Totally Tubular: The Tube Thread

[HiFi Guy]

Hi all! Got my first two tube integrated amps during lockdown times. First I got a non-working Dynaco sac-35 for quiet cheap as sort of a test to see if I enjoyed messing around. with the insides as well as the sound. Got it working and really was having fun rolling tubes so I invested in a Fisher x-101c that also needed some love. The Dynaco is fun and sounds quite nice, but the Fisher is really something. I love this amp. Been listening for hour every day on it and really neglecting my solid state amps now haha.

I am sure this has been covered in this 33 page thread but are there any other tube rollers here? What 12ax7s have you tried and loved? El84s? 7591s?

As far as 12AX7s, I’m very partial to the Sovtek 12AX7LPS. They sound great and are inexpensive.

I first used them in a Dynaco PAS-3 preamp that I rebuilt with the Audio by Van Alstine Super PAS 3 kit- sadly no longer available. It took a “ho hum” preamp and transformed it into something quite nice.

 

[from_my_stacks]

Nice. I have heard those are particularly good in the phase positions. I had those in the Dynaco pre section for a bit and thought they sounded quite nice. The Fisher came loaded with OG Telefunkens, which was very lucky! I have the TF in the Dynaco right now as they are super quiet and the SCA 35 is a bit noisy.

I have really liked the the 5751 variants of the 12ax7 style that have a little less gain but more clean headroom. I have some GE 5751 in the phone section for the Fisher right now and I just love them.

I sold off a synthesizer in order to get a nice sampling of some NOS and strong testing vintage tubes from a local dealer in IL. So far I have tried:

Vintage
RCA 12ax7 long black plate
GE 5751 grey plate
RCA 5751 backplate
Telefunken 12ax7 (came with Fisher)
EI 12ax7 (supposedly made using the Telefunken machines)
Sylvania 12ax7 (low noise, made for organs)
GE 12ax7 short grey plate
Uknown MIJ (label mostly rubbed off, came with Dynaco)
Fisher 7591 (not sure of actual maker, came in Fisher)
RCA 7591 (came in Fisher)

New
Tung Sol 12ax7
Sovtek 12ax7LPS
JJ Ecc83
JJ EL84
Tung Sol 7591a
EHX 7591a


Happy to share my opinions on any of these if anyone is curious!

 

[Jango]

Hi all! Got my first two tube integrated amps during lockdown times. First I got a non-working Dynaco sac-35 for quite cheap as sort of a test to see if I enjoyed messing around with the insides as well as the sound. Got it working and really was having fun rolling tubes so I invested in a Fisher x-101c that also needed some love. The Dynaco is fun and sounds quite nice, but the Fisher is really something. I love this amp. Been listening for hours every day on it and really neglecting my solid state amps now haha.

I am sure this has been covered in this 33 page thread but are there any other tube rollers here? What 12ax7s have you tried and loved? El84s? 7591s?

I really like the Electro Harmonix 6CA7, which is an EL84 equivalent. It has that sweet midrange plus the bottom end that a lot of modern EL84s lack. They’re also very inexpensive.

 

[HiFi Guy]

I really like the Electro Harmonix 6CA7, which is an EL84 equivalent. It has that sweet midrange plus the bottom end that a lot of modern EL84s lack. They’re also very inexpensive.

I believe the 6CA7 is an EL34 equivalent.

 

[Jango]

I believe the 6CA7 is an EL34 equivalent.

Good catch.

 

[Joe Mac]

Some tubes lit up to the one step of Blood on the Tracks

 

[HiFi Guy]

Some tubes lit up to the one step of Blood on the Tracks

Triode mode I see.

 

[Joe Mac]

Triode mode I see.

Haha! Was giving it a try out! I flicked a few times during songs but don’t notice a whole lot of difference tbh, it was just a bit quieter so need a little extra volume crank but it says a lot about the amp that it was still pretty easily driving the speakers.

Does the difference get any wider as the amp breaks in?

 

[HiFi Guy]

Haha! Was giving it a try out! I flicked a few times during songs but don’t notice a whole lot of difference tbh, it was just a bit quieter so need a little extra volume crank but it says a lot about the amp that it was still pretty easily driving the speakers.

Does the difference get any wider as the amp breaks in?

Nope. I run mine in ultralinear mostly. I have used triode mode a few times as kind of a reverse loudness switch. It’s great for cutting bass slightly on bass heavy tracks or movies.

Other than that, they could have left the feature off entirely and I’d have been fine with it. I think PL USA/Upscale way oversell it.

That said, Stereophile said my amp had the lowest distortion from the 4 ohm taps in triode mode, so what so I know?

 

[Splunders]

Any suggestions on reputable NOS tube suppliers who are not Upscale Audio? I love Upscale, but I think I might have a bad Tungsram PCC88 tube in my Manley Chinook (the unit seems to be getting noisier than I recall it ever being). Upscale will only sell these tubes to folks who bought their Chinook directly from them, and I bought mine used.

 

[AnthonyI]

Any suggestions on reputable NOS tube suppliers who are not Upscale Audio? I love Upscale, but I think I might have a bad Tungsram PCC88 tube in my Manley Chinook (the unit seems to be getting noisier than I recall it ever being). Upscale will only sell these tubes to folks who bought their Chinook directly from them, and I bought mine used.

If it's one of their SE's, I would still reach out and see if they can help you out..........unless they've already shot you down. I mean, it's THEIR product, regardless of you buying it used or not, it's not like you're looking for warranty work on it, just a tube.

 

[HiFi Guy]

Any suggestions on reputable NOS tube suppliers who are not Upscale Audio? I love Upscale, but I think I might have a bad Tungsram PCC88 tube in my Manley Chinook (the unit seems to be getting noisier than I recall it ever being). Upscale will only sell these tubes to folks who bought their Chinook directly from them, and I bought mine used.

Manley sells tubes for their gear. I’d contact them.

 

[ZiggsMBK]

Any suggestions on reputable NOS tube suppliers who are not Upscale Audio? I love Upscale, but I think I might have a bad Tungsram PCC88 tube in my Manley Chinook (the unit seems to be getting noisier than I recall it ever being). Upscale will only sell these tubes to folks who bought their Chinook directly from them, and I bought mine used.

From what I have heard, Brent Jessee (BRENT JESSEE RECORDING HOMEPAGE) is the go to guy for NOS tubes in the US.

 

[Splunders]

If it's one of their SE's, I would still reach out and see if they can help you out..........unless they've already shot you down. I mean, it's THEIR product, regardless of you buying it used or not, it's not like you're looking for warranty work on it, just a tube.

They make it pretty clear not to bother even calling them about the Tungsrams if you bought the unit used.

 

[HiFi Guy]

They make it pretty clear not to bother even calling them about the Tungsrams if you bought the unit used.

While it’s pretty crappy that they won’t sell a tube to a second owner, those tubes are made of unobtanium. When they are gone, they are gone.

 

[from_my_stacks]

I have had really good experiences with Brent Jesse as well.

 

[apholden]

Ah yes, the good old, "people who buy and sell used gear are morally reprehensible" theory. What is it with manufacturers telling us to throw our old, but still perfectly good, stuff in the trash instead of finding another owner for it?

 

[displayname]

Ah yes, the good old, "people who buy and sell used gear are morally reprehensible" theory. What is it with manufacturers telling us to throw our old, but still perfectly good, stuff in the trash instead of finding another owner for it?

I think it's more that the consider part of the price is the value of customer service. It's not my favorite method, but it encourages new sales AND it helps to keep service of old units manageable. Helps prevent a back log of old stuff in for repair from things that are on the 4th owner. It's not always just a customer based decision. Sometimes it's a production bandwidth decision too.

 

[Splunders]

I'm not that bothered they won't sell me that particular tube because I didn't buy the unit from them. That tube is a big part of what differentiates the Upscale version from the standard Manley.

As @HiFi Guy stated, those tubes are close to extinction, so why not favor the customers who bought directly from them? The worst thing they could do is jack the prices sky high, which they have not done.

If I can't find a quartet of that particular tube, I can still run lots of other 6922 equivalents. Knowing me, I'll end up with Gold Lions, but I'll check out that Brent Jesse dude and Upscale still too.

And oh yeah, the tubes are actually just fine on my Chinook! Like a dumbass, I forgot I raised the gain from 50 to 60 db at some point. I dropped it back down and the noise went with it. I really should write down my system tweaks/experiments and the date I did them....

 

[Joe Mac]

So closing in on a month with the PrimaLuna! I’ve already put well over 100 hours on it!

Still nowhere near as lush and warm as the Quads but I’m not expecting that quite yet! It does sound utterly fantastic all the same! Man does it dig deep on the bass!

But I’m so much more comfortable having it on for really long periods everyday whilst I work. That was something I absolutely wasn’t comfortable doing with the quads. As a result I’m listening to so much more vinyl, and music in general, and back to making the absolute most of that one major perk of work from home!