eric343
Member of the Trade: Audiogeek: The "E" in META42
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- Jun 23, 2001
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A while ago I got some Amperex 7025 tubes off eBay at the suggestion of Nick Dangerous the Tube God (well, former Tube God, before he sold his Melos
). They're all NOS NIB, and according to the auction all the same... so imagine my surprise when I get three seemingly identical boxes, all marked 7025, and two of the three have flat plate getters and the other a ring getter! The flat-getters I believe to be the 7025s and the ring the 7025H, according to the markings on the boxes.
But otherwise, the tubes are identical in appearance- not so in sound.
The 7025H's most noticeable feature is the bass. The best way to describe it is bleeding- it bleeds out of where it should be into the midrange. It's just not controlled. Compare this to the 7025, which seems to have very tight-almost but not quite recessed-bass.(I didn't listen beyond the bass; I liked the 7025 better)
The 7025 is a pretty well rounded tube, IMHO. Maybe a tinge bright, or it might just be my Ears by Alcoa. But anyhoo, it definitely does well in the treble; although it lacks the really open ambience of the META42 I'm using as a comparison, it's definitely an open tube with a very nice top end. Which brings me to detail- I'm not sure if it's the MG Head, but this tube is middle-of-the-road when it comes to detail; it's not liquid, definitely not liquid, but it's not Etymotic, either. There's stuff I heard with the META that I didn't with this tube- mostly the movement of the cello-player's feet...
The midrange in general is something I tend not to notice, although on this tube (listening to a choral recording) I got the impression that it's pretty darn good.
Lastly, I'll have to retract any statements I made about this tube being really laid back. It's not; it's right in the middle; like the Great and Holy Sylvania Blackplate 3Mica 5751.
addendum: I just noticed- this tube ROCKS for organ music. The cathedral ambience is perfectly reproduced without overkill, the notes are smooth (none of the slight grain from ultra-detailed amps) and the bass is there, but unobtrusive.
But otherwise, the tubes are identical in appearance- not so in sound.
The 7025H's most noticeable feature is the bass. The best way to describe it is bleeding- it bleeds out of where it should be into the midrange. It's just not controlled. Compare this to the 7025, which seems to have very tight-almost but not quite recessed-bass.(I didn't listen beyond the bass; I liked the 7025 better)
The 7025 is a pretty well rounded tube, IMHO. Maybe a tinge bright, or it might just be my Ears by Alcoa. But anyhoo, it definitely does well in the treble; although it lacks the really open ambience of the META42 I'm using as a comparison, it's definitely an open tube with a very nice top end. Which brings me to detail- I'm not sure if it's the MG Head, but this tube is middle-of-the-road when it comes to detail; it's not liquid, definitely not liquid, but it's not Etymotic, either. There's stuff I heard with the META that I didn't with this tube- mostly the movement of the cello-player's feet...
The midrange in general is something I tend not to notice, although on this tube (listening to a choral recording) I got the impression that it's pretty darn good.
Lastly, I'll have to retract any statements I made about this tube being really laid back. It's not; it's right in the middle; like the Great and Holy Sylvania Blackplate 3Mica 5751.
addendum: I just noticed- this tube ROCKS for organ music. The cathedral ambience is perfectly reproduced without overkill, the notes are smooth (none of the slight grain from ultra-detailed amps) and the bass is there, but unobtrusive.
