[jlharden]

Yes, I know there's a lot of past posts in the archives about this. I haven't been in the scene for a while, and am jumping back in! When I left I had purchased one of the first DT's around, must have been gone awhile because now there's lots of new amps, and phones including the MG Head OTL. Now I'm calling on the collective experience of all Head-Fiers.....What are the vacuum tubes to have? I have a box full of 6dj8,6922,7308,etc. tubes from the last time I went rolling.... AH Tjoeb! and Melos SHA-Gold(Sweet Memories......Doh!). Trying to avoid that large and expensive collection this time! So get me started the right way, lets here the top recommedations. And if you have "extras" you might want to sell, shoot me a PM. For reference I'm using a Rega Planet 2000 for source and Beyerdynamic DT-931's. I'll probably be picking up another nice set of phones soon. Not sure what, recommendations? Thanks for the info! Jerrod

 

[timoteus]

If you're talking "Holy Grail" tubes I vote for:

Late 1950s Amperex Bugle Boy "D" getter EL84/6BQ5 (used by timoteus, Braillediver and I think a few others)
Telefunken ECC803S (used by YoNni22)
Raytheon "D" getter 7729 (used by Braillediver)

I'll let others post more practical choices such as new production output tubes and 5751s. Welcome back!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

After reading Timoteus' posting all I can give you is the same thing everyone else gets here: an apology, sorry about the wallet!! The Tele ECC803S alone will run at least $200, IF you can find it. But, it is also the best sounding tube. Try searching for the posting here done by Eric343 about the Raytheon windmill getter tube to run the center channel. It got great reviews from him and many others, and can be had for much less than almost anything else that sounds nearly as good.

I learned the hard way that "expensive" tubes either don't sound better, or sounds so little better that it isn't worth the extra money!! I spent lots of money on some really expensive Siemens & Halske CCa and E88CC tubes, to later buy 7 cheap Amperex 6DJ8 globe logos that absolutely blew them out of the water in EVERY way!! One place that really helped me find what I needed was this site:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/faq/joes-tubes.html

This one has lots of info on the 12ax7 and 5751 tubes out there. Nick Dangerous and many, many other really good and knowledgable people have backed up his findings, so I would recommend starting there!! May even save you a bunch of money and time! It would have done so for me had I known about his reviews of the Siemens tubes BEFORE I bought them and had them sent from Germany.

OBTW, these are my opinions, based on my experiences, so please don't flame me

Lord Bless,
doug p.

 

[lextek]

I've enjoyed the Mullard CV 4004.

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Yes indeed, the Telefunken ECC803S will bankrupt you, assuming you are even allowed in line to bid!

 

[YoNni22]

The Telefunken ECC803S is the best tube I have. I have heard others but the ECC803S stands out the most.

 

[timoteus]

 

[lextek]

Are you just teasing us? Selling?

 

[timoteus]

Yeah, just teasing.

Pics courtesy of www.tubeworld.com

 

[lextek]

Cruel!!!!!

 

[N@Z]

DRooOOOooll...

 

[jlharden]

Thanks for all the good tube recommendations. Look forward to trying some different flavors. Also considering some of the MG Head mods. Was about ready to send the Head down the road to try something new, but I feel there's a lot more sound to squeeze out of this little amp. Thanks, Jerrod

 

[timoteus]

Just to reiterate, these are not practical tubes but "Holy Grail" tubes that you asked for. Most of us will never even see any of these tubes let alone be able to buy them. YonNi22 got his Telefunken from his dad, braillediver got his Raytheon for a song from an old tubehead, and I got my Amperex from a defaulted on mini-storage. I don't think I would ever pay street price for any of these tubes to put them in a $300.00 amp.

More reasonable rolling choices would be 5751s from Sylvania, Raytheon, Tungsol, RCA...

I have also had excellent results from 12A*7 variants from Mullard, Sylvania, RCA, Amperex, Telefunken, Mullard...most of these have been NOS from the 1950s. 7025s shouldn't be overlooked either.

Good luck!

 

[lextek]

Yeah some of the price at Tube World.com were unreal. I think those Tele ECC803S
were $500+ for one! My $30 Mullard is sounding better all the time. It tried an GE 5751 last night and lost some of the midrange. I have a Telefunken 12AX& kicking around that I remember was nice....

 

[braillediver]

6072- GE 3 mica black plate. This tube is magical.

I also have one labeled Heintz and Kaufman that was made by GE.