stock EHs, I realized that it must have just needed some time to settle and luck had it that it happened right around my first power tube change. Also try changing the output mode to see if it helps in the low-end. It is a bit of a pain as you have to remove the case, but just let it sit unplugged for 10 minutes before doing so. There are also some very clever case mods out there that allow easier switching, however you still need to wait a bit for the transformer, etc. to drain and you don't want anything that you could trip/switch while the unit is on.
Let us know how things progress and welcome to the club!
By Tesla 12au7, do you happen to be referring to the Tesla ECC802S by chance? I do have a pair of them, with gold pins, and I would definitely agree, they are very detailed, up-front, and nicely extended. I have not heard the Tesla 12au7 however; I'll need to pick up a pair! The Telefunken and Siemens ECC802S are very highly regarded, but come with a hefty price tag as well, so I have not tried them yet. I also have a pair of Raytheon 7730s with gold pins that are probably the most accurate/detailed pair I've tried with great separation and air, however sometimes they can sound just a tad thin and maybe a bit tinny at times with certain passages as well. I'll need to do a direct comparison between the Teslas and the Raytheons to get a better idea though.
thebigcanman,
I haven't kept up to much with the recent prices of the Amperex 12au7s, but I would say that a good price for a nice pair of Bugle Boys would be around $50-$70, while the orange globes are a bit rarer, so they can also go for more. In recent years, prices have really skyrocketed, I believe my Bugle Boys and Globes were all less than $60 a few years back, so it can be harder, but good deals can still be found if you're patient. Buying off the bay gives the largest selection and generally the best prices, but as you've stated, you never truly know what you are buying and having them tested before accepting or giving feedback is always good practice. Unfortunately not all vendors outside the bay are that much more trustworthy, but exchanges can be easier, at least most of time. Certain vendors will definitely take care of you and provide what they state, but unfortunately this usually comes at a premium.
Generally the power tubes are a bit more important in terms of life and matching, however there is much debate regarding how much effect true matching has, whether it is more important to just have the triodes matched within each, while differences between the pairs can be within 5 to 10% and still be tolerable, or if both the triodes and pairs must be exactly matched or you get degraded sound. I'm not sure if really anyone knows for sure, but it is best to look for matched pairs or match them yourself if you can. Unfortunately many have had the cheaper new production power tubes burn out extremely quick as well, even less than 200 hours, while others have put thousands of hours on old stock; quality back in the day of tubes was generally much better than it is now unfortunately. NOS is always the way to go if you can find them and can afford the extra amount, but even slightly used 12au7s can be worth it if you can get a good deal. Even going with a reputable vendor for new production can usually be a big plus as they often offer their own burn-in (up to 72 hours or so) and matching after this; many factory direct pairs are often way off and not even closely matched as they state, information that came from not one, but two vendors I spoke with, plus some of the cheaper Chinese sometimes, but rarely, burn up in just a few hours due to defects, so it can really save you hassles in the end. The world of tubes gets pretty crazy, and quickly.
Jtyoung,
Congrats on the purchase! You're very right about Victor, truly a great guy and very helpful. I'm glad to hear you are getting such great results with your JH Audio IEMs; this amplifier is awesome! Many have also concluded that this amplifier is just as great with low impedance as it is with high. I believe the spec of the headphone output is from 8 to 1000 ohms due to the design. Pretty impressive range if you ask me, especially since many tube amplifiers are only good for higher ohm cans, which generally means more than 50, sometimes even 80 ohms. This just adds the vast versatility of this kit.
As far as the bass, it may be that it just hasn't burned-in enough yet. I do remember that with less than 30 hours, the bass seemed soft and without much weight. That all changed for me with about 30 hours of burn-in, also once I put a pair of GE 6L6GCs in as well. At first I thought it was just the GEs, but going back to the stock EHs, I realized that it must have just needed some time to settle and luck had it that it happened right around my first power tube change. Also try changing the output mode to see if it helps in the low-end. It is a bit of a pain as you have to remove the case, but just let it sit unplugged for 10 minutes before doing so. There are also some very clever case mods out there that allow easier switching, however you still need to wait a bit for the transformer, etc. to drain and you don't want anything that you could trip/switch while the unit is on.
Let us know how things progress and welcome to the club!
