12ax7 vs 5751

Mc,
Buy all means get a pair. I really like them, i use them in my VT 5.5 pre-amp, i also like and use the Phillips Mini Watt 12ax7. Very smooth i like them, as usual YMMV......

treasure tubes kt88-z

got `em!!! i got them this morning. i fitted them and left them for 20 minutes or so then set the bias. left them another 20 or so minutes then checked the bias again and then to the good stuff! from the off these are an upgrade! very open sounding. i can already hear the top end is extended. my 1st and so far only track i`ve listened to is k.t. tunstall silent sea off the eye to the telescope cd. her closely mic`d voice sounds just incredible and incredibly real! the weight and texture to her voice is just right and mind boggling! she`s right there in front of me. soooo much detail in her voice and the sharp intake of breath you hear in between her lines! i couldn`t help listening to this over and over! the bass is deep, detailed, darker, warmer and textured. acoustic guitars have realistic tone, weight and that zing that acoustic guitars have. you can hear each string being plucked. the noise floor is extremely low on these and the back ground is silent. after installing these, the first thing i noticed was the lack of low level buzz coming from my speakers. if i put my ear up to the speakers i get a just about audible deep hum.

the soundstage is pin point accurate and the seperation of the musicians is very freaky. lots of air between the musicians! the soundstage is less deep but by no means flat. it`s much easier to get that sense that the drums are behind the singer. you also feel you can almost see the performers. you can also hear k.t. tunstals lips close and open as she`s singing and her voice actually sounds like it`s originating from her throat. by the way her voice on this track will leave you needing a cold shower!!!

the most amazing thing here is i have about another 298 hours to go before they`re broken in! and the sound is said to improve! wow! i`m off to do some more listening to my other favourite cd`s. my plan now is to fully break in these tubes then do one last tube roll between all the 12ax7`s and 5751`s before i make my final choice of tubes for this amp and system. so far i have to tell you i`m amazed at this sound coming from my speakers. more to come later today guys. this is just the initial "straight out of the box" review

another update.....

i had the telefunkens in this mix and and the sound was amazing, extremely clear, forward, immediate, weighty with a hint of warmth, pretty much like someones turned the main light on and you can see everything clearly and solidly.

well i had an idea. i don`t mean to tube roll this early on in the experiment but i read somewhere that the psvane 12ax7-t`s have a synergy with the kt88-z`s, so i swapped them out. in went the grant fidelity matched 12ax7`s. now it`s like someone switched off the main lights, lit several candles so you can still see all the detail but with more shading and more darkness in between, then lit a log fire! WOW! on a seduction level i`d score this mix as a 20 out of 10!!! you get all the detail but accompanied by the sexiest warmth ever! the forwardness has gone and replaced by naturalness with a sexy warmth. the bass is deep, detailed, punchy, slammy when needed, textured and all accompanied by a sexy warmth. voices are just plain sexy!!! the highs are sweet and clear and extended. the bottom end is extended too and accurate. it`s accurate all the way through the frequencies. there`s an amazing dark pleasing background that allows instruments to work their magic on you out of thin air. seperation in the soundstage is 1st class. all this with not quite 5 hours on the tubes! i`m in lurve already and i think i still have heaven to come! these tubes work extremely well together and so far it`s a matter of taste between the psvanes and telefunkens. but saying that, there`s a very long way to go and all tubes are going to get their chance to do their thing once the kt88`s are fully broken in but the psvane 12ax7-t`s will be staying in for the duration of the break in. this is a jaw dropping set of tubes gracing my amplifier so far!

Second the Phillips Miniwatt 12ax7 recommendation. Very good tube in my phono pre. A little brighter and more aggressive than my Teles, but not thin like some others, and with good body.

Grayf,

Are your 12AX7 Telefunkens ribbed or smooth plates? Also, if they are new old stock, I found that after around 30 hours or so my Telefunkens started to break in and added a nice sweetness to the sound.

I made the switch to tubes about three years ago. I am fortunate that I frequent a stereo shop here in town that has been around since 1947. I'm friends with the owners and they let me bring home all sorts of tubes to audition. It really is great how the sound of a system can be tailored, and you are doing what it takes to do that with your system. And please keep your updates coming. I enjoyed the process of dialing-in my system and it'll be interesting to see where you take your system.